Problem

[darthraven]

I just purchased the Pacific Flyer (e-z track)  as the train goes around the track the cars become uncoupled from the coal car.  It is a round track on flat surface. Any help would be appreciated  it is a round track on flat surface

[Trainmaster2345]

Have you tried slowing it down?

[darthraven]

it does it whether I go as slow as possible barley moving or fast and all variations in between generally in one specific spot  the track is flat there also but the coal car seems to raise slightly 

[Jerrys HO]

To add to Hunt's advice, check the rail where it keeps uncoupling and make sure it is securely attached to the ties. It could be that the little plastic spikes that hold the rail became broken while in transit or installing the tracks. As this would cause more of a derailment issue but there is always a possibility of uncoupling.

Jerry

[Doneldon]

darth (seriously?)-

Also make sure your couplers are at the same, NMRA spec,
height. Misaligned couplers and a bumpy rail joint could easily
spell uncouple.
                          -- D

[mabloodhound]

One other member here posted a similar problem and it turned out the coupler on his tender was a different height than the cars.   He swapped the one from the back of his caboose to the tender and now it works fine.

[darthraven]

alright there is a spot in the track that the rails have a small gap between them  this is the area where it comes loose.  I switched the coupler on the tender with one from the caboose and this seems to have made the problem worse. 

[darthraven]

ok so I seem to have gotten it lined out.  The wheels for the tender car were just a little narrower than the rest so I took the wheels off of the caboose and put them on the tender.  it has now been running for 10 mins with no problem when before it couldn't complete a single trip.


Oh and whats wrong with Darth,  you don't think sci-fi geeks can like trains

[ChrisS]

Lots of times you can grab that narrow wheelset and gently twist both wheels and slide them on the axle. Or go to a hobby shoP and buy a few spare wheelsets.

[Doneldon]

Darth-

There's nothing wrong with sci-fi geeks liking trains. I think it's a great idea and I kind of fit the description a bit myself!

It's probably not a good idea to try to fix problems by swapping couplers or wheelsets. It's better to adjust coupler heights, push or pull wheelsets into gauge and make sure that rail joints are level and tight.
                                                                                                                                    -- D

[darthraven]

I am not sure if it is the set I bought but the wheels don't appear to be adjustable at all I couldn't budge them.  I can pop them out of the thing that retains them but cannot adjust them.  As for the coupler I had to switch it back after trying that suggestion for the caboose one was much to high and lost the cars much more frequently all over the track instead of at one spot.  With the different wheels though (from the caboose) it works perfectly (well except for not being able to use the caboose).  The section of track that doesn't seem to join has maybe 2mm of space between it and the next section what was happening here was the tender (see you all taught me something already) wheels were coming off the track right here then it would cause it to bounce slightly making it come uncoupled. With the slightly wider wheel set it no longer does this.

Hope I didn't kill you all with repetitive descriptions or bad grammar (wife wasn't available to proof it).
Jeremy

[Desertdweller]

Darth,

Here is how you adjust wheel gauge.

One or both wheels will have a plastic center (for insulation).  Take the wheel and axle out of the truck.  Hold the wheel set by the axle with a needle-nosed pliers.

Take a regular slip-joint pliers and adjust it so it doesn't close completely.  With your other hand, take the slip-joint pliers and grasp the insulated wheel.  While twisting the wheel slightly on the axle, move the wheel in or out on the axle.

It will be helpful if you have a wheel gauge to check the spacing.  If you can't buy one, make one by filing notches with a three-cornered file the same distance apart as your track gauge.

Be careful not to mess up the wheel flange.

Les

[JerryB]

Assuming this is a Bachmann set, the wheels are adjustable. It requires the application of both a twisting force and a pulling or pushing force to move one or both wheels on the axle. It is not uncommon to break an axle if the wheels are really stuck, but replacement wheelsets are inexpensive.

Of course you need to have either a caliper or (better) a track, coupler and wheel gauge in order to set the wheels and couplers to the correct dimensions. Using a gauge like this will quickly lead to the solution of lots of minor difficulties, including derailments, poor operation through switches, and coupler problems.

The NMRA sells one for H0 here:

https://www.nmrastores.com/Public_Store/product_info.php?products_id=53&osCsid=34e438khsnbph0cr45sh72s0o2

It is $12 for non-members, discounted to members. Other places sell the same (or a similar) gauge, but for more money: $18 at Micro-Mark, but probably faster delivery there.

Hope this helps.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[JerryB]

<snip>
It will be helpful if you have a wheel gauge to check the spacing.  If you can't buy one, make one by filing notches with a three-cornered file the same distance apart as your track gauge.
Les

Excellent advice, but with one correction: The correct place to check and set the gauge for wheelsets is the back to back distance of the wheel flanges, not the ". . . track gauge."

for H0 standard gauge wheelsets, the back to back distance is specified as 0.566" (minimum). For full details, see:

http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/S-4_2ScaleWheels.html

Note that if you lack the standards gauge, you can use a digital caliper. The standards gauge is lots more efficient, and includes a track gauge as well as a couple height gauge.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[darthraven]

This is the set I have got http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=3091   the wheels on it appear to be one solid piece of plastic including the axle and are not adjustable.