I bought a kato 2-8-2 heavy mikado at a train show and it doesn't go around 12.5" radious track without the front wheels jumping. Does anyone know whats wrong.
Does the pilot truck swivel freely? Will it go around in the other direction ? Check closely to see if there is a Very small piece of foam setting above the pilot truck .And also check the track to make sure all track pieces are connected correctly, with no rough spots. Loco will go around a 9 3/4" curve eaisly...Mike
Hey it goes the other way fine. I was wondering if the drive wheels were suppose to have enough slack side to side to allow the smaller curves.
The drivers should not move side to side any more than about 1/16th inch or so. Even then, the wheelbase is short enough to allow 9 3/4 as Mike said. Check the track and wheel gauge to make sure everything is proper. Also, is the track vertically level (or with a smooth gradient)? Vertical kinks will cause jumping. How about the valve gear assembly? Could one of the rods be snagging somewhere? Do you have the double heading coupler installed in the front (It connect to the pilot wheels) or is it the dummy coupler that only attaches to the plow? Sometimes that long coupler for double heading can cause jumping too. If all the above looks well, run the loco as slow as it will go and watch it from both sides to see exactly where its jumping. Does it happen at the exact same spot or randomly through out the curve? Does it happen at a specific speed? PS, Welcome to TrainBoard!
I have two. I have 9 3/4" radius Code 80 track and no problems with the engines. Was any work visibly done on the front end of the engine? Frequently, if the front coupler has been replaced, the rear of it may be hitting the pilot axle. What happens when you run the engine from the other direction?
If it goes through the area of track having the 12.5" radius curves in the second direction, there is a chance that your Kato Mikado is "discovering" a trackwork problem that exists in the first direction, with that problem being one that your other rolling stock has tolerated for some reason.
