I know what partof the problem is, you folks don’t read all my postings and I cannot blame you. What you folks have missed is I been having great luck with following the tip’s I have been given. In 60 hours of run time I have had only some what of a nasty derail, and it was not that bad either. A 14" Rivarossi passanger car caught tip of a turn out and derailed into a 35 car train and caused a derail of about 4 cars.
Pulled the Rivarossi, rerailed the other and still running great. Have found the passanger car that went the wrong way trucks boster was cleaned up a little off center and there 2 axel mounting points of sorts. My fault, one of the frist trucks I tuned. Have a pair of Atheran’s I will install latter.
I know that most people will remember me making car Air Born and wanting to sell my stuff on E-bay, at this point I am past that and pretty darn pleased with how my junk is running.
Tip on using machine screw’s is what I was looking for. Great idea I have not came across on my own yet. As good as adavcing your cam 2 degrees for better bottom end power. Or reducing your vavle lash a little if the track is hooking well for a better 60 foot time.
Thanks for all the help and I do listen and understand 85% of it now, by far better than a few months ago.
1 All cars I am running are with NMRA standerd’s of weight.
2 All of the trucks I am running roll well.
3 If it derails, sat a side with notes of where it was in the train, where it derailed, what end was in the lead and where it happend on the bench work.
Good Ken, glad to hear it. Most of my comments are meant as smartass anyway, but I am really glad to see you’re not giving up. If y ou don’t give up, you will look back on all this one day and marvel at how much you’ve learned.
Derailments are wheels not following the track.WHY?, is more complicated.
In the case of Rivarossi & IHC, it’s weight, combined with p-poor trucks, talgo couplers; and encountering too-sharp curves. I have 27"radius. (NMRA recommends 36"- 46" for foot-long cars), so I have to pay close attention to Trucks. Best answer for yours is IHC metal trucks (Which were originally designed for Rivarossi cars). Don’t want to spend $25? Too bad. The body is just extruded plastic. It’s the trucks that do all the work.
IHC passenger trucks, adapters, KD #46’s, and A-Line weights add about $35 to $8 cars, but now I can mix them in with $50-$60 walthers and BLI’s, and they run.
(Gulp!) I have three MDC Harriman cars, one of which is a baggage care, and it will NOT stay on the tracks. I can’t figure it out, but I am sensing that the answer is weight. In any event, I got a reasonable deal from Internet Hobbies earlier when they were flogging the Walthers heavyweight sleepers, and I am very impressed with the three cars that I could afford at the time. I wish I had more, but I will be patient. Still, the figure you quote above makes those heavyweights a very good investment, I’m thinking.
I may have to open a package of #46’s next time I’m in the LHS and see, for myself, what the difference might be. I have so much to learn…
Don coming from you “NOW your getting smart” is saying someting. One thing I did miss said is not all the cars are in NMRA weight, that would be the Rivrossi cars. Till I installed the 24" turns I have gave up on them. Plus the FP-45’s with theree chrome coated trucks did not help. (trucks hit the rear ladder in a 18" turn)
Just weight one 14" car and is around 1oz light. Maybe the problem and will figuer it out if it is not.
Not sure what “BLI’s” means?
“Don’t want to spend $25? Too bad.” “The body is just extruded plastic. It’s the trucks that do all the work.”
“IHC passenger trucks, adapters, KD #46’s, and A-Line weights add about $35 to $8 cars, but now I can mix them in with $50-$60 walthers and BLI’s, and they run.”
Not sure how to take that part, POS passangers cars have around 20 hours of run time being pulled with only one derail?
Here is my monto, “people that throw money at a problem waste there money. A Hot Rodder makes some thing that can’t work, and work real fast”![:D] Being a Rodder I really don’t think I need to throw $25.00 at a $8.00 passanger car.
After I get this learing curve don’t be shoocked when I am on the cover of MRR Magazine. Will take a while, I was the grasshooper before but became the master of the old Hobby.
If I can take this.
To this
It should be a cake walk.
Never Give Up, but sure came close like my first tune up, Rail head Ken lea
MDC cars were not 80 footers and if had Delrin truck frames (shiny black) putting in good metal wheels - Jay Bee - NWSL - InterMountain - and adding some weight should solve all problems.
KD #46’s are passenger versions of #5. The whole #40 series are metal #5’s with different shanks.
Now,IF all else fails including weighing your cars there is a simple solution to your problem…Check your track work with a NMRA track gauge and repair as needed or try these trucks IF they are the correct type for your cars.
