I have a HO scale locomotive that simply will not stay on the track. The track appears to be connected properly, level, no gaps, etc... but it will not travel more than a few inches without coming off the track. I am a beginner model railroader so any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Locomotive will not stay on track
- Thread starter dillan
- Start date
Welcome to the Gauge.
First of all, Do you know who makes the loco?
This would be a good start in troubleshooting your problem.
First of all, Do you know who makes the loco?
This would be a good start in troubleshooting your problem.
N
nachoman
if it is a loco with a traction tire (rubber band thing around one of the wheels), the traction tire could have come off and is now causing a derailment. When it isn't coming off at a particular spot in the track, that seems to indicate some kind of locomotive problem rather than a track problem.
kevin
kevin
is it deraiing at the same spot? or ANY spot on the rail? does it matter what speed its at? is it at a switch track? try makine it go fairly slow and watch it closely and see if u can see whats going on.. Is it during a turn? or does it derail on a straight piece?
If it derails at a certain spot everytime, it may be a track problem. Do you have any other locomotives that don't derail? Four things that I can think of off the top of my head will cause derailing. #1 The track being out of gauge will cause a derail. #2. Locomotive wheels being out of gauge will cause a derail. #3. If your minimum radius is too tight for a locomotive, it will derail. #4. If you have dips or bumps in your track work on a corner section and a long wheel base locomotive like an Alco PA, a DD40x or some of the new 6 axle power units they can be derailed when the locomotive tries to go over the bad section of track.
One more thing I forgot to mention, sometimes a locomotive will derail when it shouldn't have any problem with a particular radius. If a part of the wiring moves into the wrong place, or a detail gets bent slightly, or a wire to one of the trucks is too tight, anything that might restrict the travel or swivel of a truck will cause derailing.
One more thing I forgot to mention, sometimes a locomotive will derail when it shouldn't have any problem with a particular radius. If a part of the wiring moves into the wrong place, or a detail gets bent slightly, or a wire to one of the trucks is too tight, anything that might restrict the travel or swivel of a truck will cause derailing.
You can buy an NMRA gauge for under $10.00 from your local hobby shop. It will come with instructions on how to use it. It is shaped like the oppening of a tunnel portal and has a bunch of nubs and slots around it's perimeter. Each set of nubs or slots are identified as to what they are for. You can check track gauge with it, wheel gauge on rolling stock with it, it will check clearances between tracks and line side items like station platforms or loading docks, it will check the correct spacing for guard rails on turnouts and froclearances in turnouts. It is one of the most versatile tools you can buy for model railroading.