I’m having problems with some 6-axle locomotives jumping a curved switch on my layout. I have a Code 100 Peco Streamline right-turnout positioned at the end of a 24’’ radius curve and at the bottom of the slope. The mainline actually continues through the diverging track to the right of the turnout which continues the last part of the curve. However, some 6-axle locomotives are running through the switch and going straight or to the left instead of going to the right the way the switch is thrown. The speed doesn’t seem to make a difference and I’ve soldered the rail joints to make them as smooth as possible.
I’m wondering if I should change to a more curved switch like a Peco Setrack since I have almost the same scenario on the other side of the layout wih one of those without the same problem. The only diffrence there is that turnout is left-handed.
Is the locomotive derailing at the frog? If you can slide the engine through by hand, slide it through with the engine truck held against the stock rail that is on the side in the intended direction of travel. See if it derails.
Then do the same thing except hold the truck against the stock rail on the other side. See if it derails.
I’ve found that all of my PECO code 100 turnouts have excessive clearance between the stock rails and the guard rails. I’ve corrected this by gluing (ACC) a small plastic shim to the guard rail to close up the clearance.
Other things you should check are that the wheels are in gage, nd that you don’t have some sort of hump where the turnout sits at the bottom of the slope.
I had to re-do the trackwork several times around one Peco curved turnout. The problem was not in the turnout itself, but with the joints between the Peco code 100 turnout and the adjacent Atlas code 100 flex track. Because of differences in the rail profiles and the desire of the flex track to spring back to straight, I had a very hard time getting a smooth transition, even when I soldered the joints. I ended up using a short piece of fixed-radius, curved sectional track to mate with the Peco rail on one side and the Atlas on the other.
I’d also be suspicious of a turnout coming off an incline. If the transition from slope to flat is too abrupt, a long engine might “float” on one end as the weight holds the leading edge of the engine up until the center of gravity passes the tipping point where the track sections come together. Then, the trailing edge will float as the locomotive rocks to the new track orientation.
Thanks for the suggestions! The gauge checks out on everything but I am experience something similar to the Atlas Code 100 flex track. The Locos are not derailing at the frog but at the points where it jumps or runs right through them. I will re-check all wheel clearances though. Thanks again.
just a guess but it sounds like your engines don’t have all their feet on the ground at the same time. this can be the result of high spots in your track work or perhaps a warped or twisted truck on the locomotive. maybe the center axle is riding lower that the others.
try setting the engine on a perfectly flat surface, like a piece of plate glass, at eye level and then go around with a thin flat object like a feeler gauge and slip it under each wheel one at a time. i have no 6 axle diesels but i found this problem with some expensive brass 6 wheel passenger car trucks.
also, take a flexible straight edge like a metal scale ruler and check the trackwork a few inches at a time buy laying it edgewise on the top of the rail and get your nose right down close and see if there are any high or low spots. if you can see daylight between the edge of the ruler and the top of the rail, you might have a problem.
you might also want to check to see that the trucks are loose enough on the bolsters so they can tip, swivel and rock enough to get through small irregularities in the track. i find this to be a common problem with freight cars in that even with the wheels properly spaced on the axle, all it takes if for a truck mounting screw to be a little too tight and they won’t track well. sometimes the king pins bind a little too.
Hi, I had a similar problem with some of my Peco turnouts, but I doubt it applies only to them.
It turns out that if someone clumsily drops one, (Who? Me?), and it hits (rail-end-on) something solid, that rail can get pushed back into the switch a bit. The rail-to-rail clearances looked ok, but looking carefully at the milled notch in the stock rail revealed that the point rail now was not seating into the notch properly. This caused a pinch of the wheels trying to pass thru the switch, and will give you just what you describe: plowing thru the switch rather than turning to follow the rails. To some extent, it happened in both directions, but mostly going point-to-frog, and mainly while diverging. You can get the same effect by tapping another rail section against the turnout, or by having other rails without gaps to allow for thermal expansion that push on the turnout.
The fix is easy; just tap it back to restore the seating, and allow for some small gaps at your rail joints. The rail ends should be pretty even at all 3 ends of the turnout. When you’re happy with what you see, drop a bit of CA glue at a couple of spots to hold the rail to the ties so it won’t creep in future.