In my rush to get my trains up and running for my club's trainshow, i've noticed an increasingly irratating problem. the Bud cars in my train, specifically a grill diner and a Dorm/lounge car, tend to jump the tracks repeatedly in the same places, but i cannot see the problem.
There are no obvious dips, gaps, or other track issues i can see (usually derailments happen in the middle of flex track).
the dorm lounge tends to derail near the top of a long nearly 4% grade, and there are no gaps in this spot. it is ALWAYS the rear axle of the truck on the "forward" end of the car (relative to train movement). If i flip the car around, this seems to be temporarily negated.
I've tried to adjust the truck tightness/loosness, but the situation never changes, no matter how i make the cars go.
THe grill diner tends to also derail on a curve, but only on a section of level track. while there is a grade ahead, the grill diner is nowhere near it. Once again, i see it just jump in about the same spot.
the only solution to either seems to be to remove cars. The dorm car will always derail on that spot if there is more than 2 (of 4) coaches on the train, but it is unnacceptable to remove those cars. Right now, i've removed the dorm car, MHC, and Express Boxcar that was part of the train, and that seems to have resolved any issues with the rest of the train. Still, i do not understand what the problem might be, and i'd like to run the full train.
Try reading through this informative article by Russ:
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Andrew
MasonJar Wrote:Try reading through this informative article by Russ:
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Andrew
Well, i've pretty much checked all of the suggested issues just through habit. NMRA track gauge says its in gauge. I don't think weight is a problem, i loaded the thing down with spare change in my pocket, and still the same results.
I do not believe it is a radius problem, all curves are at least 30-36 inches, and all my other passenger equipment runs fine.
No underbody parts appear to limit the truck's ability to swivel except for these metal contacts on the bottom of the frame, but i don't really think they are the reason either. I tried pushing them down, and still had issues with the truck jumping.
Its entirely possible its a track issue, but my club will not rip up track if it is just my one or two cars. besides, its our show season, and everything else appears to be running normally. I suspect however that there are many bumps and dips that have formed over the years. At the same time however, this car didn't even start derailing at that spot until recently (though it did at one time almost always derail in another spot that magically went away about a month ago). same with the budd grill diner, which never derailed unless something in front of it pulled it off the rails first.
I would have thought that maybe my train was to long and that it was getting pulled off the rails, but there is a 1700 series baggage car ahead of the dorm car, which is essentially the same trucks and frame with a different body shell. I would have figured my baggage car would have pulled off first.
Its very frustrating, and while that help thread was enlightening, it hasn't shed light on my situation.
The only thought I have on the subject is be POSITIVE that no part of the coupler even THINKS about being close to the track.
Lynn
I fixed that issue last winter, lol.
I have problems with some of these cars too. And I have removed the metal contacts you mentioned, with no improvement. I now believe the problem lies in the diaphragms. Some seem to be much stiffer than others. Watch closely at the point where you have problems, and I bet you'll see contact of the diaphragms where one or both refuse to yield. I haven't as yet done anything about it, I have problem cars sitting all over the layout waiting for some attention! I'll look forward to seeing if someone posts a way to correct this.
jglfan Wrote:I have problems with some of these cars too. And I have removed the metal contacts you mentioned, with no improvement. I now believe the problem lies in the diaphragms. Some seem to be much stiffer than others. Watch closely at the point where you have problems, and I bet you'll see contact of the diaphragms where one or both refuse to yield. I haven't as yet done anything about it, I have problem cars sitting all over the layout waiting for some attention! I'll look forward to seeing if someone posts a way to correct this.
that was what the club was suggesting the issue might be (though I'm not totally convinced). They suggest using a short and a long coupler. it give you about the same distance as to regular couplers, but the way the cars push on eachother is different, so that the diaphragms work out.
I think I'm going to try and back the springs up a little, maybe give them a good bend so that it loosens the tension on them.
I don't know if this applies to the Budd cars, but one of our modular club members noticed problems with the Santa Fe Super Chief set from Walthers. He also noticed another member with that set having problems keeping the cars from derailing. He found that the multi-piece trucks were manufactured with the holes drilled in the wrong place causing the trucks to "crab walk". He elongated the offending holes to make the trucks straight and that solved the problems. Look very closely at your trucks to s make sure everything lines up correctly. I doubt if Walthers will correct the problem, they seem to be a company focused on profit with pretty bad customer service and little interest in doing warranty at all.
Russ Bellinis Wrote:I don't know if this applies to the Budd cars, but one of our modular club members noticed problems with the Santa Fe Super Chief set from Walthers. He also noticed another member with that set having problems keeping the cars from derailing. He found that the multi-piece trucks were manufactured with the holes drilled in the wrong place causing the trucks to "crab walk". He elongated the offending holes to make the trucks straight and that solved the problems. Look very closely at your trucks to s make sure everything lines up correctly. I doubt if Walthers will correct the problem, they seem to be a company focused on profit with pretty bad customer service and little interest in doing warranty at all.
It sure does! the same cars that are giving me trouble are prominently advertised with the Super chief set, only mine are Phase IV Amtrak. I just had a similar problem with a crab walking locomotive, so i'll have to check this out with the cars. An interesting idea!