Truck Tuning and string effect questions

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Ok, truck is a Dodge with a 440, dwell is at 32 degress and timing is a 10 BTDC.[:)]

Now that I got that out of my system have a few questions about HO trains. I have a tuning tool for cleaning up the trucks, Mostly cheap LL, Bachman and build your self Athearn’s. I have up graded some of the rolling stock with Kadee plactic wheels, Atals with brass color axels and Proto 2000 wheels.

Few things I have ? about.

1 Some trucks the wheels spin better in one drection that the other?

2 How lose is to much? After cleaing axles want to go more to one side. I press on the trucks while cleaning, then with no pressuer spin the tuner. When it spins well I am done, but in a few cases axles are off set and are slop fit.

Now the string effect question. I was in MRR heaven for the last two days. Pulling 37 cars with BB Athearns. Then stuck on doubled headed PK’s and had to push my luck. After cleaning some trucks, replaced the wheels with PK 2000’s I added 5 cars. All rolled well and weight added.

Most of the cars are horn hooked and mounted on the trucks. I have up grade my track to 22 and 28 turns at the 2% grade.

From other tips I got from string effect question I placed the harder pullers close to the engine. In the middle I had tank cars, 40,000 gallon one I think so they are short, around 8. After them (LL and Bachman) I had real easy roller, worked Athearns and Bachmans that roll like a dreaam. All Athearns are using Kadee’s.

Derail happend in a spot I could not see, it was on a 22 inch turn. Want to guees what went over on there side? Yep the tankers.

Should shorter cars with truck mounted be toward the rear?

I all so think I know that there should be a 1/2 onces per 1" of car. I do not have a scale yet and been using pennys as weights. My rule of thumb has been 3 per 40 footer and tankers. (LL and Bachmans) and 50 footers 4 for lower cars and 6 for taller cars. Am I close?

2

Soory, had to post before I pooped a breaker. Have the 600 watts a side stereo cranked with some AC/DC and AC is running. They do not like each other and no pack up power to the keyboard thingie.

Am I close on the weight with the pennys? Who much does one weight?

Thanks for the coming answers. Sorry I ask such dumb questions.

Cuda Ken

3

I have listed the NMRA web page to help you with your question. It is 1 OZ plus 1/2 OZ for each inch of car length.

Scale &nb

4

If you look at the truck tuner, only one end has the notch in it that does the carving. You have to put it in, spin it a few times take it out, turn it around, repeat. Unless you do both sides of each set of axles holes it will cut down one side but not the other and this could cause your wheels to be off center. The cars with the couplers on the trucks shouldnt be anywhere on the train you need body mounted couplers if you want to run any kind of a long train reliably. You can easily cut the coupler box off the truck and mount a Kadee box on the body if you pick a few up at the hobby shop. weight is good but I wouldnt use pennys. I bought 6 pounds of BBs at Wal Mart for $6. Get a cheap postage scale, some BBs and some diluted Elmers glue and you have everything you need. Put the car on the scale with a little cup and add BBs until you have the correct weight, then figure out where you can put the BBs in the car and put them there then soak them with elmers, let it dry for a couple days and you are good to go.

5

You sure about that? Seems like a long dwell to me - and do you really still have a distributor with points? [:)]

As has been pointed out, you need to do both side frames. The Tool only cuts on one journal at a time. Try using Reboxx or IM wheelsets with metal axles and wheels. Also: Please follow the directions for the tuner tool. It will stop cutting when the journal is done. Stopping before then risks leaving a ridge of uncut material in the journal, which, if it catches a rough casting flash on the plastic axle, could indeed cause the wheelset to turn better in one direction than the other.

As mentioned, do both journals for each wheelset. Also, try Reboxx wheelsets for the correct length for each brand of truck. Wheelsets with axles that are too short will get off-center, and have your cars going down the track crab-wise. That’s not a good thing. Kadee & P2K wheelsets, while OK, and usually better than stock wheels, have plastic axles, which do not roll as well in plastic sideframes

[quote]

Now the string effect question. I was

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“Gary M. Collins “Ignorance is cureable, stupidity is congenital.” – G. M. Collins” You must not have something congenital then. Because bad spelling is curable. Curable: : capable of being cured

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I think you can live with truck mounted couplers as long as you do away with the hook horn couplers. They are bad news. I have no big hang up with truck mounted couplers like some people do, but I also have good wheelsets, mostly Intermountain, some Kadee, in all mine. Actually, keeping the pulling line lower should help counteract stringlining. I don’t prefer them, just don’t see bothering to change them when they are working well. I have a lot of the long passenger cars that still have them, but they are all KD couplers too.

Car weighting is a double edged sword. A heavier car is less likely to get stringlined, but more likely to cause it, on grades. I do not weight my cars to NMRA recommended weights, but only weight them to what seems to be the minimum to obtain good running, via the trial and error method. As a result I can usually pull longer trains with my engines than some people with the same engine; i.e. 15 cars with a P2K 0-8-0 up a 2% grade with no weight added to the engine (yet). I have not experienced a stringlining event in at least 17 years, and have pulled up to 100 miscellaneous cars testing a locomotive.

8

I don’t know if anyone has mentioned it, but plastic wheels are not an upgrade, even if they are Kadee. Plastic leaves a black, oily residue on the track that interfers with electrical pick-up.

9

Neutrino, guess you must be making fun of my spelling and cannot blame you. Will Rodgers said “A smart man knows what he can do and can not do”. I know I cannot spell or type well. In fact at a car site there was a joke about selling Cuda Ken Decoder Rings.[:)] Sad part is it is much better than it was say 8 years ago when I went on line. I can bulid car engines, cut a car in half and rebulid it, do the body work and paint it and win shows. Spelling, well I blow chucks.

GMCRAIL, yes my 426 Maxie in my 68 Road Runner still has a Acell duale point, 32 degress is the setting for number 1 point, second plug set plugged is it is 36 degress. It is the versson that has the roller bearing plate under the rotor and has no point bounces till 8000 RPM’s. I shift at 7200 PRM’s, plus I run MSD 7-AL and a Mallory Black Box Coil.

Now on the 69 Charger there are no points.

Netutrino, you want to bulid a engine your self and run for titles?[:)]

Any way back to the junk rolling stock. I think I know what I did wrong.

10

WAY too much dwell and not enough timing. Heh.

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Although I am a Goat devotee myself, that is an awesome looking Charger. I most definitely do not want to race a blown Hemi for pinks. But, back in the 70’s I did build a 455 Poncho that would pass anything but a low flying airplane… and a gas station. About 12.2 @ 128 in the quarter. Street tires and REALLY did not want to launch.

Usually you do not need to replace the trucks, just get good metal wheels. Like I said I prefer Intermountain. And I think I got 95% of mine off eBay.

12

This is about the closest I could come to In-violet (only a Moparhead would know what that is). Anyway, you said you are still having derailments while going over a switch. Have you checked to ensure that the wheels are in gauge? After buying an NMRA gauge, I check ALL of my rolling stock. About 75% were out of gauge, even some that had just been built!! After cleaning out the bolsters and resetting the gauge on the wheelsets; result: 0 derailments since.

NOTE: when setting the gauge on your wheelsets, make sure that the wheels are centered on the axles. If one set of wheels is offcenter, but still in gauge, it causes the truck to track improperly by putting side pressure on the truck. See diagram. As you can see, both “trucks” are in gauge, but with the wheelset on the right, even though they are in gauge, on one axle, the wheeels are off-center. You’ll notice that even though the wheels line up, they will because they are on the track, notice the effect on the ends of the axles. So, you can see what this will do to the truck.

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13

Ken,

It’s about 10-1/2 zinc core pennies per ounce (21 measure 2 ounces on my postal scale). Not a good choice at 42 cents per car [:)]. I use lead tire weights for most and lead shot poured into the hatch of tankers followed by glue. Note: if you use CA it will run out every crack. Be careful of couplers and wheel sets…

BTW: Nice Charger. Reminds me of the '68 I used to have.

14

Medina, it is In Go Violet by Plymouth, Plume Crazy under the Dodge name.

Takes 42 cents in penny’s to weigh down the cars! Darn I need to head down to Gate Way Drag strip this weekend and do some racing with the 68 Runner. Pick up some Belly Button cast iron of the top end after they poop there engines.[:)] Not bashing Chevys, dollar for dollar best HP to had. But a well bulit BB (not Blue Box) Mopar will stay together at a higher HP. Not that you cannot break them, must know your limts.

I know what you mean about the center of the axle as well Medina.I found some that where off center, replaced the axles with PK 2000’s and still derailed so that I why I know I messed up some trucks with tuning.

Other thing I found not on the running borad but on Atlas turn outs I have not used yet. Took one to work with some flex track trying to find the problem. Not sure what it is called but it is the Y in the center was so high over the rails it caused the wheels to derail. It is cast iron or some other kind of metal. I saned it down some with 150 grit paper and it stopped derailing the cars. Need to check all the turn out that are installed. All so added more weight (still pennys) and that stopped derailing on some of the cars I have retried.

Cuda Ken