Just some piccies
- Thread starter Woodie
- Start date
And this one is a hotchpotch of the mess. 
The maroon and sliver set, is the "Overland" Melbourne/Adelaide express from the 50's and 60's. and the blue with grey roof (far one) is the NSW Countrylink XPT that is around these days.
On the tele, in the background, is the video picture from my "train cam" mini-cam. Bit of a mess, but at least I can run some trains round and around and around and around.
The maroon and sliver set, is the "Overland" Melbourne/Adelaide express from the 50's and 60's. and the blue with grey roof (far one) is the NSW Countrylink XPT that is around these days.
On the tele, in the background, is the video picture from my "train cam" mini-cam.
Bit of a mess, but at least I can run some trains round and around and around and around. Attachments
Real nice Woody, and where did you have that vedio cam hidden? Or was the Roo taking the shots? :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: Jimjmarksbery said:
hehehehehe. I've got it on a flatcar, but wasn't on the tracks at the time. Was down in behind the dark blue "Spirit of Progress" passenger set.
It's one acquisition I am really impressed with. Remote camera transmitter the size of a sugar cube, and receiver box that plugs into the AV socket of the tele. $30 new, from Ebay. 
Great shots Woodie! I'm glad to hear you're so pleased with the mini-cam. I'd like to get one some day as well, and have re-thought my entire layout with that in mind. Keep us posted on your progress - everything is looking good so far! :thumb:
Val
Val
Russ Bellinis said:
That's it, Russ. If I recall correctly, what it said on the box. Something about Fairbanks-Morse something or other. Nice little very quiet and powerful unit. All wheel drive and all wheel pickup. Howver, the flange on the wheels would have to be the tiniest of flanges I've seen on any HO scale wheels. Barely enough to keep it on the rails. In fact, under a load, the torque via the drive mechanism tends to lift the front wheels, just that little tiny bit, and having very little flange on the wheels, gives it a terrible habit of derailing on curves. Even large radius ones.
That's probably why it was eeeerrrr..... "cheap".
Chessie6459
Gauge Oldtimer
Woodie said:
I think it is probably a Bachmann Spectrum. The wheel flanges are nmra standard rp25. Kato, Athearn, LifeLike P2K, all run that size flange. I've noticed that Bachmann truck mounts seem to be on a ball joint. I haven't seen a problem with their four axle trucks, but their dash 8-40c's are really aweful about stepping off the track.
That's probably it, Russ. The drive trucks and gears are screwed onto the frame from the top, and move about like a "ball joint". Also the drive shafts in it are pretty flimsy. (between the motor and the gearbox on each truck, with a "uni-joint" at each end.) I've snapped both of them so far, and had to remake new shafts. That's under a pretty heavy load of about 15 weigthed flatcars (with plastic wheels and bearings). Quite a comparatively heavy load. I'm sure its the plastic wheels and axles that doesn't give the flatcars I bought much "free rolling" ability.
However, the sprue from Kadee coupler draft boxes is the perfect length between the "knobs" on the sprue, and I've made two replacement drive shafts out of that. And it wasn't my new driveshafts that force the front wheels to step off the tracks. It was doing it before the driveshafts snapped.
However, the sprue from Kadee coupler draft boxes is the perfect length between the "knobs" on the sprue, and I've made two replacement drive shafts out of that. And it wasn't my new driveshafts that force the front wheels to step off the tracks. It was doing it before the driveshafts snapped.
The only possible solution that I can think of would be to make sure the trucks are free in the "ball joint." If there is any binding in the joint it could contribute to the derailing problem.
Russ Bellinis said:
I checked that, Russ. And if you tighten it too much, you don't get any left/right movement. It's the forwards/backwards movement of the truck that lift the front/back wheels just that little bit.
I also lifted and relaid some of the track where this loco was givng me grief. (once in every 10 or so passes over this bit of track). The part of the curve that was giving me grief partially ran along a join in the benchwork (even though I used roadbed), with a track join within 1/2 inch of this. Perfect alignment, using a track guage, eyballing, and everything else you can use, but it just didn't like this one spot. Relaid the track so there was no join near the "problem spot", and she goes round the curve OK now. It also gives me grief when it runs over a spot with Peco insulated track joiners too. They just don't quite keep the track aligned, when used on curves, even though it's a 30" radius.
Of all my 25 odd locos, this is the only one that gives me any grief. (using Peco code 75 turnouts and flextrack).