Anyone else added weight to their cars to ride smoother

[jwrape]

I have Lionel and Marx cars that I use. I found that everytime I would add more than a couple of cars that the car behind the Tender would jump the tracks in the turns on O27 or prewar O.
So yesterday I took apart the Tender and added weight inside of it. Once I did this my cars stopped jumping the tracks.

Anyone else added weight to help their cars stick to the track better?

 

[Larry]

I always added weights to my cars. Another thing you don't want to have a light weight car at the front of a long train on a curve because the heavier cars behind it will cause it to derail.

 

[jwrape]

Another thing you don't want to have a light weight car at the front of a long train on a curve because the heavier cars behind it will cause it to derail.

Exactly. The rear of the train pulls on the rest of the line and de-rails it. Ok so it's a normal thing.... I will add some to my box cars too

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Other things may cause derailment, i.e. wheel alignment in the trucks, unbalanced loads, track problems (track joiners & kinks) and obstructions to trucks on the freight or passenger car body that keep the truck from freely following the track.
What I mean by wheel alignment is how the wheels are aligned on the axle if they are adjustable. Hold the truck upside down and look along the wheel flange to see if it is aligned with the next wheel in the truck. They should not be offset.

 

[jwrape]

Other things may cause derailment, i.e. wheel alignment in the trucks, unbalanced loads, track problems (track joiners & kinks) and obstructions to trucks on the freight or passenger car body that keep the truck from freely following the track.

Agreed, I have had my fair amount of those issues as well. My trains are OLD

 

[timlange3]

I assume your couplers are also mounted on the trucks and not the car body itself. If you mount the couplers to the car bodies you will take some of the strain off the trucks allowing them to track correctly. I have seen 100+ car trains in HO never derail, forwards or backwards through the curves.

 

[jwrape]

I assume your couplers are also mounted on the trucks and not the car body itself. If you mount the couplers to the car bodies you will take some of the strain off the trucks allowing them to track correctly. I have seen 100+ car trains in HO never derail, forwards or backwards through the curves.

I've never seen a O Scale with the couplers mounted to the car itself.
That's food for thought. I will look at it and see

 

[JazzDad]

However, body mounted couplers probably won't work on the radii of most tinplate track.