Hey everyone, I am having a big problem. On my HO scale layout I was running a train which kept derailing even with just the engine. My friend was running his train just fine and has the same locomotive. Can anyone give me a little help. Thanks in advanced. Matt
Matt, Check the wheel set guage with a NMRA gauge. I have found that wheel sets that are too narrow aften cause derailing problems. Dean The Train Doctor
It could also be the flanges! Too small or too big, either way they can cause derailments. Just check everything like Dewain59 told ya too, pretty sure you'll get lots of help here at the forums. [ 31 March 2002, 18:05: Message edited by: UnionPacificBigBoy ]
Also.. check the the side to side tolerance (play) at each wheelset. In late January, I purchased a Bachmann 2-8-0 HO engine that kept derailing. In checking it out, I found the wheelsets met my NMRA gauge, but there was no side to side play. When the engine went through a curve or diverging out of a turnout, the offending wheelset would not give, causing it to bind... and crash-crunch off the track it would go. Also, it seemed the bar between the tender and the engine was biased upward making it too easy to go off track when the wheel would bind. I sent it back to Bachmann and they replaced it with a new one... no questions. The new one runs like a charm and doesnt derail at all. Good luck!!!!!!!! -Kitbash
It could be that you have bad trackwork at the point of derailing, that your "touch-y" engine is pointing out. Check the track in that area for guage and level. Also, following the Bachmann 2-8-0 discussion prior -- My 2-8-0 had a bad habit of having the lead truck derail -- it turned out that the spring, intended to push down gently, was, in fact, pushing so hard that the lead driver wheel stopped making contact with the track. I bent it so it just makes the lead truck level with the drivers, and now it runs like it should!
A re-cap of things to check, a lot from the rest of the guys here.... 1. Check that the track and locomotives are in guage. Make the engine lean towards the wider end of being in guage. This will prevent the train from wandering between the rails. 2. Check the level-ness of the track. Check across the track as well as along the track. Looks for twists and abrupt level changes. The rail can literally drop out from under the wheels in short sections if you're not careful on a grade change. I've had to shim small sections of my track with 22 guage wire to get it to run correctly. 3. Check the curves for consistency. Watch the front truck on the steam locomotive. If you see it swaying back and forth under the engine, the cuves are not even. The ACTUAL curve radius is the sharpest point on the curve the engine is going through. That 18" curve you think you have may have some 15" sections in it that you can't easily see. Using flex track, while great to use, can introduce this problem. You've got all the design problems the prototypical railroads have, but the tolerances are in small fractions of an inch. Mark
