bachmann spectrum passanger cars

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I am asking for info on how to be able to run on 24 in.radius track.

2

With the way the couplers are set up, you should be able to run them on 24" radius track. I’ve got the original ones & they do fine. If you have a problem you may have to remove the center wheel set on the 6 wheel trucks. jerry

3

I forget to say I took off orignal swing type and put on body mount.I have replaced with kadee#5. I need to do some thing else.They derail to often.Thanks for help.

4

I’m afraid it’s not going to be easy to get them running on 24" radius curves with body mount couplers. You are trying to run a 12"+ long car around a possibly less-than-perfect 24" radius track. The following is based on the assumption that they ran through your 24" radius curves just fine before the coupler swap out. If they didn’t, the problem could be anywhere, including the track.

  • The first approach I would try is to run 2 cars coupled together very slowly by hand. You are trying to feel for the very slight binding of some type that precedes the wheels climbing over the rails. Pay close attention to the couplers. Are they at the maximum sideways deflection when the derailment occurs? Are the coupler knuckles binding within the other coupler? Are the couplers short enough so that the bodies are actually touching one another at some point? If any of these are yes, you are in luck. Replacement with a longer coupler shank may do the trick. If the longer shank doesn’t relieve the coupler binding, you will have to set up some form of coupler pivoting or truck mounting.

  • After the couplers are cleared of responsibility for the derailments, examine the trucks as they slowly pass through a curve. Are all wheel sets in gauge? Are they all level? Do all the wheels in a truck line up in a straight line? Do the trucks pivot freely? Is one truck mounted tight enough to pivot freely but not rock, while the other can rock slightly? Do the lighting wipers (if installed) prevent the trucks from rolling reasonably freely? Any deviations will cause problems. Weighting the cars to at least 6 ounces will also help. NMRA recommended weight is approx

5

Put the original swing couple boxes back on with KD 5’s or 178’s! My Spectrums make it arount 19" radius & through #4 turnouts - admitedly kinda dumb looking! A few of them may even have McHenrys still, but never had a problem with them derailing.

6

You might try leaving the Kadee coupler box slightly loose so it can swivel as the cars go around the curve and see if that doesn’t stop them from derailing.

Another option would be to move the coupler box further back and use the long shank couplers so they have more sideways swing, provided they don’t interfere with the trucks.