I am curious if you have a regular maintenance schedule for your rolling stock or if you just wait until there is a problem and fix it?
Rick
Since I neither oil or lubricate any moving parts, the only time a piece of rolling stock would sit on the RIP track is if something were broken - e.g. stirrup, coupler spring. That rarily happens...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I'm at a loss as to what "scheduled maintenance" you would do on a model train car.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
For the freight cars and passenger cars, I have no scheduled maintenance on mine since I have them tuned up before they go on the layout. For my locomotives, I keep track of when I last cleaned the wheels and when I last opened them up to do any tuning up, servicing, etc.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
cv_acr I'm at a loss as to what "scheduled maintenance" you would do on a model train car.
I guess I was thinking about checking and adjusting couplers, cleaning wheels and checking for loose parts. I have a unit train of 32 Walthers ore cars that hadn't been run for a while and when I got it going today I had many derailments. I am going to have to go over each car looking for problems.
I guess that the best schedule is when the problem shows up. But I am wondering what causes your freight cars having problem after not using for a while. Is it because your room is too humid or something？For most of plastics and metals, they are pretty stable in terms of shape, etc...
Jerry
Hi Rick,
I don't do scheduled maintenance on my freight or passenger cars, but I do give them a thorough tune up before I put them on the track.
The first step is to replace any plastic wheel sets with metal ones, usually InterMountain, and check that the wheels are in gauge and spin freely. I have never found the need to use a truck tuner.
Then I address the weight issue. I use the NMRA recommended practise of one ounce plus 1/2 ounce for every inch of the car length. I use 1/16" lead sheet for adding weight. It is normally used as roof flashing and is available on line or at any roofing distributor. It can be cut with scissors or tin snips. It is much cheaper than buying automotive wheel weights and it can be cut to whatever shape fits best.
Next I tune up the couplers. All the non-metal couplers get replaced with Kadees, but before I do that I check out how well the coupler boxes are mounted. I have found that on many cars, particularly Athearn BB, the frame and coupler box are not sitting tight against the weight. This results in the couplers sitting too low and/or the shell sitting too high. In many cases, even after the frame and coupler box have been mounted properly, the couplers will still be too low. I have not had any situations where I couldn't fix the problem with Kadee red or gray washers, but I will admit to using two or three of them on occassion. I never felt the need to get into the Kadee overset or underset coupler heads.
Once the trucks are in place I check to see that they pivot properly. I use the recommended practise of having one truck tight enough that it will rotate easily but not rock too much, and the other truck is set somewhat looser so it can rock side to side moderately. While I am at it I make sure that the trucks do not hit any of the undergear, steps etc. I have a couple of Walthers cabooses and a Walthers passenger car where I had to remove a small part of the back of the steps in order for the trucks to pivot. I will admit that cutting the steps is a rather crude solution. I should have followed doctorwayne's example and moved the bolsters towards the middle of the cabooses a bit. The passenger car lost a wee bit of piping which only Jason Shron would notice.
I will confess to having learned the lesson that the above steps should be done carefully and accurately, especially the parts about the trucks. My early attempts at tuning the cars was a bit slapdash with the result that some of the cars derailed at the slightest excuse.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Before any car "went into service", I did various tests/improvements. Since the vast majority of them were kit built, I installed KD couplers (and tested with a gauge), and Intermountain wheelsets. Then I did a 2 percent grade test for "rollability". The last test was the ability to go around my tightest curve of 26 inches. The only cars that had a problem were the Walthers passenger cars, and they required various "helps" to free them up.
So, once the cars were on the layout, it was relatively rare that a problem arose, and those few centered around couplers or diaghrams.
What I found odd over the years was the few RTR cars tended to need more help by far than the many kits I built.
So to answer your question, I had to maintenance schedule whatsoever.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
hjQi I guess that the best schedule is when the problem shows up. But I am wondering what causes your freight cars having problem after not using for a while. Is it because your room is too humid or something？For most of plastics and metals, they are pretty stable in terms of shape, etc... Jerry
The room that the layout is in has little humidity and stable temperature. I have had his unit train for over 20 years and it always ran fine with the original wheelsets that Walthers put on them.
These cars have odd couplers. They don't operate and just lock the ore cars together. When I first set it up money was tight and I only replaced them with Kadee on 6 cars so that I could break it apart if I wanted.
I will check the wheels and replace all of the couplers that weren't done before. I have a fair number of cars on the layout that still have plastic wheels. I guess that is going to be my maintenance routine - replace them all.
hbgatsf I am curious if you have a regular maintenance schedule for your rolling stock or if you just wait until there is a problem and fix it?
In other words, I have a regular maintenance schedule.
Ongoing and constant, or so it seems.
Rich
Alton Junction
hbgatsf I have a fair number of cars on the layout that still have plastic wheels. I guess that is going to be my maintenance routine - replace them all.
hbgatsf I have a fair number of cars on the layout that still have plastic wheels. I guess that is going to be my maintenance routine - replace them all. Why??
hbgatsf
Why??
I guess I was anticipating the problem being the wheels.
hbgatsfI only replaced them with Kadee on 6 cars so that I could break it apart if I wanted.
What about if you just run these 6 cars? Do you still have derailment? I guess you still have plastic wheels on them. If so, this may help if the connections causes the problem, not wheels...
hbgatsf I have a fair number of cars on the layout that still have plastic wheels. I guess that is going to be my maintenance routine - replace them all. Why?? Gidday Rick, as I understand it, the problem you have is that your 20-year-old unit train, with odd couplers (??) has run reliably until you’ve replaced the couplers in six cars. Rule #1 in the Bears book of troubleshooting, is to eliminate the last thing that was changed first. In this case the couplers. See hjQi Jerrys suggestion regarding those 6 cars. Good luck. Cheers, the Bear.
No, those couplers were changed 20 years ago.
The spot I had the most trouble with was coming off a long downhill grade. Only running six cars won't give me the weight as the full train. This spot never gave me a problem before and it isn't the only spot that I had derailments. Adding to the head scrathing is that it wasn't always the same cars that derailed.
BTW - I weighted the cars to NMRA standards. I need to pull some out of service and check them over.
No actual schedule for freight cars - All get metal wheelsets and KD couplers (unless they have metal KD Clones) and tested prior to being placed into service.
Cars that can be opened up are properly weighted (or made slightly heavy) using wheel weights I got on the cheap.
Only "issues" get further maintainance.
On your issue, if the derailments occur at the same location, but different cars, it might be a track issue instead of a rolling stock issue... You say the same train derails at other locations, but is it possible that it is derailing at one spot and rail-riding? (One wheelset off, but "floating" or riding on the wheel flange on top of the rail until that point?)
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
If a car derails, I make a mark with a silver Sharpie on the underside. If it gets 3 marks, I take it off the layout and check coupler height, wheel gauge, weight, and truck swivel. I'll make any adjustments and put it back in service. If it derails again, I remove it from the layout, remove all reusuable parts, then throw it in the trash after first stomping it to bits. Life is too short to waste time trying to fix junk. A Walthers Budd combine recent met that fate. That car had been nothing but trouble for me from the day I got it and I regret spending as much time as I did trying to rehab it. It was junk and ended up where junk belongs.
I do not even know my ratio of metal to plastic wheels. The only trouble I had with running plastic wheels is the ''gunk'' build up on the treads.
ricktrains4824 You say the same train derails at other locations, but is it possible that it is derailing at one spot and rail-riding? (One wheelset off, but "floating" or riding on the wheel flange on top of the rail until that point?)
You say the same train derails at other locations, but is it possible that it is derailing at one spot and rail-riding? (One wheelset off, but "floating" or riding on the wheel flange on top of the rail until that point?)
hon30critter Once the trucks are in place I check to see that they pivot properly. I use the recommended practise of having one truck tight enough that it will rotate easily but not rock too much, and the other truck is set somewhat looser so it can rock side to side moderately. Dave
Once the trucks are in place I check to see that they pivot properly. I use the recommended practise of having one truck tight enough that it will rotate easily but not rock too much, and the other truck is set somewhat looser so it can rock side to side moderately.
That's on my checklist too, and I have found that, over time, some truck screws are capable of becoming loose and fail to hold their position. So part of my inital check-up procedure is to add a tiny drop of Loctite Thread Locker to each screw. White glue would probably work as well.
Jim
Yes, I also wonder the need to frequently check rolling stock. Instead, I do that whenever something arises (e.g., derailment). The cars certainly get checked when I purchase them. Not to knock any manufacturer, but some are known for having issues with couplers, wheel sets, etc.
My source for low cost freight car kits is Accurail. I don't care about the fine details that come with the high end cars. Molded on details is fine with me. I know when I buy one I'm going to immediately replace the couplers with KDs, the plastic wheels with metal, and add weight to bring them up to my standard. I figure all that into the price of the car. Rarely do Accurail cars give me problems once I've made those additions.
There are no manufacturers that I am aware of that put KDs on their freight cars so even if I buy a high end RTR car, I know the couplers are going to be changed out and I'll probably have to add some weight.
John-NYBW There are no manufacturers that I am aware of that put KDs on their freight cars so even if I buy a high end RTR car, I know the couplers are going to be changed out and I'll probably have to add some weight.
ExactRail puts 158's on all their cars from the factory. They are "higher end" cars but they are nice ones. I have a few from them.
As for schedules, I don't have one either. About as close as I get is to clean the tracks and run all my engines (>20) after their winter break to get them going again. (My layout is in an unheated garage. And no, I've never had problems with them or cars being in the cold. The prior layout was in an unheated space and many of the cars/engines were there as well. Of course my neck of the woods doesn't have much for humidity during the year either.)
If the car does have an issue, if nothing else is pressing I will work on it right then and there if the issue isn't major. If is is major, I will put it on the shop track as a reminder or else I will put the car and box on the workbench until I remember to ger to it.
On my previous layout I used clipper oil to improve power pickup due to many inaccessible (to Bright Boy) locations. I then found that gunk buildup on the wheels and flanges of the rolling stock could be excessive and require removal with alcohol and a screwdriver blade. This was more of a problem with plastic wheelsets.
FRRYKid John-NYBW There are no manufacturers that I am aware of that put KDs on their freight cars so even if I buy a high end RTR car, I know the couplers are going to be changed out and I'll probably have to add some weight. ExactRail puts 158's on all their cars from the factory. They are "higher end" cars but they are nice ones. I have a few from them.
Now that you mention it, I have bought some high end rolling stock and a few locos that came with the smaller couplers which probably were KDs. It didn't matter because I don't like those and replace them just like I would the Brand X couplers.
I do not have a maintenance schedule. I typically repair cars as issues arise or put them on a rip track on the work bench that is right at eye level and annoying to see so I'm motivated to fix them quickly!
I added Intermountain wheelsets to all of my cars. They are noisier than plastic, but track cleaning is now almost non-existant. Weighting cars to NMRA standards also helped.
Just my opinion!
Rapido uses KD's.
Walther's uses their Proto-Max couplers, a metal KD clone. ScaleTrains RivetCounter series has their version of a metal KD clone, and I have never had any issues with any of these brands metal couplers.
Once a freight car passes all the tasks in my obstacle course, there is no scheduled maintenance. Problems will be fixed as they arise.
However, I rarely ever have problems with rolling stock.
-Kevin
Living the dream.