adding weight to locos

[oldknotty]

I have a lot of diesels on my layout and they all run very well , my problem is the kettles . Anything with a 2-6-0 wheel arrangement or anything bigger derails !! what can i do to fix this i was told to add more weight over the drive wheels and the bogies .I could use some advice on the matter if anyone can help :-) ??? Also i am in the US so i run on code 100 Atlas track do i need to adjust the wheels set any ??? Everything else runs well except them :-(

Thanks martin

[Il Grifone]

They shouldn't need extra weight to stay on the rails, only to alleviate lack of adhesion.

 

I would check that nothing impedes the free movement of the bogies and that the check gauge is correct. I assume Atlas track is to NMRA standards so the wheels should be set to conform. Detals on their website.

[stewartingram]

My kettle is ok standing on the kitchen workbench, doesn't need any extra weight at all.

 

Stewart

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Mention of 2-6-0s - which if current RTR OO products are going to be exclusively tender loco models by Bachmann - prompts the thought that this may be nothing to do with the wheelsets. Bachmann offer a choice of loco to tender spacings on the drawbar, and for set track curves which are typically less than 24" radius, quite often only the longer of the spacings on offer will enable loco and tender to get around the curve without derailment.

 

Try the locos and the tenders as separate items round the troublesome locations. If they remain on the rails on their own, then it is most likely they need to be coupled on the longer spacing.

[Donw]

Lightweight vehicles tend to detrail more often on track which is less than perfect. Those bogies and pony trucks are susceptable to any mismatches in height. extra weight often helps but sometimes a light touch with a file to round edges at troublesome track joints can help. Diesels where the bogies have just a little flexibility and of course all the wheels share the weight tend to run better and are less troubled by curves.

Don

[oldknotty]

Lightweight vehicles tend to detrail more often on track which is less than perfect. Those bogies and pony trucks are susceptable to any mismatches in height. extra weight often helps but sometimes a light touch with a file to round edges at troublesome track joints can help. Diesels where the bogies have just a little flexibility and of course all the wheels share the weight tend to run better and are less troubled by curves.

Don

 

Thanks DonW i will try your suggestion tonight :-)

[Mallard60022]

Not sure about the derailing thing but if you decide to weight your loco's anyway just for extra grunt, beware of using PVA adhesive and lead shot. I read somewhere (after doing several of my precious kit built machines) that after some time the mixture expands and the loco can be damaged by this; (don't think it was an April fool gag)..

P @ 36E

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Certainly isn't a gag. Cheap PVA's in particular with a lot of free acid remaining once they have cured will corrode lead, and the larger volume of the resulting lead compounds if tightly contained will exert quite enough pressure to rupture typical model construction. A modest smear of Evostick works well for me, just enough for good holding, but a breakable bond if the model is ever to be altered or sold on.

[Il Grifone]

Having had problems in the past with lead stuck with Evostik (or similar) causing warping of plastic, I now fix lead weights in position with screws and nuts. These need to be insulated from the lead, with plastic sleeving, to prevent electrolytic corrosion (the lead goes white and powdery).

 

Bogies need a little weight to stay on the rails (an axle loading of around 15g seems about right for me, though more might be needed if couplings are mounted on them instead of on the body where they belong (an ideal condition, which sharp curves may preclude). Metal wheels, rather than plastic, might help.

[Donw]

Having had problems in the past with lead stuck with Evostik (or similar) causing warping of plastic, I now fix lead weights in position with screws and nuts. These need to be insulated from the lead, with plastic sleeving, to prevent electrolytic corrosion (the lead goes white and powdery).

 

Bogies need a little weight to stay on the rails (an axle loading of around 15g seems about right for me, though more might be needed if couplings are mounted on them instead of on the body where they belong (an ideal condition, which sharp curves may preclude). Metal wheels, rather than plastic, might help.

I wonder if it was the evostick causing the plastic to warp. I have not noticed any problems with lead fixed using araldite

Don

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

I only once secured lead with araldite, (24 hour variety) due to having some on the go from other jobs, a four ounce lump inside a Hornby A3 converted to loco drive. Over the following week it pulled down the top of the boiler a couple of millimetres before movement ceased due to the lead lump now resting on the chasis casting. The boiler top was reprofiled with milliput, and a note made 'don't use araldite for this kind of job'; my surmise is that some lighter species in the resin migrated into the plastic before the araldite cured and made it somewhat more runny. Never yet seen that happen with evostick.

[Il Grifone]

I think the warping was due to the solvent in the adhesive. Possibly I didn't let it dry sufficiently? Anyway it's not something I want to repeat, so I'll stick with nuts and bolts. I have also tried an open 'cage of plastic strip to hold weights lightly in place - so far without adverse effect, but it's early days yet. Experiments with double sided tape seem promising, but the tape has been known to dry out and lose 'stick'. (Don't use Chinese tape?)

 

That reminds me, I must drill a ventilating hole into the weight compartment of the Coopercraft underframes I'm assembling at the moment.

[oldknotty]

I think the warping was due to the solvent in the adhesive. Possibly I didn't let it dry sufficiently? Anyway it's not something I want to repeat, so I'll stick with nuts and bolts. I have also tried an open 'cage of plastic strip to hold weights lightly in place - so far without adverse effect, but it's early days yet. Experiments with double sided tape seem promising, but the tape has been known to dry out and lose 'stick'. (Don't use Chinese tape?)

 

That reminds me, I must drill a ventilating hole into the weight compartment of the Coopercraft underframes I'm assembling at the moment.

 

You could always try a wee bit of Scottish blood i hear they don't part from anything ( tongue in cheek ) LMAO

martin

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

It's the far rarer Yorkshireman's blood you want (if you can hold him down long enough to extract any, they don't like having it removed) for as we all know, a Tyke is a Scot with the generosity beaten out of him...

 

But never mind all that, are the locos making it round the curves successfully yet?

[oldknotty]

It's the far rarer Yorkshireman's blood you want (if you can hold him down long enough to extract any, they don't like having it removed) for as we all know, a Tyke is a Scot with the generosity beaten out of him...

 

But never mind all that, are the locos making it round the curves successfully yet?

 

yes they are doing fine so far with a bit of weight and some fettling of the wheels .Oh yeah and that big hump i took out of my station track helped a bit ;-)