well i’m trying to get back into the model railroading craze here. i just dusted off my layout and got it set up again. now i have a question. i’ve always run F units, a geep, and now a U30B (ugly bachmann one) on the layout, but now i wi***o run SD locomotives and some of GE’s spartan cab dash 8s. will their trucks be able to handle the curves ok? i know i once tried to use centerbeams but the curves ultimately failed to be able to support such a long car. is this the same for lopng trucks or long locomotives?
Some 6 axles are very forgiving, most Athearn units I have do well. You didn’t say how tight your radius is ? My BLI AC6000 is not forgiving, it needs a good long curve.
i didnt measure the radius. but i can say it’s a direct curve, total U-turn without any straight track between any of the curve pieces
If you have at least an 18" radius you should get by ok. I have a U28C U36C U33C SD35 and a new SDP40 and all of them work fine. You may need to check your track work because if it’s Flextrack sometimes it’s a little irregular. Just a suggestion.
I’ve got a 6-axle Alco RS from P1K (old Lifelike) that handles 18-inch curves just fine. That’s HO, by the way.
ah well mine is HO too and the curves are not flex track. thanks for the help
If you have 18" turns you will de fine. I have E-6’s Erie Bulit, U-boats and haave no problems. Have had problems with FP 45’s. Seems the trucks hit the ladder’s on the body and will cause the front axel to jump the rail? Bough a few used ones that the ladders where missing, I just thought they got broken off. Now I think they where removed so they could make a 18" turn.
Cuda Ken
I’ve got a Bach Dash 8 that works fine on an 18’ radius. Looks funny, but works OK.
You may have some coupling issues on tighter turns.
good to know. is there a way to modify autoracks to work on 18" curves? those are my favorite rolling stock and i would love to be able to run them and centerbeams
Kato’s 6 axle trucks are actually smaller to scale (some of you wont beleive me, but its true) so they can handle tight radius curves. My KATO’s go through everything fine.
Alec
Hmm, thats funny, you must have a caught wire somewhere as mine will take an 18" curve in the yard with no problem.
I know what you mean about this when it comes to this model. It’s not the truck. It the brake hatch that’s on the truck. Don’t remove it. Trim it. Just the end of the brake hits the ladder. I analysed mine and saw what the problem was, took care of that quick
I have lots of 6 axel units, in fact almost all mine are 6 axel. I Pretty close to atleast 1 of everything. The SD7-SD24 should go through just fine the wheel base is shorter. I don’t know anything about the Bachman C40-8s but I have a trio of Atlas ones and they run just fine through a 16 inch curve. Well, accutally they derail there, but its becuase of the gauge right there. Alot of engines have problems. Kato units should be just fine. Most Equipment comes with the minimum radius marked somewhere on the box
i have another question. are there functioning radial steering trucks on any HO AC4400CW? or is that too hard to replicate in such a small scale?
sounds like Kato is the way to go if i want the best HO scale SD45 money can buy. all the Katos come with DCC, right?
I have seen no ‘radial self steering’ trucks on HO models that work. Current Kato production is ‘DCC Ready’ - there is a plug/socket for a decoder to be added. Kato has another like(Kobo) that has a Digitrax sound decoder factory installed. This is available on selected AC4400/F40PH/SD38-2 models.
Jim