J 4-8-4 Locomotive Problem


R

Russ

New Member
Grandson has acquired a HO, J 4-8-4 Locomotive #611 (Norfolk & Western) Spectrum. This is a set that came with 22" Radius E-Z Track. The problem is keeping the Loco and Tender on the track. Either the front 4 pilots are off or the Tender is off track or they are both off. This all happens on the curves which makes me come to the conclusion that the 22" Radius is too small. But I am looking for expert opinions and maybe someone who has experienced this and came up with a solution.

Thanks.

Russ
 
It should run as it was designed to run on this radius and even less.

Being EZ track, check all the joints on the rails. If when assembling the track, you weren't really careful, the railjoiners that connect the rails together have a nasty habit of sliding under the rail its connecting to, instead of on. This causes one rail to be higher than the other and it will cause derailments.
 
Check the alignment of the curve also to make sure you don't have a small kink anywhere. I have a Bachmann 4-8-4 that runs fine on 22" curves but I had problems with it until I went back over the curves and checked and fixed all the alignment problems that weren't apparent at first glance.
 
Yeah, kinks at the curve joiners got my Challenger's pilots...as Carey will varify. All of my locos ran fine, but not the Challenger. CJ came over and we found many and made repairs; haven't had any more problems. ;)
 
Thanks for your help guys. Had to leave without totally solving the problem. I will back in a few weeks to help again.

Dang it, living so far from your RR Buddies. :(

Hey Rex maybe you guys from down south could load up the car, come up north here to help us newbies out. :D

Russ
 
Something that happened with some of the older J's was the lead and trailing trucks were attached by shouldered crews with springs between the frame and truck, holding it down. The shouldered screws would sometimes be a bit too tight, and not allow the trucks to pivot freely. This would cause derailments on curves. The solution is toi loosen the screws a half turn or so.
Again, this is for th older locomotives, and the newer ones may or may not be this way.
 
Terry, what would be the age of older J's your referring too. This one is new but then again I don't know how long it had been on the shelf. My son in law purchased this one at the KC show two weeks ago from a vendor there.

We will check out the screws though just in case. Thanks.
 
Terry, what would be the age of older J's your referring too. This one is new but then again I don't know how long it had been on the shelf. My son in law purchased this one at the KC show two weeks ago from a vendor there.

We will check out the screws though just in case. Thanks.
 
I don't know if this engine has several holes in the drawbar, or several settings that allow the tender to be towed closer to the engine for a more realistic look, but sometimes hooking the tender too close on tight curves can be a problem. I doubt if that is what we're facing here, but it is a consideration.

You must do a couple of things to get this right. First, make sure all your rail ends have been beveled with a small metal file. You must take very section on that curve and file a small bevel on both the top and inside surface of the rail head...all four ends per piece of track. Note that I am talking 8-12 of degrees of bevel, not a 45 deg ramp. Secondly, you must take a bright light and something with a very smooth and planar surface and place them in such a way as to test the vertical alignment of the rails. You place the planar surface atop the rails, mostly over rail joints, and then back-light it by placing the light source behind it. You get down to eyeball level with the rail tops and look for obvious angles of light indicating uneven grade from piece to piece. On a tight curve near the minimums for the engine, that spells instant derailment.

This is meant as an adjunct to the advice about tuning the two trucks on the engine...not instead of it.
 
Also, Bachmann steam locomotives that are equipped with DCC have a set of wires the run to the tender. These wires are short and stiff. If they are positioned under the drawbar, they can lift the drawbar, derailing the tender and probably push the lead trucks off the track as well. I had this problem with my 2-8-0. I gave the wires a slight tug to give them a little more play and repositioned them so they went across the top of the drawbar. No more derailments after that.
 
Thanks for everyones input. In a week I will be going back up and will use all suggestions to continue the trouble shooting.

Russ
 
Back from a couple of days at the kids. All problems are solved. It was kinks and curve joiners causing the problems. Went through the track according to many suggestions and found the problems. Running great now.

Thanks again for all of the help.

Hopefully someday we will have experienced enough to contribute back to the board and help pay back all we have taken.
 
Glad to hear you got things fixed. The more you press the limits with engine size, the more perfect the track alignment has to be. What won't derail an SW1500 will derail a longer wheelbase steam engine every time.
 
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