Runaway coach!

[sb67]

I ran a Bachmann full brake coach on my layout and it runs fantastic, in fact too good! Found out that my layout is not as flat as I thought, after leaving it in a siding it slowly followed the loco out of the siding. Does anyone have a method of 'braking' free running stock?

Steve.

Edited July 7, 2017 by sb67

[28XX]

I would think about a fine nylon filament fixed upright in the middle of the track. High enough to engage with the coach axle. Thicker fishing line or similar. Barely visible, and easily overcome by locomotive power. Experiment with different thicknesses and let us know how you get on.

[Jub45565]

I also know of people who use thicker wire, and a mechanical lever to raise & lower it - designed for use on actual gradients.

 

Otherwise, a block of foam just bearing on the top of an axle or 2?

[Quarryscapes]

Magnet under the board and a bit of steel under the coach floor. 

[F-UnitMad]

I've used this suggestion before on American rolling stock:-

..., a block of foam just bearing on the top of an axle or 2?

Another suggestion is a small spring (Kadee knuckle type) on one of the pinpoint axles, against the bogie sideframe. Not tried that myself.

[The Johnster]

Scotch it, that's what they'd have done on the real railway.  In case you don't know, a scotch block is a piece of wood shaped on the bottom to sit over the rail and on the top to match the curvature of the wheel, about 9" high.  It has a plain wooden rod handle sticking out of the side and can be placed under the wheels of vehicles which cannot be secured in any other way, such as a non-brake coach on which the vacuum brakes have been isolated, may leak off, or are liable to interference.  Forgetting it was there usually resulted in either a skid or a bang as the wheel lifted over it an dropped back.

 

Working brakes on model railways are a desirable thing, and might be achieved magnetically; I am less sure about the idea of things rubbing on axles, which would require very fine adjustment to enable the braking effect to be sufficient to hold the vehicle on a gradient and not significantly impact on the loco's haulage power.  I had similar trouble with my layout a few months back, and had a go at jacking and inserting packing pieces which helped, but did not totally cure the problem; boards had sagged, and while the sag could be jacked or packed out, the upturns at the ends were more of a problem.  The layout was 'down' for a while while the flat was being refurbished, and has been re-erected on new sub-baseboards; it is now level, ends screwed firmly down, and even my best running stock stays put. 

 

If you are desperate, blunt one of the pinpoint axle ends; you can always restore performance with a replacement wheelset.

[sb67]

Thanks guys, I might try the block of foam first just to slow an axle down a bit. Fortunately it doesn't happen to my wagons.

Steve.

[DCB]

Magnet under the board and a bit of steel under the coach floor. 

I have the same problem, the whole rake rolls out of the station down the garden when the engine cuts off before running round, its only about 1 in 100 but taking a saw to the base board legs is planned for Sunday afternoon, in the mean time a small super neo magnet under the bogie pivot of one coach and similar super neo magnet between the tracks may just be enough to stop the stock!

[cobach47]

easy - just stick a small piece of foam between the axle and the bottom of the bogie - simple !

[jcm@gwr]

How about magnetic buffer stops?

Obviously you'll need steel buffers on the coach as well,

but it wont interfere with the free running at other times.

[drewn]

Thank Goodness it's not just my layout this happens on. My Bachmann coaches are trained , not to follow the loco, but to run backwards, usually to a point in a tunnel or to somewhere with limited accessibility.   Certainly can't criticise the low friction aspects of Bachie coaches!!!

[Fat Controller]

Does anyone remember Trix's foray into '00' in the late 1960s? The running gear used a plastic that had a very low co-efficient of friction, such that stock would run away on seemingly flat surfaces. A simple push would propel a vehicle for tens of feet, as we found when we tried this on the Reverend's garden line. 

[St Enodoc]

Does anyone remember Trix's foray into '00' in the late 1960s? The running gear used a plastic that had a very low co-efficient of friction, such that stock would run away on seemingly flat surfaces. A simple push would propel a vehicle for tens of feet, as we found when we tried this on the Reverend's garden line. 

Absolutely! I understand that the bogies were made from graphite-filled nylon or similar. Metal wheels with pin-point bearings were among the first of their kind in RTR too I think.

[DCB]

On the full size railways the Victorians, Ike Brunnel and the like, put stations on a hump so trains slowed down on the approach and accelerated away under gravity.  The wonderful Victorian museum called the "Tube" under London is an excellent example.

 

Conversely and more relevant, the 1980s saw much reballasting which raised track levels so much that tracks had to dip down to the level of station platforms, Swindon being a good example.

 

A similar "Dip" in the track where uncoupled stock is left might be a suitable cure.  

[Il Grifone]

Absolutely! I understand that the bogies were made from graphite-filled nylon or similar. Metal wheels with pin-point bearings were among the first of their kind in RTR too I think.

 

Certainly the first in this country. Tri-ang followed shortly afterwards, but theirs are not as free running.

 

I think the first were Peco with their wonderful wagons, but not 100% successfully. The later Ratio kits also had pin-point axles, but plastic against plastic does not make good bearings.

 

Back on topic, a neodymium magnet under the track will attract the axles and hold the vehicle stationary. Alternatively a piece of spring wire pressing on the axle will act as a brake.

[St Enodoc]

Certainly the first in this country. Tri-ang followed shortly afterwards, but theirs are not as free running.

 

I think the first were Peco with their wonderful wagons, but not 100% successfully. The later Ratio kits also had pin-point axles, but plastic against plastic does not make good bearings.

 

Back on topic, a neodymium magnet under the track will attract the axles and hold the vehicle stationary. Alternatively a piece of spring wire pressing on the axle will act as a brake.

All the Wonderful Wagons I owned had nylon wheels not metal. Well ahead of their time with sprung buffers and axleboxes though.

[DCB]

In my case sawing the baseboard legs off was not necessary, I just got son and heir to lift the baseboard while I scraped away some of the soil. until the spirit level said level.  Sorted.

 

Still think pairs of super neo magnets one under the stock the other between the rails N to S poles would work well, don't think super neos and metal plates would be strong enough.

[Il Grifone]

All the Wonderful Wagons I owned had nylon wheels not metal. Well ahead of their time with sprung buffers and axleboxes though.

 

Yes the Peco wheels were pin-pointed nylon. I found that the nylon tended to distort (the axle ends are quite thin) causing wobbly running. They didn't run as well as they could have done as the bearing cup is rounded at the end and not coned properly. The later 'Hard-lon' bearings and matching wheels have solved this. A Peco underframe with 'Hard-lon' bearings and metal axles runs beautifully. The springs are a rather too hard to work properly however.

[Il Grifone]

In my case sawing the baseboard legs off was not necessary, I just got son and heir to lift the baseboard while I scraped away some of the soil. until the spirit level said level.  Sorted.

 

Still think pairs of super neo magnets one under the stock the other between the rails N to S poles would work well, don't think super neos and metal plates would be strong enough.

 

It depends on the gradient, but the pull on the axles is quite considerable. North American stock is often fitted with brass axles for this reason - Kadee uncoupling magnets can cause problems with steel axles.

[melmerby]

Would it not be possible to fit a coupler of the same type as fitted to your coaches to the buffer stop to keep it in the siding.

 

Would be easier in my mind.

Evercreech Junction on the Somerset & Dorset had a 3 link coupling on the long middle siding buffer stop to keep parked vehicles from running down the 1 in 100 into the station.

 

Keith