One Useful Way to Troubleshoot Derailment Issues...

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hey guys, I don’t know if anyone has ever used this method, but if not, I would highly recommend you guys to try it out!

Derailments are a common issue with modelers who

a. have lots of track issues

b. like to run large engines on tight radiuses(spell?)

There are numerous ways of troubleshooting these issues, but pretty much, it could be broken down into 2 simple steps: Finding what’s causing the issue, and Solving the issue.

These problems could vary, like unbalanced drivers, not enough weight in the engine(or rolling stock), a kink(or other issue) in the tracks, wheels out of gauge, etc.

Sometimes, what’s causing the issue is the hardest of the two steps. Seeing the train derail with the naked eye can sometimes be frustrating and ineffective. Instead, I found that recording the engine derailing in slow-motion really helps me determine what is causing the issue.

Example: My Bachmann K4s was always derailing in this one switch. I ran it over around 15 times, but my naked eye could never quite catch what the issue was. So I pulled out my phone and recorded it in slowmotion. After replying the video, I found out the front coupler trip pin was catching on the switch rails. I bent the trip pin slightly, and that fixed the issue entirely.

Low quality video(slowmotion tends to be filmed in low quality on my phone)

Recording a derailment in slowmotion only takes a minute, and in my experiences, makes the troubleshooting process a whole lot easier.

Just trying to share an idea!

Questions, criticism and comments are welcome!

Charles

2

Radii

Hi Charles:

Using a video camera is a great idea!

We had an issue at the club recently where a six axle diesel would jump the track at one spot. Several of us watched it derail over and over again but we couldn’t see a problem with the track. Eventually we were able to pinpoint the exact spot where the front wheel was lifting but it took us the better part of an hour (and some decidedly nasty language). I’m sure we all had cell phones in our pockets the whole time.[D)][(-D][(-D]

FWIW, one rail had a very slight rise in it immediately before a joint between two modules, so the front wheel on the other rail was hitting the joint in mid air.

That example also says a lot for sighting along your tracks. From the side, the rise was invisible, but when looking down the track it became more apparent.

Thanks,

Dave

3

Gidday Charles, a good use of technology that I wouldn’t have thought of; Well Done!
However, I would like to think that use of my Kadee coupler gauge would have eliminated that problem before it became one.[;)][:D]

Cheers, the Bear.[:-^]

4

Or in my case a old fashion NMRA gauge.

5

This could turn into an excellent thread on troubleshooting derailment issues.

One thing that I will point out is that not all derailment problems begin and end with the derailment. They all end with the derailment but they often begin well in advance of the derailment site. So, the key is to begin your observations down the track, so to speak.

In my experience, a lot of my derailments over the years have occurred on kinks on curves (solution: solder the rail connections in the curves), on track leading into turnouts (solution: straight the track where it enters the turnout), and on turnouts (solution: level and stabilize the turnout).

Good thread, Charles. [Y]

Rich

6

Yep, I agree with Bear. The pins are the first thing I check. Uusually bend them up slightly, and if the end looks like it’s pointing up, I nip it off. Back in the horn hook days, I usually always nipped off the pin, as I never had anything I needed to auto-uncouple.

Nice idea, with the camera. I don’t know if my flip phone has slow mo ! [(-D]

Mike.

7

Couldn’t agree with this statement more. Just because the loco or rolling stock REVEALS the derailment in a certain area or section of track, doesn’t mean the derailment is occuring there. I had a 6 axle loco that was actually derailing 6 feet back before it revealed itself. The other thing that baffled me…all of my other 6 axle locos had NO problem traveling throught this area and didn’t derail, even the same manufacturer. I think it’s because this is the second run of this loco model and maybe there isn’t enough play between the truck and the frame to allow them to move/shift through the location (it’s a curve on a rise that has a rail joint at the top where it begins to level out, an engineering issue that won’t happen the on next construction/build).

I used to have this issue, I just cut off the trip pin altogether.

8

How does one view the video in slow motion on a phone? Mine is an iphone 7.

9

Charles,

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Thank you for the post. I will add this to my troubleshooting tool kit.

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-Kevin

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