Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge

[zzrguy]

Great looking layout.

[TMo]

My Christmas present to myself arrived this afternoon...  my first true foreign power, an MLW M420 from Rapido.  The front bell has somehow gone missing - inquiring with my seller on its possible whereabouts, otherwise I may have to try to get Rapido to send me another.  If they can't send me the part, I might be asking the seller for a full refund, since the bell is a bit iconic for this model.

   

This is a beautiful model with great detailing, and my first Rapido product.  I'm an instant fan.  It even came with a 16-page manual that was fun to read - these guys have a definite sense of humor.  I think they'd be better served with producing some explicit diagrams rather than all of the wry wit, but with the aid of a YouTube video, I was able to get the long hood off without resorting to power tools and the 21-pin decoder install was quick and easy.

I wish I could say operation over my layout was problem free, but that wasn't the case.  The truck are fairly stiff, especially side to side, and with a couple of my tricky curves and some rail joints in those curves, I'm left with the potential for having to redo some track in Mud Run Curve.  The other option might be to double check the gauge of the wheelsets, which seems like a longshot.  Not having issues with any of my other locos in that curve.  More to follow!

[TMo]

Bell found!  Must have popped loose when I opened the plastic shipping case that surrounded the loco inside the box.  Reinstalled with some CA.

   

Thanks for the compliment on the layout, zzrguy!  Love your videos as well.

[TMo]

After exploring the differences between my new Rapido locomotive versus everything else on my roster, and after running virtually every locomotive I have through Mud Run Curve (none other than the new one derailed), as well as running the newby in every speed in every orientation through the curve (forward, backward, downgrade, upgrade), I came to one conclusion.  If I want to keep the M420, there will have to be some changes made.....  and those changes are all about superelevation (or track cant) in Mud Run Curve.  Found a good article on it in Wikipedia....  Cant (road and rail) - Wikipedia

It seems that the overall stiffness (side to side) of this model means that at some points navigating the curve, only 7 of the eight wheels are maintaining contact with the rail.  On a tight curve, that just doesn't work - that one wheel causes havoc and causes a derailment.  Add in a front plow, some low steps, and gear housings that drop low toward track ties....  it was a test of my patience figuring out a solution, with the nirvana moment encountered while pushing the rear of the locomotive through from the beginning of each portion of each curve and monitoring how well each wheel was maintaining contact with each rail.  For a portion of my layout that's been completed for at least 2 years (and replete with trees and lots of other scenery) it was a challenge.

I spent some time with a flat-ended cat's paw gently prying up the outer edge of my roadbed around major portions of Mud Run Curve to induce superelevation of the outside rail, and I did have more success running the locomotive through the curve running upgrade.  However, in running downgrade and attempting to modify the superelevation, some of the portion of the track on the northern half of the curve have now delaminated from the roadbed and the ballast is a mess.  After making a mess, the decision has been made!  Not only am I keeping my new locomotive, there's going to be a track redo in Mud Run curve!  Just goes to show you that even if you think a portion of your layout is bulletproof, you need an asterisk next to it...  After the track redo there will also by necessity be a scenery touchup and a reballast required.  Happy New Year!

Due to this unscheduled maintenance action in the gorge, most of my White Haven town projects will have to be put on the back burner I think.

[TMo]

Just like a real railroad when the ties and rails are pulled up, there's some sorrow associated with tearing out what you thought was a finished product, but it's the first stage in the rebuild.  I'll be removing all of the ballast and thinking about the best way to cant the rails.  My initial thought is to place strips of polystyrene under the outside portions of the roadbed in the curves once the ballast is gone and then to resecure the roadbed prior to reinstalling the rails and then running trains (especially the new loco).

           

[TMo]

Well, ballast removal (at least the portions directly under the track) has been completed (flat head screwdriver followed by Shop Vac).  My next project is refurbing the removed track (a lot of the ballast is wedged in between the ties), most of which I hope to reuse (may have to replace some tie sections after attempting to pry them free from the adhesive holding them to the roadbed).  I'll then get started on installing the wedges to superelevate the outside of each curve.

           

[TMo]

I elected to pry up the outside half of each piece of applied roadbed. A bit of a challenge with the scenic materials installed and the tight space between track and scenery. Some areas aren't pretty and will require scenic surgery (mostly cosmetic) once I'm happy with track performance.

I then inserted sections of 2-mm thick polystyrene along each outside edge underneath the roadbed for most of the turns, with 1-mm think pieces used at the ends of the curves to transition from flat to the 2-mm superelevation. Applied a bead of Titebond glue under each piece of plastic to secure them to the plywood decking, laid the roadbed over and rested some weight on the roadbed for about 4 hours to cure the glue. I've finished the north half of Mud Run Curve, hope to get to the rest tonight or tomorrow morning.

I'm debating if I should tack the outer edges down or just apply some silicone (leaning toward this option) between the polystyrene strips and the bottom of the roadbed - there's always a chance that once I put the track down that the base will need to be torn back up and tweaked.

[Charlie B]

Todd, I don't know your method for ballasting but I use diluted white glue to hold it in place. I actually use the ballast to make any elevations, I used 1/4 in Luan for roadbed (cut to fit) and let the ballast run down over the edge to hide it. I had lots of ballast so this was no problem.  The gap between the roadbed and the base could be covered with ballast in your case too. The beauty of holding the track down with white glue is the ease to remove and repair. A little mist from a Windex bottle to get the old ballast softened is all it takes and the track can be lifted and cleaned ready for relay after the area is repaired. 

Charlie

[TMo]

Yep, same Charlie - diluted white glue is my go-to as well. I'd actually thought about putting the strips under the higher rail and filling in with ballast, but currently I don't have that much leftover ballast and thought hiding under the roadbed should work.

I hadn't thought about building up ballast under the higher rail, but you're right, that would probably work well. I do like to secure the track ties to the roadbed with a smooth layer of clear silicone adhesive, so I guess I was concentrating on getting a nice flat surface prior to the track install and well before ballasting.

[Charlie B]

Todd, 

      If there is a limestone mine in your area you can buy what they call sand, screen it through a window screen and then screen that through a grease splatter screen. What doesn't go through the splatter screen is perfect HO Ballast. (what does makes nice N scale ballast, or HO road slag)  A ton costs 12 bucks here and that will yield 
all the ballast you will ever need.             
Charlie

[hillyard999]

Charlie,

I don't think you got enough of that stuff.

: )

[TMo]

Great idea for ballast, Charlie - another economical solution to a common model railroading problem.

Got my standards gauge yesterday, and as I expected, all of the wheelsets on my M420 are right on for axle spacing, which leads me to the necessity for superelevation in my tighter curves for this loco. I inserted all of my "shims" underneath the roadbed on the outside track around Mud Run Curve and into the north end of Rockport tunnel. If I get an opportunity tonight, I might relay some or all of the track. I usually spread a bead of clear silicone adhesive and lay in the track with some weight on top of it. Wired track joiners are already in place, so I'm not planning on a great deal of effort. As the adhesive's drying I'll add individual ties underneath the track joints. Crossing my fingers that the amount of superelevation does the trick. I should be able to verify at some point this week.

[Charlie B]

Todd, you are not the only one with this problem with the M420 M420 derais
Charlie

[TMo]

Todd, you are not the only one with this problem with the M420 M420 derais
Charlie

Great find, Charlie!  Both of those responses were from 2021, and they were hoping that Rapido would fix the issue "in the future".  Here we are 5 years later...   

I agree with the posters, it's a great model (at least from the aesthetic, weight and power perspectives).  I don't think my problems have as much to do with the amount of truck pitch (front to back) that was mentioned in the two posts, but more about the lack of roll of the trucks from side to side.  I do agree that the lack of truck mobility does result in a failure of the wheels to remain in contact with the rails.  I checked my manual, and it says my model is a 2023 manufactured unit, so maybe the earlier units were a) even worse or b) no changes were made.  Crossing fingers that my track alterations do the trick.  If they do, I'll join canmodeltrains and post to that same bulletin board as well as give Rapido some feedback on the efforts put forth to make it run on my layout.  

I laid one of the four track sections last night and I'm hoping to get #2 in tonight before heading to bed.  It's hard to show the amount of superelevation, but here's a shot on the installed section where I tried to keep the camera fairly level - if you look at the loco, you can see a cant toward the inside rail, and that's about 2 mm of difference between the two rails.  As the curve transitioned back to the straightaway I reduced the amount of superelevation until the track was flat again.  As a bonus, it is a more prototypical installation, but I never thought about superelevation when I laid the rails back in 2005.  Some things you just have to learn the hard way sometimes.

   

[hillyard999]

Todd,
Hoping this works out for you.
You've put quite a bit of effort into this.
Do your freight cars work okay with regard to your super-elevation?

Hoping all goes well,