http://www.micromark.com/ho-track-inspection-car-with-metal-wheels,8025.html
Is this a worthwhile purchase for a new builder?
It would be a lot cheaper to make one. Not that hard.
It looks like it would be good to have it you had derailments and couldn’t figure out why. Maybe my experience is unique but the only layout I built 20 years ago didn’t have derailments. I am fairly OCD about some things, but it just didn’t happen.
That said, shallow frogs in Altas turnouts and the like can cause derailments no matter how careful you are. I am in the early stages of track laying of my new layout and so far no derailments so I would not call it a must have.
Well, if you have a perfect view, looking straight down, of your entire layout, and all of the track work, maybe. If not, it’s a waste.
Just my thoughts.
Mike
There are so many variables in derailments. That car might catch a few of them. While my own experiece is that most derailments are caused by faulty trackwork, a lot of them just the wrong combination of sloppy track and issues with particular cars. What do you do when the test car works fine but something else derails?
Unfortunately, understanding and fixing derailments is a matter of experience. There’s no quick fix or magic involved.
Got one, not usefull!
It might catch some potential causes of a derailment, but will not catch, nor will it solve all of them.
You can have bulletproof trackwork, and still get derailments due to railcar issues.
Now, I am not saying do not get it, but I am not running to order one either…
I have always used two methods of checking trackwork -
1: Sight down the rails. Get close to track level, and look down the rails for bumps, misalignments, anything. You will spot many issues that you could not see from above.
2: Use any railcar that you are sure has properly gauged wheelsets, correct coupler height, etc… And run it around the trackwork, first by hand, then pushed and pulled each direction by a locomotive. (Very rarely do I find anything that I missed via sighting down the rails that I mentioned above, only chance is turnout points/frogs.)
My layout, all of the last 4 derailments, in the last 4 years, have been one of two reasons -
1: Operator error - [X-)]
2: Incorrect wheelset gauge and/or coupler height.
And, I do not own one of these clear cars.
It can be useful to find gauge problems, either with wheels out of gauge and picking points or not running through guards or past a point, or with the rail elements not being properly spaced. Looking down through the clear plexiglass, you’ll see the trucks pivot slightly upon contact, or just the axle. If the wheelsets are all in gauge, but not the rails, you’ll see all the axles slide side-to-side.
However, they won’t show you anything when you are obvserving from the side. When I watch for wheel lift for gauge problems of either type, it must be from the side…not overhead looking down through the plexiglass.