Still here. Glad to see everyone having fun on a Sunday and thanks for the 80's wrestling flashback. :thumbs_up: I guess the combination of the 9.75" curves and offset axle is the issue. I'll just run this loco away from the "wicked" curve.
As I sit ringside to watch this bout I can't help asking myself what does " LFMAO " mean? Now If it was LMFAO, I would understand that. And BTW, Which way to the pool? Craig
I should have put it "Laughing My Fat Ass Off" OoP'S! I meant to put it LMFAO = "Laughing My Fat Ass Off" I get to drop the "F" bomb off. It kinds of cleans it up a little. Self censorship...if you please. Grin. The way I put it would be "LauFing My Ass Off". Is that better? Never mind how it appears to read. Not good. To the pool? Take the elevator to the ground level. Take the first hall to the left past the classy dinning area and you are at the pool. Careful...it may not be what you expect. HeeHee LOLwink:
I'll be in the hot tub ...discussing n scale trains ...unitrack...manufacturers...details...'prototypical'...turnouts/switches...and minimum radius...LOL .
George, Don't hog all those red hot ladies! LOL Sin City, Did you ever get your unit to quiet down? And, do you have room for a larger layout? I have some 4 and 6 axle growlers that I enjoy operating. I have tried everything I can think of to quiet them down and it doesn't much matter the radius of track. They growl around the layout as if to say here we are look at me. Quieting them down...it just isn't going to happen. Who needs a sound system...when I have them? Grin! Best of luck.
Thanks. My layout originally started out using HCD dimensions and a slightly modified track plan from one of those Model Railroader books. My goal back then was maximum trackage in a limited HCD dimension (6' x 3'). Since then, I added an additional 15 sq feet forming an L-shape with some sidings for operations. When I added this L-section, I was able to add a turnout to bypass this section of the roundy with the tight curve and still have a roundy to run trains around the entire layout. I guess there is really nothing I can do since the axle spacing on a C628/630 is not even like a SD-24 or SD-60 and the uneven spacing is what appears to make it groan around those 9.75" curves.
Sorry Rick. I showed the girls your profile pic...and they all said they just wouldnt feel right...making out with a guy...who looks like SANTA CLAUS.... R O F L M A O !! :tb-biggrin: But as a good friend would/should...I took up the slack fer ya !! You can thank me later...LOL:tb-biggrin: BTW... Went to the doctor today...got a steroid shot in the left knee. It always gives me 'deadleg' for a few days. Sooooo....I am going sit right here and take one of them dome cars ya sent...and bash the back with a full size observation window. Gonna be the "Party Car" on the new S Excursions II train. :tb-cool: .
I don't have one of these particular locomotives. If you have some shots of the "problem" loco with its shell off and the ones that handle the curves better with their shells off I may be able to help propose a fix or a modification. When I have had really noisy Atlas locomotives it has usually been any of the five following issues: 1) Screws holding the frame halves together are too tight. 2) Screws holding the frame halves together are too loose. 3) Junk in the gears of the trucks. 4) Some piece of driveline slighly mis-aligned. 5) Not yet DCC converted loco running on DCC. I am guessing that number 3 is not likely in your case or this thing would be noisy everywhere. For that matter, 5 is probably also not the culprit. The only other thing I can think of is that lots of Atlas six-axle locos have this universal joint arrangement, but it seems to me that a small handful of them don't. Could this be different between those two types you mentioned?
Screws checked. Driveline is straight and some excessive slack taken off. Loco is DCC equipped from Atlas. Perhaps someone with a C628/630 could trying running it on a 9.75 curve to see if it makes more noise and a broader curve?
What about dry worm bearings causing the noise? Katos would do this. Not likely on a new engine, though.
I would suggest narrowing the gauge on the center axial to allow it to move a little to either side when entering a curve. The axle contact cups may be keeping the wheels from having any side motion which would cause a drag in curves. This would be more of a problem on the Alco uneven spacing trucks where the two axles are very close together, versus a four axle or EMD 6 axle. The trick is to not narrow it to the point that it picks points on switches. You may want to narrow all wheel sets a tad. I have noticed that wheel set gauge tends to run a tad narrow from the manufacturers to begins with, and that isn’t always a bad thing.
George, You just saved me from having a heart attack and dieing with a smile on my face. You did what? The party car, don't forget a hot tube just inside the window. Sin City, Where are you Las Vegas, Nevada? In that case you had a ring side seat...grin! Growling locomotive: Back to your growler of a locomotive. If it doesn't growl anywhere else on the layout but in the 9.75" radius curve, then the problem is obvious. If you can widen out the curve to a 11" radius and the growling in the curve disappears. I'd say the cause is obvious...right? It's all about cause and effect. Ahh, I wouldn't mess with the gauge of the idler set of wheels. You are only asking for a problem, Ie., As you run through a switch...derail! To properly gauge the wheels...Yes! To narrow any of the wheelsets...NO!
I would most definitely check the gauge on the center axle. If he can re-gauge the wheels slightly narrower, it may alleviate his problem and he can use the engine. I have checked many engines as received from the manufacturer, and my experience is that most are under gauge and have had no problems with switches. Maybe his wheels are a little over or can stand to be a little under. Besides, he already has a spare set of trucks. He has nothing to lose, and everything to gain. You will never know if you don't try.
BarstowRick-Yes, I'm in Vegas. JohnH-I'll give it a try. Edit: I just rolled one of my spare trucks across the turnout and it is snug against the frogs (I think that is what they are called).
It shouldn't be snug through a turnout, it should have a little sideplay. Check all four trucks and see if they are all that way.
Ok, I have done a some testing with my Atlas C630 and some Kato unitrack. I have made an oval using the 9.75" radius curves and the lokie will run in circles frontwards and backwards without a hitch. I have also laid out a series of "S" curves of the same radius and the lokie will transition smoothly without a hitch or hesitation at slow to normal speeds (didn't try it at slot car speed). This engine is fully capable of traversing 9.75" curves, so yours should also if assembled and massaged correctly (mine was new out of the box with no work done by me). On another note, I checked the wheel gauge with my MT gauge, and it is ever so slightly under gauge (as are almost all engines I have ever gauged). It also had no problem running around my "around the room" layout in progress, passing over six turnouts in the process. If you cannot get yours to work correctly, I would be happy to take a look at it for you. I note that in an earlier post (either here or Atlas Forum) I seem to recall you mentioning that you took all slack out of the worm and the bearing blocks. This would actually exacerbate the problem, as the worm needs to be free to slide some when transitioning into a curve. When you stated the threads, it seems that noisy operation was your primary concern at that time. Had you ran it through the tight radius curves and noticed the slowing before making the changes? Or did you notice them afterwards? An additional thought, check to make sure the contact strip are riding on top of the truck contact instead of beside it, as this would inhibit radial travel of the truck. Sometimes in the course of reassembly, these contacts can slip down and cause problem such as you are experiencing.
Me thinks you might be onto something here. I would agree but also throw out a yellow flag. To properly gauge the wheels...Yes! To narrow any of the wheelsets...NO! Humm, after reading the post just above this one. Me thinks JohnH... may have something there. However, I wouldn't recommend fritzing around...well...see my next post.
John-I shimmed various parts (as posted in the Atlas forum) in hope to reduce vibrations as I originally thought was making the noise. It did seem to run a little quieter or perhaps that was a placebo effect. Also, I did leave some slack for the worm gear and the contact strip is riding on top. I don't recall if I ran it through the 9.75" curve at the time or not. I'll send you a PM.
I got the picture. Trying to avoid another rumble. Grin! From the voice of experience. Allow me to say this: You can fiddle and fart around fritzing with your six axle'd, perfectly good running locomotive, trying to make it work on tight radius curves. You can continue this quest until one day you wake up and realize that the once out of the box, perfectly good locomotive is totally messed up. You'd be better off to fiddle and fart around with your layout. Four axle'd locomotives such as the SW's, GP's and F types all do better on tighter radius curves. Six axle'd diesels don't belong on...well...if you haven't figured it out by now...you will. You have my best advice: Best of luck with your locomotive. From, Mr. Been there...done that.
