A little while ago I posted about the trucks on my recently purchased Con Cor HO Heavyweight cars catching on a crossmember and causing the car to derail. A problem that i have yet to fix.
Well I just received a Walthers HO Platinum Line 30’ wood caboose that I purchased on line and it has a similar problem. The truck wheels and the truck frames catch on the steps when turning the trucks. This happens on both ends. I haven’t tried it on my layout yet but there is very little room for the trucks to rotate and I have 18" curves.
The only way i can see to fix this is to either remount the trucks closer to the center of the caboose or to file material away on the corners of the steps. I already tried adding a washer on the truck mount with no success.
To me this is unacceptable that I should have to make such modifications to a brand new product.
Adding a washer will put your couplers out of alignment.
LION has that problem all of the time, but then him runs a subway train, and they snag on the third rail. LION does what MTA does: he cuts that steps off!
As for you: they should work, but they do need to wear in a bit, wear off any flash or burs that may be upon the casting. This is normal with all new equipment. They always work better after you put some miles on the.
Once around my layout is nine scale miles, and it does need more than that. I find that equipment needs to run about 50 scale miles to properly run in. Of course if it will not run on your curves you may need to make adjustments to the castings. The passenger cars are marginal for 18" radius track, and if the Platinum Line caboose is made close to actual specifications, it too may be marginal for 18".
18" is for toy trains, although subways have no trouble with it. LION keeps his curves 24" +
The problem with the wheels not clearing the steps on anything but straight track or a very wiiiide radius curve is a known issue with that Walthers caboose.
In an article in the current (March, 2012) issue of Model Railroader, Jim Six shows a solution to that problem with the Walthers 30-foot caboose: he cut the underframe into a couple of pieces and moved the bolster farther in from the ends to get the required clearance.
I’ve done that before with that caboose and it works well. It’s not a difficult modification to make.
I agree with Lion that adding an unnecessary washer will just put your couplers out of alignment causing a new problem—uncoupling trains!
I had the same problem with a Bachmann Loco. THe molded on steps of the F series would catch going backwards into the diverging switch.
SO my choice would be to cut them down to where they don’t catch.
[8-|]
Oh, and it may be frustrating to have to modify somehting brand new…but that happens all the time…it is even more frustrating when it is an eratic loco one must adjust or send back to the manufacturer to set right. [;)]
In my limited experience a preassembled engine or piece of rolling stock is sort of a partially finished kit. It seems like everything needs some modification for what I use it for. I love brass steam engines and it takes hours to get them to run on my 18 inch curves, but they all do, sort of. Maybe that is why Micromark sells so many files and cutting tools.
This has been an issue with the Walther’s cabooses for a while. I ended up trimming the backside corners of the steps with an X-acto knife and file to give the trucks a little more rotational leeway.
In case nobody has said it already - Welcome to the forums!
I also have a pair of the Walthers cabooses and I noticed the tight truck spacing right out of the box. I also have not run them on my layout (because my layout doesn’t exist yet! (Soon!!!))
My suggestion would be to first verify that there is an actual problem on your 18" curves. If they stay on the track then obviously there isn’t a problem even though space is tight.
If there is a problem someone has already suggested shaving a bit off of the offending steps as a way to gain a little more pivot room. It might not take much, but if it looks like the steps will be destroyed in the process then you have three choices left:
Move the bolsters
Return the cabooses to Walthers with appropriate negative comments, or
Make it into a yard office![swg]
I totally agree with you that a new product right out of the box should track properly, especially at today’s prices. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to hold true in the real world. It is kind of like having to get a wheel alignment on a brand new car. How loud would you scream then?!?
For HO scale, 18-inch curves are considered borderline. I know, because I use them on my layout.
I have a set of Rivarossi passenger cars. They are designed to run on 18-inch curves, but they do so grudgingly. At one point, I reconfigured a curve and couldn’t figure out why the cars kept derailing, until I put a Ribbon Rail gauge on the track and discovered I’d nudged just below 18-inch radius. I tore it up and did it again. Still, I’ve also clipped some parts from the underside of those cars.
I have to say you have been really unlucky to have 2 out of 2 purchases have an issue. I have one 18" curve on my layout and it is where I find all the problem children. Don’t loose heart there is alot of good stuff out there. You will soon learn the brands you trust.
for those who have not noticed, prototype cabooses usually have the bolsters farther inboard than regular freight cars. this enables the trucks to clear the steps.
cabooses built from flat cars sometimes have the bolsters in the original position but they do not have the same type of steps found on other cabeese. they use more of a ladder style step.
I ran into the same problem with the Walthers cabooses. I trimmed the inside corner of the steps to make enough clearance. Had the article about cutting the frame and moving the bolsters closer to the center of the car, I probably would have done that. As it is, the trimmed steps are barely noticeable.
I have stoped buying Walthers rolling stock for the same reason. I have had to modify most Walthers cars I have & for the money they want this is unexceptable. I have a set of four Flexi van spine cars that needed the lower lip of there center beam trimed off & the hitch boxes notched just to handel a 24" radius. That’s just $30 of sad design.
Well, I’ve had similar situations as you describe, and of course the problem is running equipment designed for wide radius curves on “too small” radius track. With a couple of Walthers passenger cars I’ve had to cut away some of the inside undercarriage just so they could easily go thru my smallest radius of 25 1/2 inches. And, I did a similar filing from the stairway of a Walthers caboose.
The fact is, if you bring all this back to prototype size, the “real” cars couldn’t have navigated the equivilent of an 18 inch HO curve.
Soooo, Walthers has a choice they make - do they cut back cars so they can operate on small radius track and sacrifice the model’s authenticity - OR - do they make it an accurate representation and let it only run on “prototypically correct” size curves?
Personally - just my opinion and not an arguement starter - larger passenger cars have no business on small radius track - due to the unsightly overhang, and the propensity for derailments. But, that’s just my opinion - and everyone can do their RR as they wish.
I encountered this problem this weekend, but with another vendor. I bought an Athearn 33,000 gallon LPG tank car ($27 bucks at the hobby shop). When I got home, I immediately replaced the couplers with Kadee #5 (like I do with all my rolling stock). Since Athearn is now using metal wheels with metal axles, I didn’t have to change them.
I put it on the layout and was dismayed when it derailed on my 18" curve. Yes, this is currently the looongest rolling stock I have but was surprised it wouldn’t take the curve. So, after surveying the situation, I discovered that there were 2 pins/lugs/stops on the underside of the frame in front of each truck that limited movement. So, here I am: grinding down metal lugs/pins on a brand new, out of the box rolling stock that hasn’t even made one lap around the layout. Lesson learned - no more long cars. Which is kind of disheartening, I had hoped to add some center beam cars with loads, but these are even longer.
I don’t know, I agree that using a long car on a short curve probably isn’t a good idea, certainly not a realistic one if you have to do your modeling exactly to the “T” with your “i’s” dotted. my thought would be to add additional weight. Gravity has shown me that weight holds the track better. Do not be afraid to add a shim and a washer or two. Use a Kadee overset coupler to check your heights with a # 205 height gauge. If you have to raise your car height you can probably lower your coupler height with a shim. It’s a little kitbashing, but that’s why it’s model trains. Innovation is what’s made this hobby what it is. If the coupler is catching, bend it up a little carefully with a needle nosed pliers.
Indeed, look how there was a market for “shorty” passenger cars. Utterly non prototypical, but they worked on our tight curves. When Walthers first came out with their streamline passenger cars they just blew the Athearn cars out of the park. Detail was so much better, running characteristics etc. all superior. Not one of them would navigate my layout without modification. There are often great compromises made to allow prototypical equipment to run on non-prototypical radius curves. Blind drivers on a steamer, talgo style couplers, you name it. Having to make minor modifications to equipment, and accepting the limits of our own layouts is all part of the hobby.