I am trying to run a proto PRR loco(HO) and 3 passenger cars (70’)athern on an 18" radius. The loco runs fine-very heavy. The cars skip off here and there-very light. I’m thinking that adding weight to the cars might help. Trackwork is ok. I run many other trains (shorter) with no problems. How and what do I use to add the weight… All help appreciated.
Tom
Is it the first car that derails – if so, perhaps the coupler on the locomotive cannot swing far enough and it pulls the front truck off the tracks. there are many locomotives out there that can take an 18" radius curve by themselves but as soon as they are coupled to other cars or locomotives, there are troubles.
You didn’t say if the Athearn cars are their streamlined cars with two-axle trucks or the heavyweight cars with 3 axle trucks. The heavy weight trucks are rigid and react poorly to uneven track so when you say your track is “OK” – the problem might still be the track rather than the cars. Are they free rolling? Have you lightly lubricated the bearings?
The NMRA standards for HO are one ounce PLUS 1/2 ounce per inch of carbody length. The Athearn cars are I think actually 73 or so feet long – about 10 inches. So I figure that to be about 6 ounces per car.
Have you experimented to see if more weight helps? If you have a small beanbag or something that would sit on the car without scratching it. Or lightly pressing a finger on the car when it reaches the place where it derails.
If they do need more weight my experience is that weight centered over the trucks is best and it needs to be balanced, so the car does not lean or tilt to one side or the other. I use sheet lead but it has health hazards. People use all sorts of stuff: washers, nuts, nails, pennies.
Fortunately Adair shops sells weights that are intended for specific models. http://www.adairshops.com/ Adair has one weight for the heavyweight prototypes and one for the streamliners.
To be frank even without seeing your layour or your cars – these cars have operated on 18" radius curves for years and years and I suspect the track. But if the weight solves
If your cars have the Athearn weights, that is not the problem. Check the wheel guage on every axle. Many Athearn wheels are out of guage. If you are not using Kadees or other knuckles, change them. The X2F has bad side forces even in forward. Make sure all the couplers swivel freely. It sounds like either wheels or a coupler hanging up. or check the track. Athearn cars and 4 axle diesels are fine with 18" .
Hi tfer
I am not familiar with the stock you mention.
However 70’ coaches on 18" curves sounds like you might have too tight curves for the coaches so they climb the rail rather than following it.
Others have suggested checking the track first this is a good idea and make sure its good
Then check couplers and wheels.
If you decide weight is still an issue, replace existing plastic wheels, if that’s what they are with suitable metal wheels as the first port of call this gets the weight down where its needed
If thats not enough weight then add it at the next lowest point.
regards John
Another thing to try, gently push the cars through the curve by themselves to see if there is sufficient swing for the trucks and then coupled together to see if the couplers have sufficient swing.
Good luck
Paul
I have received all the replys and appreciate them greatly. Here is what I’ve done to date
Cars are derailing on a very slight curve going into a straight bridge track. They are streamliners with plastic wheels. I have put a level to the spot where they skip off and track is level. I have checked the track with NMRA guage and spacing is perfect. The odd thing is that if i let one of these cars go on its own they zoom around my layout like a bat out of you know where. It is just this one spot that they skip off. I got some lead auto weights in 1/4oz that are adhesive. There is no place on the underside to stick them to. I can’t find a seam on the car to try to open it so I could put the weights inside. I know there has to be a way to get inside. All my other freight cars,etc about 50’ have no trouble. I am really disappointed because I run two sets on my layout and I wanted one of them to be a passenger train.
Frustated-Tom
Tom, the wonderful “HOSEEKER” websirte has diagrams to all the Atheran kits (and other makes as well) so it should help in figuring out how the shell comes off the frame
here is the link to the passenger car page
http://hoseeker.net/AthearnPassengerCarsInst/streamlinedcoach1975.jpg
Dave Nelson
Weight, while it may work, fixes the symptoms and not the underlying cause(s). From the above, I am understanding that all the Athearn passenger cars derail in the same place, and nowhere else. And that none of your other cars are having trouble.
This information suggests that is the combination of the properties of the Athearn trucks and/or car body length, combined with an irregularity in the track, that is causing the derailments. I would suggest the most likely track irregularities (you have checked the track gauge and level across the rails in spots) is a slight dip or bump in one of the rails or a horizontal misalignment at a rail joint. The irregularity will be slight, just enough to be beyond the tracking ability of the Athearn trucks.
Try pushing a car very slowly through the suspect area by hand to determine exactly where the wheels consistently climb a rail. As the wheel climbs the rail, see if
When I was a kid, my dad used fishing weights inhis railroad cars. He would give one of us kids a hammer and some of the weights and let us go outside and pound 'em flat. Great fun! (Until you hit your [tup] ) Then he would help the other kid count out and weigh (in Mom’s food-portion scale) the flat weights, then Elmer’s Glue them along the centerline, near the trucks, inside the cars. Alas I do not remember how he got the bottom out of the cars.
This is a reply to all the people that sent me suggestions. Thank you all! I finally discovered that there was a slight hump in the track caused by a very tight fit at the joint. I removed the two tracks and replaced them with two new tracks making sure to leave a little room for expansion and now my problem seems to be solved. All trains are running well!!! Another victory for the forum gang
Tom