Need a little help with stubborn rail joiners


bnsf971 said:
I had one of those engines, and you're not going to like what I tell you about it.
The reason it derails is the front truck is too stiff to swivel, and too light to track through the turnout. The wheels will want to go straight, instead of turning. I know it looks cool, and simply going in circles it will probably do okay, but it will never, ever be reliable to do much else. I'm sorry I have to tell you this, but it will save you much frustration.
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Yea I heard, early Bachman stuff is crap. Heard that a few times now. However, the front pilot wheels on mine are fine. PUNY but they swivel very freely. So far this engine has not derailed yet. Stops too much, but again track not finished, several consistent dead spots, engine needs cleaning. For what it is I'm impressed. I'm sure the pick ups in the tender just need work. Even on a perfectly flat straight track it keeps stopping. It's gunky is all. Fixable. (Tooth picks, alcohol, clean wheels, possibly bend metal electric plates a tad, or not. tiny bit of lube on worm gear ends, should help a ton.)


OH YEA guys.... on that video where it looses the passenger car? Look close at that. You can see the back end of the car actually takes the wrong track. I really think that diamond has issues.
 
ArtmakersWorlds said:
Yea I heard, early Bachman stuff is crap. Heard that a few times now. However, the front pilot wheels on mine are fine. PUNY but they swivel very freely. So far this engine has not derailed yet. Stops too much, but again track not finished, several consistent dead spots, engine needs cleaning. For what it is I'm impressed. I'm sure the pick ups in the tender just need work. Even on a perfectly flat straight track it keeps stopping. It's gunky is all. Fixable. (Tooth picks, alcohol, clean wheels, possibly bend metal electric plates a tad, or not. tiny bit of lube on worm gear ends, should help a ton.)


OH YEA guys.... on that video where it looses the passenger car? Look close at that. You can see the back end of the car actually takes the wrong track. I really think that diamond has issues.
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I think you need to check that the rear truck wheels are in gauge which I suspect they're not, hence the derail.
 
ArtmakersWorlds said:
Yea I heard, early Bachman stuff is crap. Heard that a few times now
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Their design was never the best, and they have reliability problems, not to mention difficult to work on but if your willing to spend the time on it, you may end up with a nice loco.

But it will be trial and error, as you've mentioned, it's your first layout and we've all been where you are now regarding loco's, derailments, track problems etc. We know it can be frustrating, but hang on in there, it really does get better, and we're here to help.
 
ArtmakersWorlds said:
No no... it SEEMS to derail right in the middle of the switch, half the car wants to go down one track and the other half gets confused as to who is leading. So far only my boxcar has done that, the caboose doesn't. Again though, I'm pushing it from behind with my finger, until I can get one of my two engines running. And again daughter is bring the solder gun, hopefully tomorrow. Every single connection on there was a royal nightmare. I got my replacement power leads today, Atlas, and they have the exact same size issue with the connectors. (Exacto knife, cussing.... got it on.)

(note to self. If you EVER do this again keep track of what parts you bought so you know what to NEVER do again.)

Already kinda half thinking going with code 55 might have been a mistake. The taller rail, though not quite as authentic, probably works better.
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It may already have been said, but code 55 is not a mistake if you plan to move ahead in this hobby.

What you need, first, are "standards gauges," and the most centrist of those would be the NMRA (flat metal plate) gauge. Kadee used to make one too, and others might as well.

However, neither the NMRA or Walthers, the two biggest sources for these seem to have them in stock, which I can only attribute to a "supply chain" problem. Don't ask me if I blame our gov't for this or not--they aren't doing very well with BIG SCALE railroad problems either this week....

In any case: https://www.ebay.com/itm/221661979817

As of this posting, the seller seems to have six of them still available. $20 is two dollars less than Walthers sells it for.
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But when you say in this post (of yours): https://modelrailroadforums.com/for...tubborn-rail-joiners.35526/page-2#post-559202

...that your boxcar derails, but your caboose does not, that suggests, right off the bat, that (probably) your boxcar's wheels are either too close together (likely, I think--they hang up on the ends of the switch guardrails), or too far apart. That's what the gauge can show you. If this is a typical off-the-shelf "trainset"...and I think it is?...then the wheels might be pressed onto plastic inserts. Whether they are or are not, you will want to widen them or narrow them with regard to the other, and here "needle nose pliers" are your friend. They will also open up/loosen up the ends of the rail joiners--just push them in from the end a bit--which will widen the joiners enough to let you get them started when you try to slide them on.

You DO have a couple of seriously mangled joints where the rails of your outer track loop meet the ends of your switch rails--you have two with serious kinks which will not help things (the two at the bottom in this photo), and a third, upper right which is a bit better, but still likely to be a problem. Of the four, the one top left is the best...but it could be better too.

modelrailroadforums.com

Need a little help with stubborn rail joiners

Here is the link that I was referring to where the guy spread the joiners with an Exacto knife. https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=41049.0
modelrailroadforums.com modelrailroadforums.com

I really do hope you don't give up on it. Like anything else you want to well, you will usually have to do it yourself--smooth things up in this case--but that's all part of the hobby.

It's also part of doing my taxes. Doesn't always work that well there either, at least without a bit of tweaking things with the "files and filing."

[* Ok, ok. Just shoot me now. :D]
 
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Iron Horseman said:
Just watching the video I think a good cleaning will fix a lot of that. Also just because the track is new doesn't mean it couldn't use some cleaning as well.
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definitely agree with Iron Horseman here too: You can't much of a grade, so most thin fine oils would work. An old classic is "Wahl Hair Clipper Oil"--you will need only a single drop for each rail, but then you'll need to run a loop or twenty too, to spread it out....and there are certainly others out there too. CLEAN the track first--a good strong push with a rubber eraser is a start--an eraser with an abrasive quality to it might be a bit better, but then also follow that up with alcohol and a Q-tip. Too much rubber can actually make connection issues worse--it can stick on the rail.

That said, here I will defer to others with more recent experience. I haven't had to do this for years. The layout I built for my nephew runs lap after lap after lap after lap without any connection/electrical problems. Of course his California Zephyr sports three Kato F's on the head end too, which probably has a lot to do with it.
 
Hi guys, ok, that gauge is a great idea but twenty bucks for a tiny bit of metal? SHEES. To be clear, this is not MY hobby. I have this table I thought a train under the glass would be cool. And when hubby retires HE wants to get back into modeling. He can either dismantle this whole thing and use the parts or just keep it as a novelty, whatever. More likely his thing is HO so might not get into N at all. Time will tell.

So back to mine, soldering day, and perhaps fix a few of those kinky sharp turns a bit. SO.... I see a few tips on track cleaning. (It needs it bad, after the nails frustrated me no end I switched to laying with super glue, which as usual ends up mostly on my fingers then onto everything I touch, so there is a good bit of it on the track.

SO... lets go over, after all the soldering is done, BEST way to sand, clean, and did I get that right? LUBE the track???? I actually have that clipper oil mentioned. You really lube track?

SO lets start with sanding. Best tool for that? My thought is a wet sand paper (though not wet, would work dry too.) Thinking anything too course won't be good. An extreme example (which I am NOT going to do) would be steal wool. Someone mentioned an eraser with grit in it like the plain pink ones? I cannot see that as a good idea since it would leave rubber bits everywhere. So today, fix a few kinks, solder, sand, oil.

Now that diamond track.... It's that track that has issues. Please take a look at this.

https://youtu.be/_-5rXsABZqs
 
Ok, erasers I have. Now, consulting youtube one guy used some kind of pad, and in fact cårs tha that have track cleaner pads, what kind of pad is that? My track really need more than just the eraser. I know I got super glue on parts of it, eraser isn't going to remove that. I even found one video where they used some kind of cleaner goop. I'm not buying that but would a bit of alcohol be wise to clean? Then do the touch of Wahl Hair Clipper Oil be better? As for the super glue I will have to scrape that off somehow. Possibly just with an exacto knife edge.
 
ArtmakersWorlds said:
Ok, erasers I have. Now, consulting youtube one guy used some kind of pad, and in fact cårs tha that have track cleaner pads, what kind of pad is that?
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Depends on the track cleaner car. Some have fluid that drips down onto the pad which is some form of linen. Others have an changeable dry pad that you can put any sort of emery cloth on that you desire. And others are an abrasive eraser often called a "bright boy". I would avoid the bright boy for the same reason as the sand paper and steel wool. It cleans up the track really good but also puts tiny scratches into the rail that simply makes it get dirty again that much quicker.

ArtmakersWorlds said:
My track really need more than just the eraser. I know I got super glue on parts of it, eraser isn't going to remove that. I even found one video where they used some kind of cleaner goop. I'm not buying that but would a bit of alcohol be wise to clean? Then do the touch of Wahl Hair Clipper Oil be better? As for the super glue I will have to scrape that off somehow. Possibly just with an exacto knife edge.
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90% alcohol is what is use. Rub it really hard with a non-lint cloth. The problem with alcohol is it evaporates and leaves the rail too dry which in turn causes electrical arching. So enter the Wahl clipper oil. It goes on very thinly after the alcohol cleans it.

For the places where the super glue is on the track, perhaps rubbing a quarter flat over that section.
 
First up - Happy Birthday hope you had a good day 👍

Secondly, Track Cleaning - I think has been mentioned, but if not - highest strength Isopropyl Alcohol you can find (91% if possible) and a piece of lint free cloth OR paper towel. IA to cloth/towel and rub it around the rails until the cloth /towel stops getting "black". Once the cloth/towel remains white (or it's own color) you will know you have the track clean.

Another very good cleaner for track cleaning is Mineral Spirits - probably better than IA if I am to be honest and might (just might) help remove some of the Super Glue.

To do the wheels of your engine/s. use paper towel with IA on it and lay it across the rails. Place the engine on the track with the some of the wheels on the IA soaked towel - HOLD IT - turn on the power and let the wheels turn on the paper. Do that until the engine stops leaving little black lines on the towel and your engine wheels will be clean.

As a general rule of thumb, never use anything coarse like sand paper etc on your rails or "scrape" your rails with anything. Regardless of what some may say - you will "scratch" the rail head (surface) and that will attract dirt and so forth. That, in turn, will effect the performance of your layout.

Next - you will/might hear different things when it comes to this BUT - never LUBE your track work, it really is common sense. An engine needs traction to move and run - using a lubricant (of any kind) on the track work reduces the traction AND becomes a great adhesive for dirt and dust and grime; therefore, creating more unnecessary work for you. Some people might mention something called No Ox - a grease. Read this paragraph again :) In the event that you have already done this - go back over the rails with IA to remove any residual that might be left.

Good luck with all of this.
 
wombat457 said:
First up - Happy Birthday hope you had a good day 👍

Secondly, Track Cleaning - I think has been mentioned, but if not - highest strength Isopropyl Alcohol you can find (91% if possible) and a piece of lint free cloth OR paper towel. IA to cloth/towel and rub it around the rails until the cloth /towel stops getting "black". Once the cloth/towel remains white (or it's own color) you will know you have the track clean.

Another very good cleaner for track cleaning is Mineral Spirits - probably better than IA if I am to be honest and might (just might) help remove some of the Super Glue.

To do the wheels of your engine/s. use paper towel with IA on it and lay it across the rails. Place the engine on the track with the some of the wheels on the IA soaked towel - HOLD IT - turn on the power and let the wheels turn on the paper. Do that until the engine stops leaving little black lines on the towel and your engine wheels will be clean.

As a general rule of thumb, never use anything coarse like sand paper etc on your rails or "scrape" your rails with anything. Regardless of what some may say - you will "scratch" the rail head (surface) and that will attract dirt and so forth. That, in turn, will effect the performance of your layout.

Next - you will/might hear different things when it comes to this BUT - never LUBE your track work, it really is common sense. An engine needs traction to move and run - using a lubricant (of any kind) on the track work reduces the traction AND becomes a great adhesive for dirt and dust and grime; therefore, creating more unnecessary work for you. Some people might mention something called No Ox - a grease. Read this paragraph again :) In the event that you have already done this - go back over the rails with IA to remove any residual that might be left.

Good luck with all of this.
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I pretty much agree with all that you posted here. I especially agree on using lubricants, Wahl's, ATF or others; although I have never tried any of these type of products. To me, and me only, it seems to defeat the purpose.
Regarding the Super Glue. I think that a very careful use of a single-edge razor blade or the proper Exacto blade might be necessary. I believe that Acetone will also dissolve Super Glue, but it may also attack the ties. 91% or 99% alcohol should do it though.
 
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