Intermountain Bathtub Gondolas

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I bought 2 more Intermountain Bathtub Gondolas yesterday from one of the LHS. I’ve had frustrating experiences in the past with them but thought I would try more. Took them home, put them on the track. They ran fine on straight track but “stuck” immediately on curves…22 Radius. I then took the trucks off to install a Kadee red/orange washer figuring they had the same problem as IM cylindrical covered hoppers…no luck…plus…the truck screws stripped. Back to the LHS today…got some longer screws for the trucks…talked to the ownner…turns out the problem is with the truck wheels on the inside hitting the “ears” of the Kadee coupler covers already installed. Sliced off the ears with an exacto knife and presto…they ran fine around curves.

I guess IM does not have curved track at their factory of must have rather larger radii.

Anyone else have this problem and is there anything else I should look for. They are also extremely light and while I do not have scales yet, I was told 2 ounces of weight should do the trick.

Many thanks in advance to any responses, tips and/or suggestions.

Max

2

In my experience, it’s very unusual for any Intermountain product to have a problem, but their covered hoppers are about the only things I have purchased. I use IM wheelsets to replace plastic whenever possible because they roll very well.

3

I’ve had that problem with a lot of my rolling stock, so it may not be just IM. It’s just one of thoes things you learn as you go a long… Glad you got it fixed. Joey