On a HO left and right turnouts - how do you keep the cars from derailing in rev

[Terry Toenges]

ACY,
Great PR for Bachmann. "Kids - Don't buy Bachmann train sets if you want to back your trains up."

[ACY]

Great PR for Bachmann. "Kids - Don't buy Bachmann train sets if you want to back your trains up."

Newer sets have body mounted knuckle couplers, all they need are Kadee's and you are set. Only the early 90's and older sets with horn hook or truck mounted couplers would be problematic.

[Terry Toenges]

So... They can't back them up with the stock EZ Mates? How about the weight?

[RAM]

Acy.  Kids are not stupid, they just haven't been around long enough to learn everything.  What happens with talgo trucks when backing is the front wheel is pushed against the rail.  If everything is perfect and speed is slow it will usually work.  However very seldom are our track perfect.  The speed is often too fast.  All of the cars that I use on my layout have body mounted couplers.  I do this just because I like to do it.  I replace the wheels but not the trucks.  I have no problem with those cars that I rework.

[ACY]

So... They can't back them up with the stock EZ Mates? How about the weight?

The weight is okay for backing a few cars, the plastic couplers have a tendency to fail or break especially combined with kids at the controls.

[Terry Toenges]

All the advice given on here was great advice. I'm aware of all these things.
My point was about the newbies to the hobby who buy a set and a couple of turnouts and then get disappointed when they keep getting derailments backing up.

[jward]

so you glue some pennies inside the car. about 5 cents at each end will do the trick. even i can afford 10 cents a car.

from my experience with bachmann stuff:

the newer stuff which came with body mounted knuckle couplers works just fine without changing couplers and wheelsets. i change the couplers only if they fail.

the silver series cars are usually great runners right out of the box. i don't make any modifications to them.

for a kid buying a train set, the bachmann ones are good to start with. you can certainly do ALOT worse. but when you go to expand, don't buy the standard left & right switches. they work well going forward but not twhen backing a train. buy the numbered switches instead, #4, #5, #6 or #8. they take up more room but your trains will be more forgiving if you use them.

on a personal note, i have a very small railroad. while i lay my own track and build my switches by hand, previous experience has taught me that #5s are a good compromise between size and reliability. if, like me, your layout consists of mainly 18"r curves, limit yourself to 40' or 50' cars and 4 axle gp type diesels and everything will work fine. if you have room for larger 22"r or 24" r curves, you can just about eliminate size restrictions on your cars & engines.

a little care in what you buy and how you use it goes a long way.

[ACY]

on a personal note, i have a very small railroad. while i lay my own track and build my switches by hand, previous experience has taught me that #5s are a good compromise between size and reliability. if, like me, your layout consists of mainly 18"r curves, limit yourself to 40' or 50' cars and 4 axle gp type diesels and everything will work fine. if you have room for larger 22"r or 24" r curves, you can just about eliminate size restrictions on your cars & engines.

There are tons of things in HO that won't run on 24" radius, many passenger cars, most articulated cars, some 89' cars, many brass locos, a few other larger locos, etc...
If you have 32" radius and #8 turnouts then you can run anything but a schnabel or a couple unusual brass locos.

[rogertra]

ACY,
Great PR for Bachmann. "Kids - Don't buy Bachmann train sets if you want to back your trains up."

But that's, sadly, the truth.

When newbies or parents ask me what model train set to buy my reply is always "Don't, as you will be disappointed."

I suggest they purchase a selection of good quality code 80 snap track, Altas for example, some good quality freight cars, a caboose that matches the road name of the locomotive and a quality locomotive, Spectrum for example and finally, a quality throttle.  Yes, it'll cost more than a "train set" but will run far better than any "train set" and they won't be disappointed.

[Doneldon]

My point was about the newbies to the hobby who buy a set and a couple of turnouts and then get disappointed when they keep getting derailments backing up.

Terry-

You're absolutely right. The model train manufacturers are enjoying a great market with so many of us long-term modelers at a point where we can spend a lot of money on trains. So they rake it in but don't consider that older model rails, who are the most numerous part of the hobby, are getting to the point that our fingers are becoming a little too big for the tiny parts and our vision needs more than just some lenses that clip to our glasses. The market is going to start shrinking in the next ten years or so, and there won't be many new modelers to replace us, at least partly because so many kids are frustrated by their one or two experiences with train set trains.
                                                                 -- D