Atlas 4-4-0

My beautiful little Atlas 4-4-0 runs like a charm, but the front (pilot) truck derails constantly on the 9.75" curves of my tiny tiny oval layout. I love this engine, and the derailments are causing great frustration. This thing wants to run! The layout is not complete, and could be refashioned to accommodate 11" curves. Would they help this engine? Anyone have experience with it?

 

OK, I've got one and I spent a lot of time with it. I had a lot of trouble with the front truck derailing, but I was also trying to get it around 9" curves.

First thing I discovered was that the gauge was narrow, not wide, so it was dropping in the points in switches. I spread out the lead wheelset only, that helped a lot. The drivers are narrow as well, which means the darn thing was crabbing and pitching the lead truck over even harder. Very light adjustment on the drivers, mostly the rear set.

Second thing was that it's so darn light on the front truck it will climb the rails with the least provocation. I gooed a tiny bit of lead over the lead axle to hold it down, that finally made the real difference. I also took off the mudguards on the front axle as those were hitting the cylinders.



When you're talking really sharp curves, it's banging into the cylinders, I Dremeled out just a hair on the inside of the cylinders on the front, but again, I'm trying to rack it around a 9" curve here.

The good news is all that worked. It's no more derailment-prone than anything else is now, but it sure didn't start that way.

 

Thank you both for the replies. I can't believe anyone actually answered, and I am grateful. Just a beginner here, and a bit intimidated by having to goo on some lead. Where did you get the lead, and what exactly did you use for your glue? Sounds like an awesome solution if I can make it work, which I am eager to do because this engine is soooo beautiful to watch when it's not derailing! I think I see what you mean about Dremeling out a bit of the lead near the wheel....do I have that concept right? I don't have a Dremel, but may borrow one somehow. Thanks again. You guys are truly great to answer. Oh, and randgust, you are one whale of a good photographer! My point and shoot can get only about a foot away at best.

 

Thanks, BoxcabE50. I'll check out the LHS and craft stores. Now I also hafta figure out where to find some soft lead, and how to shape it like randgust's amazing macro-photo, and then get brave enough to try it out on that $100 engine. I'm not a rich man, and $100 hobby money is pretty scarce, so it's a little scary to think of doing that, but it will probably be worth it. That engine is worthless when the front wheels are almost always derailed. Thanks again to you guys for taking the time to help.

 

Finding lead sheet may not be totally easy except at a plumbing supply or maybe in the plumbing department of one of the big box home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot.Mostly banned now but still is found in some older plumbing like cast iron work and flashing around roof penetrations because of it's durability. There is a modeler's substitute and that is Tungsten putty. The putty is workable and easy to form to the desired shape and thickness and is used by modelers to add additional weight to locos. Most often found in places that cater to the Pinewood Derby folks and at fly fishing suppliers.

 

You could also try some fishing sinkers - the crimp on kind. Those could be hammered flat & shaped.

 

I use small fishing sinkers. Around here they have assortments of split-shot and those work quite well. I pound them flat with a small hammer until I get the thickness I want and then trim to shape using flush diagonal cutters. Any final trimming can be done with an Xacto knife, bending done with needlenose pliers. Walthers Goo is the best contact cement you'll ever see for this stuff, so I recommend that, just don't put too much on or it will glue the axles into the truck frame. Mine is glued toward the back well away from the axle.

I have a Dremel with a speed control, but an Xacto knife can do it too. If you can push the locomotive through a curve with your fingers, and see the INNER wheels lifting, then the cylinders are hitting the truck on the inside and pushing them hard into the rail. ONLY if you observe this should you be cutting off mudguards and trimming the inside of the cylinders to get a little more clearance for the front truck. I was putting mine through a 9", not 9 3/4 curve. If it is, cut off front mudguards first, then, and only then, try to trim off a bit of the inside of the cylinders right where the flanges hit it on the lead front-truck axle.

 

Thanks John, Kingpeta, bremner, and randgust! Seems a fishing or plumbing store would be easier to find than a hobby shop here in the hinterlands of southern New Mexico. We do have Lowe's and Home Depot, though, unreal for a town this small and remote. Obviously, this project will take some additional thought. Randgust, I'm so new to this that I'm still not quite sure what you mean when you write about "cylinders", but I'll get it eventually. Your extensive descriptions are very much appreciated, and I am determined to make this beautiful little devil run like a well oiled machine!

 

Interesting reading. Thanks bremner. Now I know more about things to check on my little engine, thanks to randgust and you. This is going to get more interesting as it goes along!