Spectrum 2-10-2 Derailment Problems

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Has anyone had any experience with the Bachmann Spectrum 2-10-2 front trucks derailing? And if so, how do you fix the problem?

Thanks,

Kyle

2

All the time with my USRA 4-6-2 Light Mountain…until I checked everything with an NMRA gauge.

The pilot truck was not in gauge or alignment…nor were the wheels round. After adjusting the width, I filed off some extra material on the inner edge of one of the flanges and lightly sanded an oblong wheel until it was round enough to look OK.

Also, the rear of the pilot assembly was hitting part of the loco’s frame due to some flashing from the plastic molding die.

The last thing I found was the screw holding the whole pilot was not seated properly in the loco. I carefully cleaned up the loco frame threads with a tap (don’t remember the size) and reattached the pilot. Take care to install the pilot with the narrow taper to the rear…or at least it’s that way on the Light Mountain.

Check the wiper pickups (?) to make sure they rest properly against the drivers. I had two that were slightly twisted.

I am a diesel guy so I had to find all of the answers by trial & error. It’s a shame Bachmann ships such junk sometimes. QC must have been on a siesta.

By the way, I later added weight in the tender to provide a little drag which helped reduce the excessive side-to-side meandering going down the tracks.

Mac

3

Thanks for the suggestions Mac. I’ll take a look at it and see if it has any of those problems. Also glad to hear about the weight in the tender because mine wobbles side to side as well.

Kyle

4

At first, I thought I was the victim of too much tequila the first night I ran the locomotive. The next day when the beverage had changed to Dr. Pepper (a good Texas creation), I discovered much to my disappointment, the loco continued to meander…and thus began all the trial & error. Good luck to you Kyle. Feel free to email me with any questions.

Mac