Need some advice. I have started over and hopefully include all information for assistance. After the total cluster with project number one, I decided to start over with another piece of plywood with 2x4 base for sturdiness. Started over with my oval track. My curve measures 42 inches. I have 3 inches either side on this piece of plywood. Made sure all track was joined nicely and even soldered each joint. I figured it would conduct better. I have the 16ga wire running under the table and now have 2 areas that have 22ga wire to joiners. Drilled holes there where I could run the wire though to the underside to tie in to my 16ga. On one end I have my NCE powercab set up. This track is all code 83. The curves I purchased are 22in. The straight track is 3ft and flexable. My Locomotive is a Bachman 2-8-4 Birkshire. I can't get it to stay on the track. The leading set of guide wheels will jump off. Or the trailing 4 will jump off which will derail the tinder. It appears that my oval isn't large enough? I am still losing power at spots, so I was going to add more connections, but it seems like overkill. Possibly bad connection? Also, do I need to purchase that little track tool that makes sure the rails are uniform. I don't see how they couldn't be, but I am a newbie. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks again.
Well I will take a stab. Please don’t get offended at some of this, you did say newbie...... First, does the Bachman say a minimum radius in the instructions? Usually 22 will work. Did you buy the easy track with the ballast on it? If so, did you make sure all the rail joiners engaged correctly? I have an ez track oval for the grands to run, I have seen the joiners not engage correctly making the track uneven at the joints. Did you solder the joints only on the outside of the rail? Same with your feeders. to the locomotive Are the leading truck and trailing truck free to move laterally as the locomotive goes around the curves? A 2-8-4 will have plenty of overhang on a curve of that rad. Make sure the trucks will move enough to accommodate the overhang. I have a Bachman Freedom Train loco I bought years ago, when I pulled it out to run for the kids, the front truck was giving troubles. Turns out it was the way it was stored on the box. The front had got misaligned. I had to work with it a bit and got it back to where it should be. Power system: It sounds like you have a 4 x 8 sheet you are running on, possibly longer? I would think even a entry level DCC set could power that without feeders. I have to go back to the rail joiners being loose or misaligned. The main thing is to keep asking questions and don’t give up. I fiddled with a wye track for about a month to get it to work right. It works great now, I just had to stick with it. If you have another locomotive, give it a try and see how it runs. If you see it jump or shudder at joints, start looking there. One last thing, when you set up your layout, the table is flat? Good luck! Dale Port of Catoosa Railroad
I have the same model in the Pere Marquette scheme. I would take a look at the joints in the track. Does it derail there every time, or is it at random spots? Sometimes the model will pick points, that front truck is indeed finicky. You might want to experiment with adding some weight to it, that may help it track better, or put a spring in between the truck and the body. It may need some more downward pressure to stay on the tracks. My model derails more often than my diesels, but not as much as yours seems to do. Your curve radius is fine, most Bachmann models can take pretty tight curves. My model works fine on 22". Are you using Atlas sectional track? I know EZ track is code 100, but sectional code 83 makes me think Atlas. Like Dale said, check the joiners. Sometimes when connecting, they dive under the rail instead of wrapping around the foot of it. This creates a vertical jump in the rail, which easily derails light steam locomotive trucks, especially if it is at the transition between tangent and curved track. If you have bad joints, fixing them may solve your power issues too. Cleaning the rails is an easy first step if it doesn't. Don't start ripping up track unless you have to. Most of the time it is a minor issue. If that doesn't solve it, it might be a wiring issue.
