This caboose is only 5 inches from end to end (NOT including the couplers). It also derails more than other rolling stock.
That calculates to only three ounces. It now weighs 2.6 ounces. Will that last 0.4 Oz. make much of a difference? This car has new Proto 2000 trucks that are in gauge. Original Roundhouse couplers though. Using code 83.
At the end of the train it should derail LESS since it really doesn’t have the forces on it that a car in the middle of the train do. If you have a pusher coupled on behind it, all bets are off.
I’d look for what’s causing the derailments - it’s not the weight, not when it’s tail-end charlie. There have been reports of P2K wheels being bad - check them carefully with a magnifier. None of the ones I have were ever defective, but a few months ago there was a wheel thread and peopel siad they had bad ones. How about the truck scres, are both in tight or do you have it so there is a proper 3 point suspension, where one truck can tilt a bit and the other just swivels? Are either of them TOO tight, so they don’t swivel freely?
I’d consider MORE than NMRA weight for a caboose, it helps keep the slack strechted out nicely. But that’s NOT why it derails all the time. Somethign else is wrong.
If it’s made like the old Roundhouse caboose kits, there are two plastic tabs sticking down fromt he body into slots in the metal underframe, unless they used CA on it it should lift off. Of course I am thinking about the sort-of Northeast style center cupola kits they used to make, the truss body end cupola one is all plastic, I have one somewhere but I forget how the body attaches to the underframe.
–Randy
OK Randy, I do not use a pusher but the trucks are both loose (car wobbles). The screws are both tight but the trucks remain loose. There is a ladder on both ends that is glued to the top and the frame so I assume the shell wasn’t meant to come off. I ran a #11 blade on the seam and it sure seems to be glued all the way around.
Lets suppose that we want to make one truck “less loose”. It could be the screw bottoming out or the boss that holds the truck is too high. I seem to remember way back when I filed down that boss on another car and I ruined it.
One of the things you should do is determine WHERE it is derailing. Is it the same place, the same two or three places, or all over the layout? There may be something in a track joint or in a turnout that is causing the problem.
What about the car in front of the caboose? Is it a long car? If you have a short caboose that is coupled to a long car, the coupler swing of the long car could be pulling the caboose off the track on a curve.
Both wobbling is ok, preferable to one or both being too tight. If it sits level the caboose won’t wobble too much. Again, it is VERY unlikely that this would be the cause of the derailments.
–Randy
I’d have to disagree about the weight issue: if the train is of any length, slack action can cause a caboose to derail, especially if it’s too light.
Bruce, your calculation for rolling stock weight is off just a bit. The NMRA recommends one ounce plus 1/2 ounce for every inch of length - your 5" caboose should weigh 3.5 ounces, and that missing .9 oz. is a substantial part of what the weight should be. Like Randy, I prefer cabooses to be heavier than recommended, although I do run pushers on occasion.
To tighten the screws for the trucks, remove both screws and both trucks, noting first the approximate amount by which the mounting bosses are too high. Use a file to gradually remove the excess material, checking frequently to ensure that you don’t remove too much. With the truck in place, the mounting boss should be slightly recessed below the mounting point in the truck bolster. When you tighten the screws, the trucks should not swivel until you back the screws out appropriately. (When the mounting boss is too high, you have no adjustment available for truck swivel.) While you have the trucks unattached, check that they pivot easily on the mounting boss - if not, use your X-Acto blade to ream the mounting hole in the truck.
There is no car that can’t be disassembled. Use a new blade to carefully slice the joint between the end platforms and the bottom of the ladders, then slip the blade between the inside edge of the body and the underbody. You may have to rock it back and forth to force the blade completely through the joint, but it should become much easier once you do. Take care that the blade doesn’t slip or break off.
There is a possibility that the underbody is an integral part of the body shell - in this case, the roof should be remov
Who manufactured the car? I had a 2-pack of Walthers’ cabooses, and the truck journals would hit the backside of the steps when going through curves. I little trimming with a knife, and all was good.
Bruce, with the trucks being new this is unlikely but still possible. Check to see if the flanges line up in the truck.
In the picture both wheels set are in gauge, but flanges are not in a line front to rear, will pick a switch in a NY second. One thing I have learned in life, just because it is new, does not mean it’s not broken.
On the truck being lose, have you tried a shorter screw?
Have you checked trip pin height? I have had more than one low one that caused problems.
On the caboose being to lite, I have a few that I did not add weight to and they will derail pretty easy. I now bring all the caboose’s up to the weight stranded.
I all so second Marline suggestion on checking the underside of the caboose to make sure the wheels, or trucks are not hitting anything causing the derailment problem. I have read a few post about this happening on passenger cars and I have had the problem on 6 round house bulkhead flat cars. I all so assuming the Proto trucks are not stranded equipment for the caboose.
Good Luck and keep us posted.
Cuda Ken
Are all the wheels rolling freely? Are the wheels in guage?
My cabeese all weigh 5 oz, weight added as needed. It definitely can benefit the stabillity at the end of a train, (assuming a trouble-free car to begin with),
Or if you want to approach it empirically, if it’s the same truck, front or rear, that always derails ont eh caboose, take one wheel set in that truck and flip it over. P2K wheels are metal on a plastic axle so it makes no difference which wheel is on which side of the truck, there are no insulation issues. That little tweak may be all that’s needed.
–Randy
Sorry for getting in so late in the process, but have you ruled out a low coupler? I’ve had several of these on RTR cars right out of the box. This could also be a problem if there is a dip in the track. I’m assuming that no other cars derail at the same spots.
Have you put the caboose in the middle of the train to see if the same things happen?
Hope this advice is not too far off base, but I’ve learned that there is so much that factors into good model railroading.
Len S
OK folks, Ken said to keep you posted so here are the results so far.
It is a Roundhouse RTR. The undercarriage came off, with the ladders attached, when I removed both trucks at the same time. The supplied weight was glued to the bottom of the caboose casting. The roof separated with a gentle twist. I added two- 1/4 Oz. pieces of lead above each of the truck centers. The glue is still setting on the roof and cupola. I will put it all back together and file the truck bosses to minimize the wobble and check the coupler trip pin height.
Many, many thanks to all of you.
Happy thanksgiving!!
[dinner]
[pi]
[^]
[B]
[Y] We need a Turkey faces.
Ken
Save the neck for me, Clark! [(-D]
Wayne
Only file down one of the bosses NOT both. You want one truck to be able to float freely, the other should be limited to just swivelling.
It won’t hurt to file down both, though, as it’s the amount that the screw is tightened which controls the looseness of the truck. There are cars which have no bosses on the body bolsters, and the trucks still perform as intended when the screws are properly adjusted.
Wayne