Test running new track

[Tony]

just an observation more than a question and yes my railway is a bit over the top being multi level and having 5' between lower and upper levels and more curves than straights but how annoying is it that different locos and wagons all require vastly different degrees of track laying qualities, and some smaller locos are worse than the larger stuff
let me explain,
I started by thinking if i use my Aristo Mallet as a test loco being longer bigger and requiring more clearance plus needing rad 3 curves etc that if that went round the track anything would.!!!!!!!!! oh how wrong can you be
having completed 2/3 thirds of my track the mallet runs perfectly and even pulls 24 bogied waggons up an unrealistic hill but ive now spent the best part of 3 weeks altering everything because various other smaller stock derail on the daftest of problems or falter on the smallest of imperfections i wont bore you with to many details but one example i have a LGB 0-4-0 with a powered tender it will run on the dirtest track and the most unevenly layed but i have one set of rad 3 points on a slight hill. everthing goes over it no problem except the 0-4-0 who every now and again stops dead as if it has hit something solid but only when running solo, turns out to be the front bumper hitting part of the point so i relay the track putting the hill after the point now everything runs over it except my 66 who derailed for no reason at all so a few wedges and much testing later all is well until i run the mallet Yes my trustly mallet that will pull 24 wagons flat out around the twistiest of bends now derails it tender while going straight over
Is it just me or has it happened to you

Tony

 

[Madman]

I think Murphy is hiding somewhere on your layout.

 

[casey jones snr]

Tony. I had the same sort of problems when I started the CFR. I still have certain locomotives and rolling stock falling off in odd locations. Sometimes only when traveling in one direction. It's what makes running a railway interesting.

 

[JRinTawa]

Guess you've probably already done this but have you got right down to rail level and looked along it both ways, amazing how what looks alright from above or the side can have a "fault" only visible from rail level. If you can't "eyeball" it maybe a picture or three with taken looking along can work.8|

 

[bobg]

I like that tip John. Sensible. I have bits of track I cant see but I'm sure the camera will.

 

[MRail]

I have bits of track I cant see but I'm sure the camera will.

Key Fob Video is what you need!

Rob G

 

[Tony]

Thanks for the comments my main point is i have tried to be as perfect with my track as possible and having seen some pictures of less than perfectly flat track work i wonder how others get on bearing in mind some of the seemingly daft problems i have had. ive got another today, my first bend i layed is a rad 3 screwed to wood perfect joints never had a issue with anything running at full speed pulling anything. Just had my Mallet at full speed decide it wanted to try the sceanic route. lucky i havent moved my transformer yet and i was standing right next to it otherwise there would have been a 3' drop for it followed by 18 coal wagons. though to be fair it might be a dodgy coupling on one of the front wagons as when the loco hits the bend it slows down a bit and you then get the weight of 18 wagons pushing down on one coupling i had that the other day when wife turn power off and loco stopped dead but wagons didnt,
Tony

 

[JRinTawa]

Ah good point Tony, often the first though when something derails is it's the track, but other things like coupler lock etc and be the cause, or at least a contributing factor.
And of course too if it is track it's not always where stock comes off where the problem starts. Dealt with a problem area once where it was in gauge but one rail was twisted, didn't upset everything and only occasionally that stock that it did. Don't you love intermittent faults!:wits:

 

[Aljosha]

... and I've always thought it's only me having probs....
Seeing all those well running rlwys of others on those open days...