Hello:
Just a couple quick questions. I finally got my mainline track laid last night. I could not resist, so I hooked up my power supply and ran some trains. A couple of questions on N Scale cars:
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I bought (6) Exact Rail BNSF Grain Hoppers. I love the look. The question is One (1) of the cars likes to wobble a bit. Is there something I should be looking for?, do wheel sets come lopsided sometimes? In that case, I was planning on buying metal wheel sets anyways.
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One (1) of my grain Hoppers is constantly derailing, and it’s only that car. Is there a reason for this?, what should I check for?
Thank you,
Mike
Well, check the wobbler for loose trucks and it is possible there is a wheel out of round though I have never experiienced that even with cheapo plastic wheels. It also may be a bit top heavy and is exaggerating the bumps.
As for the second issue with the derailer, get yourself an NMRA gage if you don’t already have one and check the spacing of the wheels. The reason everyone of my derailing cars has derailed without it being the track, which more than likely is not the problem because you said it’s only that one car. Also, make sure the coupler moves side to side freely on both the car and the car it is attached to.
Others will follow with more possibilities I’m sure.
I run HO but I some times get the wobble and it almost always caused by gunk on the wheels. So see if you have any on your wobbly car’s wheelset.
Todd did a good job answering your questions with similar advice to what I would have given.
I will say that running trains as soon as the track is layed is the best thing to do. Run them, run them, run them. Use all your locos and cars, go both directions, back up. All these check your trackwork and will help you seperate track problems from rolling stock problems.
Though I haven’t gotten to ballasting yet, I understand it is best not to ballast long sections at a time. By doing shorter sections, if you should mess up electrical connections, you don’t have to search as far or tear up as much finished work.
Have fun,
Richard
Harmonic rocking can cause problems in a model. Have you ever seen a real RR car rocking side to side as it goes down the track?
As mentioned, CHeck the wheel guage to be sure it is correct.
Replace plastic wheels with metal one {which can also be out of guage- especially if molded onto plastic axles}.
Being only One does it, I woudl think your trackwork is probably fairly good and not the problem.
Check the truck tightness as well.
You may have a spot of track that is bowed causing derailments {even if only for one car as others may “tolerate it”}.
Also you may want to add some weight to the bottom of the rocking car to help stabilize it.
as a last resort, just throw it out or save for parts or a static dispay at a RR customers siding. It’s not worhtthe agrivation if the others work well.
On the problem car, make sure the axle ends are properly seated and the wheels spin freely without any visible wobble.
Good luck
Paul