From the oversized gaps between the sections: To the poor match at roadbed seams (see the shadow?): To the smashed, spread ends of some of the rails that catch flanges and throw cars off of the track: (For some reason, I can't upload any more images.??.) Switches that bounce my engines and cars as they travel across, as the flangeways are not deep enough for my stock Marklin wheels. Switches that give nice, fat sparks when my engines' pilot wheels cross them. One switch out of the five that I have where the points were pinched so that the tip wouldn't touch the rail, allowing cars to straddle the points. I shouldn't have to use a Dremel on new track just to get it to work smoothly. It should do that out of the box. I'll keep using Rokuhan, because I have already purchased all that I need for my layout. For the helical, and anywhere else where reliability is critical, like inside tunnels, I'll use Marklin flex. I'm really not happy with Rokuhan quality. Nor their quality control.
I have not seen the problems of short rail or sheer marks on rail ends that you show. The road bed joint is designed to be a bit irregular so it is harder to see once your track has been put done on you layout and I have not seen or encountered any problems from that. The flattened rail top at ends are easy to fix with a file if they are catching wheel flanges, but I have not seen on any of the track I have. The gap in the rail does not appear to cause problems looking at the rial joiner across the joint. I have allot of hours on my show layout and have had no derailments at all on this track. I have a 2x4 ft show layout with 5 loops of track including switches. However I do not run Marklin rolling stock except for two engines and I have no with them. The rest of my rolling stock are Micro trains and all the delrin wheels have been replaced with metal ones. I have allot of Japanese stuff from Crown, Tenshodo, Pro-z and RealZJ and I have no problem with any of them.So, I can not speak to the Marklin cookie cutter wheels and flanges, as I do not have any of them in my fleet Mixing flex with Roadbed track can be problematic at the interface between the two types as the rail sizes are not identical and getting the rail height correct is difficult. So I have seen problems doing this. There is a new piece of track designed for this type of joint going from standard rail or marklin sectional to Roadbed track which makes it easier to get a good match but it is still to be in the line up in North America but it is coming. The big question is what did the dealer you purchased the track from have to say about this? Have you communicated with Rokuhan using the form on their web site or the e-mail address on that site. Have you sent these pictures to Rokuhan or the dealer you purchased the track from? So fare you are the only one who I have seen with this problem. In my contact with other z scalers I have heared nothing but rave review from them about this ROkuhan track and i experience with it isthat is is best system I have using for running trains on in Z that I have come across and I have hand laid code 40 as well as markin sectional track and peco flex and Micro trians Flex and have replaced all but the hand laid stuff with Rokuhan cheers Garth
Garth, Are you saying that the gaps shown in the 'rail gap' photo is SOP? Surely this gap is too large in Z, N, or HO. With Z's tiny wheels this looks like quite a pot hole to me regardess of rolling stock or wheel type. Inquiring minds. Jim :tb-biggrin:
Is the gap acceptable no, but it shouldn't cause a derailment if they are like those in your photo. In my opinion and experience it won't stop the train from running and I have not seen gaps like that derail trains on the straight. I have seen lots of them in N and in Z particularly where modules at a show are joined.does that make them acceptable not really. A gap like that on curved rail junction has a much greater chance of causing a derailment because of the angle the lead wheel arrive at the gap. That said the take a good close at the Rokuhan rail joiner in your photo. The Marklin wheel has a deep flange and the rail joiner fills in at the gap all but the top of the rail. it closes the gap at the side of the rail. Also the shape of the rail joiner hugs the rail profile and completely fills the web between the top of the rail and the foot of the rail. The slope of the outer edges of the rial joiner should ensure that the flange can not hit the leading edge of the rail joiner but catch it part way up the flange and direct it through the joint. I can only see out of gauge wheel sets being able to come close to catching this rail joiner and flipping out over the rail unless the rail joiner is deformed. the rail joiner edge is not above the rail spikes either, so again it should not cause a derailment. SOP don't know that an-acronym.Marklin steamers have very light leading trucks and I have seen gaps like this pop them off the rails when operating at high speed, and I tend to add weight to them as a result. regards Garth I see the short rails as manufacturing faults that were not picked up in QA if there was any QA once the line got rolling. Putting the complaint here does not really address the issue for you. What pieces of track do you have that are damaged. Have you approached your dealer and what was his response. Have you contacted Rokuhan and what was their response. When the big yard was built on the west coast for last year's NMRA national in California I did not here of any problems with the track, during assembly and later during operation. cheers Garth
Petercat I have 8 switches and have tried to recreate the problems you talk about. I have one layout that is Nn3 and I use Rokuhan track for it and all my engines are Marklin steamers. They all run across the switches with out a problem and I see not arcing at all. I also have a Japanese Z scale small layout with 4 switches in a cross over between two loops and I have a video of a tenshodo pair of Mikados with a string of Tenshodo freight cars going back and forth through the crossover with out any problems and no bouncing like you seem to experience. The Tenshodo cars are 2 axle types and are very light in weight and they will derail if you breath on them, and they do not derail in the cross over. atch?v=YD_vwfBdX-s&list=UUuoEOoVi2ulF0Idbby2diBA&index=16&feature=plcp regarding arcing the only way I can induce some arcing is to use one of those Realco or similar high frequency AC devices for cleaning dirty Z scale track (For some reason, I can't upload any more images.??.) Trainboard limits the amount of space you can occupy with your photos. Once you reach your limit you can not upload any more until you erase some of the prviously uploaded ones. Switches that bounce my engines and cars as they travel across, as the flangeways are not deep enough for my stock Marklin wheels. Switches that give nice, fat sparks when my engines' pilot wheels cross them. One switch out of the five that I have where the points were pinched so that the tip wouldn't touch the rail, allowing cars to straddle the points. I shouldn't have to use a Dremel on new track just to get it to work smoothly. It should do that out of the box. .[/QUOTE] regards Garth
I have had a few problems with joiners and rails separating from the roadbed. Speaking of which, does anyone know where I can get replacement Rokuhan rail joiners? Andy Tetsu Uma
Garth: SOP = Standard Operational Procedure Andy: Rokuhan resellers should have the A012 Joiner set. I bought mine from Anthony, but other carry it. JamesTraction
Rail joiners for rail and road bed are in a spare parts package part number Rokuhan A012 10 pieces of each. (intermountain (RKA012) list is 4 bucks. cheers Garth
Award from the Z-Scale Magazine Trainini and forwarded to Noch Rokuhan Distributor for Europe. Hello Tony, We’ve got today the attached e-mail from Trainini’s chief editor and publisher Mr. Holger Späing. Trainini is an online Z scale magazine. they place the ROKUHAN track as the best new technical release in 2011 in Z-scale. We are proud to forward you this award and congratulate you. Jurgen, Noch GMBH &co KG Sehr geehrte Damen und =erren, morgen (Sonntag) erscheint die Januar-Ausgabe unseres Magazins, in der wir die Redaktionsentscheidungen zu unserem Prädikat „Neuerscheinungen des Jahres 2011“ verkünden werden. Ihr =aus darf sich gleich zwei Mal freuen: Zum einen zeichnen wir in der Kategorie Technik das Rokuhan-Gleissystem aus, dessen Vertrieb Sie übernommen haben. Wir =ürdigen in der Begründung auch explizit die Rolles Ihres Hauses. Dazu möchte =ch Sie bitten, weil mir ein direkter Kontakt zu Rokuhan bislang fehlt, Ihre Ansprechpartner dort von der Auszeichnung in Kenntnis zu setzen. Das =iegel der Auszeichnung sende ich für Werbezwecke auf Wunsch gern =u. Die wichtigere Auszeichnung für Noch ist sicher die =rst seit 2010 vergebene Auszeichnung für die Kategorie Gesamtwerk. Als =nlass haben wir Ihr Firmenjubiläum im Jahr, für das die Auszeichnung gilt, =enommen. In der Begründung zählen wir einige Stationen der Spurweite Z auf, die Noch =it Produkten wesentlich geprägt hat. Daran möchten wir erinnern, dies =ewusst machen und auf dem gewählten Wege unseren ausdrücklichen Dank =FCbermitteln. Ich hoffe, diese Auszeichnungen sind es wert, auch =on Ihrem Haus herausgestellt zu werden. Ich freue mich sehr, dass die Redaktionsentscheidungen so gefallen sind, dass ich Ihnen hiermit =erzlich gratulieren darf! Freundlich grüßt Sie Holger Späing Chefredakteur / =erausgeber Trainini®Praxismagazin für Spurweite Z kostenlos =nterhttp://www.trainini.de machine translation Dear Sir = Erren, tomorrow (Sunday) appears in the January issue of our magazine, which we will announce our decisions on the editorial title "releases of the year 2011". = From your allowed to look the same twice: First, we draw in the technology category of the Rokuhan-track system, whose sales have taken you. We = ürdigen in the explanatory memorandum explicitly the role of your house. This would = ch you ask me, because a direct contact to Rokuhan still missing, contact your contact person there for the award thereof. The = iegel I send the award for publicity purposes on request like u. = The more important distinction is still safe for the = rst since 2010 honor award for the category of complete works. As we have = nlass your anniversary in the year for which the award applies, = enommen. In the grounds we are counting on some stations the gauge Z, which has characterized it yet = products significantly. Remember we want to make this = ewusst and FCbermitteln to express our thanks to the chosen path =. I hope these awards are worth it, also turned out to be = on your house. I am very pleased that the editorial decisions are so pleased that I must congratulate you hereby = elcome! Friendly greets you Holger Späing Editor in Chief / = publisher Cheers Garth
Okay, Garth, I realize that you and others have had no problems with Rokuhan products. Thank you for answering my question: Yes, I am the only one who is not happy. The problems, whether or not anyone else experiences them, still exist. In my samples, at least. I realize that Rokuhan has received awards for their track. I understand that. But I'm still having problems with mine. And their awards don't solve them. I haven't spoken to Rokuhan about this because I've been patching the problems as I find them. Would they give me the same answer, "Well, no one else has any problems."? Would they ask me to send it back? Don't need to, I'm fixing the problems myself. I just shouldn't have to. I haven't spoken to the vendors, because I didn't keep track of which vender sold me which track. The large gaps don't derail trains, I never said that they did. Is that the only measure that you have for quality, or doesn't appearance count? Ditto the mismatched roadbed. None of this is acceptable. As for the transition between Rokuhan and Marklin rails, well, that's what a diamond stone is for, blending rails. As I said, I'm fixing the problems as I find them. But I shouldn't be finding them. For the critical hard-to-reach stretches, I'll still use Marklin.
Peter, While I have not experienced the issues you are describing, and more importantly shown, I have heard similar reports. I definitely think you should report them to Rokuhan. My company is a retailer for Rokuhan and we have found them to be a great partner to work with. I believe they will take your concerns seriously. I would email them your concerns and the images you posted. Their support email address is: support@rokuhan.com If need be, I would be happy to help mitigate and help find a resolution. Rob
PeterCat, you not very appreciative or gracious when so many try help you. Pete you have problem with manners. my great grand son, Hal, has better manners than thee. I think you complain. Solutions offered to you by Garth are good ones. Garth always help me. Hal agrees with these views.
Hal, at first I kinda felt like you, but when I went back and re-read all the posts, I don't think PeterCat is complaining. It really is an issue of frustration. This track has been highly touted and when you buy something and it isn't top shelf as expected, there is a cause for concern. His gripes are ligit. He has photographs that clearly show his issue. We need this type of discussion to help improve the products. Every now and then some people get a lemon and quite frankly that is frustrating. Hopefully he sends the photo's to the company so they can see. Might just be quality controll. Peace...
Not knowing the product, because it's Z and I do N, it looks to me like a smaller version of Kato Unitrack. How far off target am I, as a matter of interest? Regards, Pete Davies
Rokuhan has the information and the pictures, from the first day Peter opened this thread,plus all subsequent conversation on this topic. and I asked the questions that Rokuhan asked of me,here on this thread and so far Peter has not provided the answers or contacted Rokuhan directly that I know of. Rokuhan wanted to know What specific pieces of track does he had with these problems with and how many of each . That is needed to get replacements,and where were they purchased, this is to determine at what point they were manufactured and what steam they were in, whether those going to Japan's domestic market or those going to North America or to Europe. but I sort of got the feeling Peter wanted to complain but did not want a resolution other than one he could engineer himself as a work around. cheers Garth
Pete, you are right on target. Z scale has two ballasted track lines that are very similar to Kato Unitrack. One is from Micro-Trains who unveiled their line in 2005. The 2nd line is from Rokuhan who entered the Z market last year. Rokuhan has a more extensive track line with many new products in the pipeline. Rob
I glad thing cleared up now. I personally use Rokuhan track with my grandson, Hal, and I thank all we learn from Garth. Great products. Sorry for any misunderstandings. Pete, I hope you try solutions these experts have given you. Trains should be fun and not a place to be angry. "Schools are the most important thing for our children to learn."
