Can’t get my brass HOn3 engine ( 2-8-2 ) to go thru my ME #6 turnouts. The rolling stock goes thru as well as the tender & my Roundhouse shay. I dont have the NMRA gauge yet, but all of the measurements are good as far as gauge flanges etc. The pilot wheels hesitate & the drivers want to jam & climb between the rail & the guard rail on the frog. Is this a problem common to brass or is there something else wrong? It does it on all 4 turnouts. Thanks, jerry
You might be looking at the drivers being out of gauge. The NMRA gauge will prove valuable when you get it.
Jerry,
What specific model do you have here? There are some brass models where the detail is great, but running quality needs lots of work before they operate well. For instance, I have a couple of Sunset K-class models where the guage of the drivers was wide, a known problem with these models. Some judicious filing at the flanges with the mechanism truning solved that. That said, virtually all HOn3 models are capable of navigating a #6 without issues once they are tuned up.
I’ll also second the motion that you NEED a NMRA gauge. Most likely, there is some small difference from its parameters that is causing the problem. In particular, check the gauge of the turnout right at the points. This needs to be right or you’ll get exactly the problem you describe.
This page lists various conversions that can be made with Locodoc’s kits (I’m a very satisfied customer, because his kit got my Sunset C-25 running like a dream), but also includes many specific tips on problems areas on various brass locos.
Is the mechanism stiff in other respects? I wonder for example if overly tight side rods are preventing some driver sideplay that would help tracking through the #6. I have not worked in Hon3 but I have had similar problems with brass, so much of which is just built to look nice.
Dave Nelson
I’m going to try & answer all the questions. I don’t know the importer of the model. It only says “Made in Japan” it was a gift. It is not tight, runs great on straight track. I measured the gauge & all drivers are within .002 of all my rolling stock & the tender. The flanges on the drivers are thinner than some of my rolling stock. Don’t want to file the frogs & take the chance of the rolling stock falling in. Don’t know where to look next…thanks
Jerry,
I think getting the NMRA gauge on both the wheels and the track at the trouble spot is you best bet here. Not to knock measuring without it as a method, but it’s important to measure againt a set standard, even if your other rolling stock is not having issues.
I agree with you on the gauge. The wheels aren’t even close to fitting thru & I’ve been using a vernier for over 40 years & I know my measurements are accurate,…really has me stumped, but will definitely get the gauge. thanks
Is this one of the old K 27’s that have the rigid fixed trailing truck ? Seems I remember some of the old locos had a long rigid wheelbase that had problems with turnouts.
Sounds to me that the guard rails at the frog are too tight. I had some Atlas 4’s and 6’s that my Athearn BB’s sd40-2’s didn’t like. They would not derail, but they would sort of hesitate. So I used a jewlers flat file and filed a little of the inside of the guard and they work perfect. Don’t have any problem’s with anything thing else, after filing.
Frank
I wish I knew the mfg. but the trailing truck does swivel. The drivers are ridgid with no blind ones, but it doesn’t seem to get far enough into the switch to matter. It binds & wants to climb as soon as the first driver hits the frog.
I have filed mine, but didn’t want to go too far as everything else passes thru with no problem. I have more than a hesitation, it’s a binding & a tendency to want to climb.
I’d caution against any more filing on guardrails, etc until you get a gauge to check against. This could lead to more derailing and shorts through a turnout, as it may allow the wheel on the opposite side to wander off where it shouldn’t be. Kind of hard to describe in print. But you run the risk of getting this one loco through that turnout, while causing problems with other locos and/or rolling stock.
Agree, on hold unti I get the gauge. The irony of it all is this is the Loco that I got as a gift & got me into HMn3 & it’s the only pc. of equipment that doesn’t work on the layout!
Even if the mechanism runs smoothly on straight track I still wonder if the side rods are in some way inhibiting sideplay by the drivers. I wasn’t referring to binding up of the mechanism in my prior post, but whether the side rods are keeping the drivers from normal side to side movement.
Does the engine have the same derailment problems with the turnouts running in reverse?
Dave Nelson
I have the same problem going from each direction with the switch thrown either way. I did notice that there is hardly any side play in the drivers, but I tilted the engine forward so that only the first pair of drivers were on the track & it still was binding. Seems like the measurements are off, but they all check good???
While the drivers may be out-of-gauge, it sounds to me as if there’s insufficient sideplay in them to allow the loco to negotiate the curve. Do you have a similar issue when the loco runs on curved track?
My standard gauge Athearn Mikados have excessive driver sideplay, and while they have no difficulties with turnouts or curves, they sometimes come out of a curve skewed - still on the rails, but with the boiler looking as if it’s entering a curve. [(-D] This usually happens when the loco isn’t working too hard (running light or with a short train).
Wayne
Jerryl
I believe all attempts at giving any kind of tips, to what might be causing it to act the way it does, is here-say, until you get a gauge and measure everything.
What I was referring by hesitate, should have said bind, going through the frog guard rails and the inside flat part of the wheel flange will cause the wheel to climb out of the guard rail and that was what I was experiencing. I would not worry to much of taking to much off, if in fact that is what is causing it. I have not had any problem’s with the one’s I did. Take just a truck with wheels only and push it through and watch what happens. You may have an engine with not much side play and one wheel out of gauge would cause that.
Frank
Jerryl: late reply but you need to do two things. Get nmra hon3 gauge and check the wheel gauge. Other thing is to file with a sharp angled file, the frogs to make them slightly deeper and lightly widen the gap in the guard rail to outside rail. I had to do this even though my engines are in perfect gauge. The fault is in the ME code 70 Hon3 turnouts. We all have that problem with some brass engines.
Bob