This N scale Atlas GP-7 I recently bought has been having some trouble going over turnouts. I check both it and the turnouts with a NMRA gauge but they are fine. After examining the trucks closely, I found that on one side of one truck the frame hangs down over the wheel and is dragging on the rail. This is the first locomotive I have bought and I cannot figure out if/how I can fix this. Have you had trouble with this before, or do you have any suggestions on how to fix this? Below are some photos of my problem.
Here is the problematic truck:
Here is another truck for comparison:
It looks like the Truck side frame assembly is not fully snapped into place. On an N scale locomotive, this can be tricky if you are new to the hobby and have not done anything like this before. Sometimes the truck has to be removed.
I think that you should take it to your local hobby shop or to a model railroad club in your area to get some help.
Once you have done this once, it is simple. It is nice to have the knowledge to completely disassemble and reassemble a locomotive, but sometimes learning this can come with a cost. That cost being not getting the locomotive back together correctly and breaking something in the process.
Not an N scaler but it looks like the truck frames are not secured to the gear case. Check the Atlas rr.com website and go to n scale parts.
http://www.atlasrr.com/pdf/N%20GP-7%20PHASE%201%20LOCO%20CHINA.pdf
Hope this helps
As previously stated your truck frame may not be popped all the way on to the truck itself. I just looked at my Atlas Master series GP9 on the bottom of the trucks are some snap on pieces check to see if they are all the way on.
After looking at the way the truck frames are snapped onto the gear case in the parts list and fiddling with the locomotive a little, it appears as if the frame is fully snapped on. I placed it on the track and it looks a little better, but the problem is still there. The only thing I can think of is that the truck frame was molded wrong and it has a defect. Since I am new to this, I could be totally wrong, but if you have any other ideas to what it could be, please share them.
might be, is your GP a trainman or Master series? could you post a picture of the underside of the truck.
The engine is the Master series. Here is a photo of the underside of the truck:
Hello WW,
If you have not already done this,
For easy trouble shooting reverse the truck frame on the front truck and see if it fits better.
You can also try to swap front and rear truck frames to help determine exactly what is causing this.
Hope this helps
WW,
It looks to me that the truck side frame is warped. If that be the case I WOULN’T mess with it. If you bought it new I would send it back.
Cheers,
Frank
the gear on the forward part of the truck looks like it’s squished against the frame, you may have to send it back. I’m not sure how atlas works when you need replacement parts, I’ve been unable to access their online store.