Ran into a problem with a pair of P2K Heritage 0-8-0 steamers I finally put on the tracks that I’d had for a long time. I know about the tender wheels derailing when going tender first because the tenders are light. The solution is to add more weight to the tender. I did that. Put the engines on the layout and ran them through some switchwork to verify operation. Where I ran into a problem was with the front axle of the front tender truck riding up over the point rails about half way through the turnout. The wheels were not picking the points.
What I saw was that the front tender truck was actually being held up slightly off the rails. The front truck screw was just tight enough to let the truck swivel. What I had to do was to fiddle with the drawbar coupling between the engine and the tender. Apparently the drawbar assembly was at enough of an angle to affect things. As soon as I straightened things out, I could go through, forwards, backwards, engine first, tender first with no problems.
Jack, I have found that with other types and brands of engines, too. For example, the Hornby/Rivarossi H-8 Allegheny as an adjustable towbar that uses a very short plastic pin through holes drilled along the metal shank. At the end is a plastic two-tined clamp that slips around a towing pin on the tender. The clamp is very tight and secure, so tight that if it is tilted upward or downward by more than two or three degrees it affects the pivoting and even the changes in attitude when entering grades. My front tender truck was derailing until I figured out this problem.
Linn Westcott’s classic definition of RTR was, “Ready to rework.”
With today’s better quality of RTR models, that can be changed to, “Ready to (re)adjust.”
Some day I might actually acquire a ready-to-run model that DOESN’T require inspection, lubrication and minor fiddling before it’s ready for unlimited operation. I hope my heart will be able to stand it!
Yes, and at dead slow speeds on dc. I was lucky in that I was sitting in a chair that put me at eye level with the track so I got a good luck at what was happening. I hadn’t tried it on the #6’s since I had the problem with the #4’s. I gather you had that happen on your #4’s as well.
You know, the problem, as you correctly point out, is the drawbar. I have two of these locos and the proto-typical drawbar “distance” that is allowed between the loco and the tender is just too precise to allow smooth sailing.
If you have any older steamers, you might find some drawbars with two position points, to allow the user to choose which distance works smoothly on his layout. But that is not proto-typical.
I also found that the very nice sanding lines detailing on these locos hooked up on my Atlas Code 83 18" radii snap switch motors. I am afraid I snipped the lines rather than pull up my switches and rerouting my layout.
Yepper. That and a couple of other shorting issues with other locomotives convinced me to abandon the Atlas #4s an install Fast track 4.5s and 5s instead. I’m still in the process of wiring them up so I haven’t had a chance to test them yet. I don’t expect any problems though.
The problem with the drawbar wasn’t so much the length as the horizontal ability to move. There must be some type of spring in there to accomodate up and down play and that’s what seemed to be messed up. After I fiddled around with that, all’s well. If it acts up again, I’ll take the springs (?) out and just allow the drawbar assembly to float on it’s own.