ATLAS GP-38 PROBLEMS

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

hi guys

Does anyone have any problems running an Atlas GP38 over a peco code 100 dbl slip?

I have a few trains on my layout (Bachmann, Athern) none of them seem to have any trouble getting through but when I try to go over it with this Atlas it seems to be getting caught on guide rail right at the"V" of the frog. Are these wheel sets slightly thicker than the others or do you think there is something more sinister going on?

Any thoughts or suggestions

I have checked the track and wheel sets and they are in gauge !

2

I don’t have that exact combination, but I do have an Atlas GP38 that I consider the most reliable diesel on my layout.

It does negotiate the following specialty tracks with no problems: Walthers Shinohara Code 83 Double Slip and Peco Code 83 Crossing.

But, I don’t have a Peco Code 100 double slip, so I cannot say if that is a problem with the Atlas GP 38.

Rich

3

The most common problem with Peco code 100 and also some of their code 75 is the flange way gaps being too wide. I do not have any double slips but I have many code 100 turnouts on my portable modules. Just about all of them have a .015 styrene shim glued to the guard rails to close the gap and keep the opposite wheel from picking the frog point. Peco builds their non code 83 to the British standard of flange way. Remember the old pizza cutter looking wheels? Their wheel flanges are still wider than the NMRA standard.

Another possibility is the truck swing of the GP38. Make sure the trucks swivel and try to eliminate any S curves going through the slip.

Pete

4

Gauge the turnout, gauge your wheels. There is no mystery here guys, something is not in spec. David B

5

Sure there is a mystery here.

Mystery is defined as something that is not fully understood or that baffles or eludes understanding; an enigma:

We have a mystery here.

Perhaps gauging the turnout and the loco wheels will solve the mystery, perhaps not.

Perhaps Pete is closer to the truth than David.

iMaybe the flange way gaps are too wide on the Peco 100 double slip.

Rich.

6

We have three Peco code 100 double-slip switches on our HO scale club layout and no locomotive has ever had a problem going through them. I think the wheels on the locomotive might be out of gauge.