I’ve just recently moved and left the remnants of my 2-level DMIR dream layout. When we got into our new house I decided that I wouldn’t worry about all my big plans, room construction, block wall tunnels into other rooms, etc… I had a 6’ by 10’ layout (built out of 4 2’x6’ sections) that I built 10 years ago in a rental house spare room, that layout survived 3 moves but was never more than the plywood plains. I decided to work on that with some help from my 7 yr old daugther. I started with a river scene and really enjoyed develop realistic terrain. My daugther also enjoyed some of the blacktop roads for cars and moving people around at the beach and campground.
Life is good, right…
I decided it was time to take the 4-axle engines and old boxcars off the mainline that I had allowed my daughter to play with and break out the custom built Missabe SD38’s and my kitbashed SD-M ( for non-DMIR fans chopped nose SD9. I soon found out that I could only run in 1 direction as the six axle units had trouble with a curved turnout, ok, I can deal with this, the railpower shell and chasis are known to bind, I’ll shave off a little and go on. I enjoyed watching my three engine lashup pull 36 ore cars around for awhile. then I decided to finally open some boxes of new engines I hadn’t even broke in, I carefully unpacked an atlas c40-8 that is gorgeous, I immediately put it on the tracks, handrails and details could wait till I got that workbench constructed. This engine also derailled at the same place. now I’m really sad (read p*#%sed off.) I’ve got 6 kato sd-38’s coming and I probably won’t be able to enjoy them either.
Today my thoughts are building material and time to build a new room and layout, there’s some days I think I should … I don’t know I can’t imagine not doing, I guess I’ll put the new power away and enjoy playing with my daughter and my old 4 axle blue box engines.
Thanks for reading my rantings, and sorry if you felt this was a big waste of
If it is any comfort been there, done that. After all by years in the hobby I have had many problems like that. There is a #4 turnout over in back of the water softener that landed there after I took it of the layout. Kept getting derailments on it but could not figure out what was wrong. The replacement turnout (same brand and size) worked good for about the 5 yrs the layout existed.
You seem to have the right idea start working on the new layout.
I’d like to say that this has never happened to me but I’m on my fourth layout and everyone would know better. You may as well go ahead and bite the bullet and pull that switch up and replace it. I wouldn’t start a new layout just because of one switch. I’ve done my fair share of track replacement and always felt better later.
Thanks for reading my topic and helping me some. I wish I had never bought the curved turnout, I remeber it wasn’t cheap, I need to just eliminate it and place a switch in a different spot to get into my power plant. Hmm, I could make switching really interesting, thanks.
I’ve got 3 curved turnouts on my layout and they work fine. Sorry, I KNOW that’s the last thing you needed to hear, guy. Can only ask–what code of track do you use? What’s the brand of the turnout? Check the turnout points to see if they fit flush with the rail, and if not, file them down a bit. What’s the inside and outside radius? Is it FLAT against the roadbed (sounds stupid, but I had one that took bites out of locos until I realized that it was raised a little right over the points–a well-placed rail spike solved the problem). If it helps, my curved turnouts are wide-radius Sinohara code 100, and I’ve had them in place for several years without any glitches (save that one episode with the points). On a lighter note, at least it doesn’t sound like you’ve got a 22-pound Maine Coon Cat that steals your cabeese because she’s convinced that the “Rio Grande” logo actually translates into “Weird-Looking Mouse.” Hey, have a good time with the layout and the layout dreaming, and sorry about the weather (in California, we tend to forget that there are actually portions of the country that experience FOUR different and distinct Seasons). But check that turnout, okay? It might be something really MINOR!
Tom
I had a voodoo turnout once. It was the most innocuous thing ever…a Peco #6(ish). It was identical to every other one I had, and was actually a little smoother (to my fingers) at the pivot, but no matter what, my steam would never ever play nice with it. Lead trucks, trailing trucks, main drivers, something would always go wrong. These were the same steam engines that ran over some of the ugliest and meanest looking temporary yard trackage Ive ever seen (not straight, not flat, not even). I replaced it with another identical Peco, and things have been wonderful ever since. I really can’t explain it, except to say that it hated steam.
Well… I dont know too much about switches but I was given a loop of track on a table as a child once. The track came from a brother’s layout and it was actually worse than protoype sunken branchline track… (Hey we did not have much money… had to reuse the track )
I still distinctly recall my old Tyco GP-20 with the chattanooga markings rock wildly over that track accentuated by the wild shaking and shimmying of the rolling stock which was not visually appealing complete with vertical differences in rail height that threatens to decouple various parts of the train at random spots as it made the trip around the loop.
Mantra of a child… “Please go around the loop one time without anything happening…”
I also have to relate how a friend’s layout is built to exacting tolerances resulting in strong flat trackwork and switches that conforms to grade and etecteral. There are two seasons here in Arkansas… Too Hot and too wet with a brief interlude of spring when everything is just right.
The switches on that layout sometimes meekly accept whatever passes over with NO problem what so ever and reaffirms your feelings as to "WOW THEY ARE GREAT!! WHO NEEDS PECO!!) and the following week turn mean and onery waiting to lasso your big steam and bring the entire thing crashing to the floor. Or picking just the right moment to pick your rolling stock so your train is trying to use both parallel tracks at the same time while staying coupled.
There are days you get very fufilled and satisfied and there are days that are grim and dark filled with plottings of destruction in the name of being able to do what you want to do… very Bi-polar stuff.
You did hit the nail on the head with the desire for fillthy big snow to use a excuse to stay home and plan your next empire.
well, i have a very troublesome Atlas turnout. this exact turnout hates my MLW S3. the S3 rides up the turnout before gravity gets the better of it and pulls it off to the side. luckily it doesn’t flip over consider its a P2K. i sort of find you lucky train_geek. at least you don’t have cats coming into the train room and uprooting trees, or chasing trains! it could be worse. my heaviest cat could jump from my 4X8 to my bed and cause a 3.5 on the rictor scale[(-D]!
I would have to go with CPRail modeler. Yoru luckey! On my layout I had a #6 turnout on my main, It was an Atlas and I found out quick how cheap they really are. When I ran my first train over it rocked and jumped a little but no harm. But the second time around it jumped off the tracks. Not to bad…unless it’s only 1 inch away from the edge of the layout! The locomotive and the whole 5 car train took a dive to the end of the model world. The locomotive was in pretty bad shape. Luckely it was only a Trainline that cost 30 bucks back then. But it was still mony spent! Well back to the turnout. You can guess where that baby went…yep, the trash! And I replaced it whit a well spend Peco. Not my trains don’t jump. As for the loco, I got it fixed, and you can hardly tell it fell. (Sorry no pics of it, can’t seem to find it. May be it’s on the floor![(-D])
Sorry, no funny stories, but I fear you have an otherwise good turnout that might have a gauge problem at the guard rails. (I assume you have verified the gauge of the axles) If the derail only happens in one direction, then there is nothing I could think of more probably that one of the guard rails, or I suppose the landing in the frog, is out of gauge for the flanges. Have you taken a close, well-lit and magnified look at the frog? Take a truck of the derailing loco and run it by hand through the frog to see if it kicks sideways or lifts.
Not turnout related but funny nonetheless. One day my cat decided that she would chase one of my trains into a tunnel. There was no way I could reach in and pull her out. Fortunately I had rigged the tunnel with a compressed air system to blow out dust and other things. I put the air to it and the nozzles made a very loud hissing roar when the air was purged. The cat, terrified beyond belief, shot out of the tunnel like a fur covered missile, every hair on her body standing straight out, making her appear to be a huge gray and black bottle brush. From then on she wouldn’t go near the tunnel but would arch her back and hiss at the train when it emerged from the tunnel.
Had a little video of the Racoon that got onto the porch. Apparently the two cats interpreted the sounds associated perfectly off the computer audio and started behaving very aggressive hunting the thing around the home. I only played it once. Two lions in the home does not a happy house make.
I second making sure it’s flat I have turn out that’s not level and when reversing over the turn out one of the rear wheels doesn’t make it back to the rails. some it does though. Now to solve it I press down on the rear of the locomotive as it reveses or giude the truck with my fingers to help it stay on the rails or just stick it back on when it’s through.
At that spot I have three turnouts in a row one for yard one for going to the other mainline and one for the industrial track.
I have a similer problem with a curve on my layout. My favorite loco derails on it, but only heading westbound. The track is warped, I’ll try to find time to replace it today. Luckly, only one axle on the front truck derails, nothing serius.
The worst “off the table” I’ve had was when I was running some cars on the mainline in my yard from the interchange, pushing with my SDP35. One of my coal cars I was pushing derailed, tipping the whole train over. All the cars and the engine stayed on the table, but the super-realistic coal load in the coal car fell onto the floor and broke in half![:(] I am going to put a safety barrier anytime there is a risk of derailed trains going on the floor.