My well cars keep on derailing at two different areas on my layout which is at a cerve and straight section on my mainline. If any can help my ears are open. you can see my layout at Youtube type in guitar446 thank you
Hi,
A quick reply here… From what I know, most well cars need a pretty large radius to run smoothly (and a larger one to look good). My suggestion is the minimum should be 24 inches, and you should have an easement going from tangent to curved track.
Also, the trucks on the cars could be catching on something, and/or the couplers just won’t allow that sharp of a curve (see first paragraph).
And of course, you could have a kink or obstruction with your track, which other cars - for whatever reason - can tolerate.
Hey, I learned all the above the hard way (some of it over and over).
Mobilman44
I assume your other rolling stock goes around the layout without derailing? The general rules are:
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If only a few cars derail, it’s a problem with the cars.
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If the derailment always happens at the same place, it’s a problem with the track.
I think you are saying, only the well cars derail, but they always derail at the same place. If this is the case, its probably a little bit of both. Well cars are long, which always makes them picky about trackwork, and you have some minor problem in the track work.
Check the cars first. Are they weighted up to NMRA recommendations (1 ounce + 1/2 ounce per inch of length). Do the trucks swing freely or do they catch on part of the undercarriage at extreme deflection? Are the couplers body mount or truck mount? On curves the ends of long cars swing way out from track center line. If a long car is coupled to a short car, mismatch in swing (one swings farther out than the other) can pull a car off the track. Truck mount couplers alleviate this problem. Are the couplers riding too low and catching on turnouts, crossovers or guard rails? The glad hand should be slightly ABOVE the rail head. Anything hanging below the railhead will cause derailments. Are the wheels round, mounted square on the axles so they don’t wobble, and clean? Small blobs of crud , or a thick layer of wheel cheese, can stick to the treads and cause all sorts of trouble.
Check the track. Use a track gauge or the NMRA gauge to make sure the track is in gauge. Track nails driven in too deeply can deform the tie and pull the rails closer together. Check the rail joiners. Make sure the rail is inserted INSIDE each rail joiner. Run your fingers over the offending track section and fix any places that feel rough. Pay attention to rail joints. Check that straight track is straight using a straight edge. Check that track is level from
Just starting the video dated July 30, I can see two problems: 1) you’re using #4 switches and they appear to be Atlas, which means they’re actually an 18 inch radius on the curve side, too sharp for cars the length of your well cars. 2) You’re running the well cars empty, which means they’re way too light to track well.
Changing out the switch for another #4 probably won’t help, go to a #6 or stay with shorter cars. Add containers to your well cars and add some weight to the bottom one.
It’s definately a good idea to run the layout with all combinations of locomotives and cars to make sure you don’t have these problems before doing scenery, which is why there’s very little scenery on my layout at this point. Currently I’m working on location and alignment of tunnel portals and liners.