Problem

[JerryB]

Okay. I have never seen a Bachmann wheelset that is a single molded piece, but H0 scale is not my main interest, so it is possible.

I still recommend you get a caliper and measure the back to back distance. Better, spend $12 and get the NMRA gauge. That gauge will also allow you to check the coupler height, as that was you original problem.

If the dimensions are not as shown in the NMRA standards, I would suggest you call Bachmann service at:

800-356-3910
Technical Support for HO, N, On30 Scales: Ext.336, 337 or 338

Tell them that the couplers are not at the correct height, or that molded wheelsets are out of gauge. I am certain they will gladly replace any defective parts.

None of the above obviates the need for the proper tools to make your trains run well. For example, the track could be out of gauge, or there is something else causing your problems.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[Jerrys HO]

JerryB-

I will have to check but I do believe darth is correct. If I recall my plastic wheelsets were all in one not adjustable. I will check and get back.

Jerry

[Doneldon]

No one would make out-of-gauge wheelsets, would they? That's nuts. It is
just as much work and requires just as much plastic to make misgauged
wheelsets as correct ones.
                                          -- D

[JerryB]

JerryB-

I will have to check but I do believe darth is correct. If I recall my plastic wheelsets were all in one not adjustable. I will check and get back.

Jerry

That's why I wrote ". . . H0 scale is not my main interest, so it is possible."

No one would make out-of-gauge wheelsets, would they?
                                          -- D

I'm 100% certain they would not deliberately make out of gauge wheelsets, but it is also possible that somewhere in the manufacturing process a set of plastic wheels were deformed, and were delivered out of gauge. I seriously doubt that there is a person sitting at a workbench in China with a gauge checking every wheelset that comes off the injection molding machine.

The original poster wrote that he was experiencing an uncoupling problem. Later (after some suggestions here) he wrote that he had moved a wheel set and that the uncoupling problem was fixed. I am still not certain that either the original problem was cured, nor that there is a problem with either the wheelsets or the couplings.

The OP seems to think he has something about his set that is defective, so I suggested he contact service for some help. Of course getting a track and wheel gauge would allow him to do his own analysis of wheels, couplers and trackwork, but that always seems to be the last thing anyone with a problem will consider doing.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[Doneldon]

Jerry B-

Like you, I'm not sure just what the OP's real problem is/was or that his game of musical wheelsets was the best course to pursue to solve it. I think a coupler height gauge and a wheel gauge are the tools to reach for first when there are uncouplings or derailments. I suppose that newbies, especially, are a bit intimidated by using unfamiliar tools and they don't want to spend the $20 on something they don't understand.

If you read through the posts here, as I imagine you have, many of these questions come up time and time again. It frustrates me some but I try not to show it. After all, there was a time when I didn't know why my Hi-F drive GP-9 wouldn't run right, stay on the loose Atlas brass sectional track or stay coupled to my X2f-equipped freight cars. Everybody was new at this once upon a time.
                                                                                                      -- D

[Jim Banner]

No one would make out-of-gauge wheelsets, would they? That's nuts. It is
just as much work and requires just as much plastic to make misgauged
wheelsets as correct ones.
                                          -- D

There was a time when most of the wheel sets in cheap train sets were made under gauge.  I believe the idea was that under gauge wheel sets would still run, even if the track had been stepped on.  Properly gauged wheel sets would not.  Too bad if you wanted to add turnouts.

Another reason could have been that those one piece wheel sets were made with plastic that was too hot and was kicked out of the mould too soon.  Both result in excessive shrinkage, but both allow one injection moulding machine to make more wheel sets in a given length of time.

Keep in mind that I am talking about the bad old days when everybody was trying to make train sets just about as good as the next guys' but cheaper.  After enough iterations, the train sets cost almost nothing but were not worth anything.  At one point, you could buy brand new freight cars for less than $1 each.  But they would cost another $4 or $5 to make them look and run decently.  I do not mean to imply that that is what happened in this case.

Jim

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

If you read through the posts here, as I imagine you have, many of these questions come up time and time again. It frustrates me some but I try not to show it. After all, there was a time when I didn't know why my Hi-F drive GP-9 wouldn't run right, stay on the loose Atlas brass sectional track or stay coupled to my X2f-equipped freight cars. Everybody was new at this once upon a time.
                                                                                                   -- D

Truer words were never posted. 

[mf5117]

How are you configuring your string , gondola first then box car then caboose . Have you tried switching the gondola's direction or putting the box car ahead of the gondola car . Do you see the little tiny springs in the knuckle part of the coupler and if it is a circle are the cars actually locking together when you couple them up . If it is the gondola ,try putting a couple of penny's to keep the tention on the couplers . When going around on a circle track ,coupler swing and momentum can be a factor . I had a CN coal car that came with my Digital Commander set that gave me fits . Uncoupled no matter what I did . I finally had to weight it down with some coins under the coal load and move it to a different location in my string of cars . Try pulling just the box car and the caboose and see if you have the same results . Also make sure your track is flat and all rail joiners are made up to the rail correctly . Check the simple things first ....

And one time I had uncoupling problems . Did everything changed couplers ,changed wheel sets ,weighted cars to standards , then I finally got mad and pulled up my track and found a under track magnet I didn't know was there from a previous change in track layout design . I was like hmmm that was stupid of me . Fixed my problem when I removed the magnet .

[Desertdweller]

mf5117 brings up a good point that has not been mentioned before.  A lighweight car, like an empty flat car, especially a long one, will tend to derail when pulling a tight curve or a switch if it has heavier cars behind it.  The force needed to pull the car overcomes the force of gravity holding the car to the track, and can lift the flanges right over the rail.

This happened to me once pulling a string of heavy cars with an empty trailer flat car between the loads and the empties on a full-sized railroad.  The car climbed a rail on a switch.  So, it is a consideration on real railroads and it would be proper to consider this in train makeup on a model railroad, too.

On my passenger-oriented model railroad, I help avoid this by adding a little extra weight to my baggage and RPO cars that are run on the head end of my trains.

Don's mention of a Hi-F Geep brought back memories to me.  I had one of those, too.  It actually was a pretty good loco for the time: very smooth and quiet, and would run well with any other loco.

When I was just getting into model railroading (1968) what equipment I had was Athern HO.  There was a Tyco train set in a store downtown I really wanted.  I bought it and mixed its contents with my existing model railroad.  Of course, all the rolling stock was equipped with horn-hook (x2f) couplers.

I soon realized there was a problem.  All my Athern stuff would operate OK by themselves.  And all my Tyco stuff would operate well by themselves.  But when I mixed the cars, I would get derailments.  It turns out that the Athern cars all had body-mounted couplers, and the Tycos all had truck-mounted couplers.  So began my education of what works and what doesn't.

Les

[darthraven]

Jerry B-

Like you, I'm not sure just what the OP's real problem is/was or that his game of musical wheelsets was the best course to pursue to solve it. I think a coupler height gauge and a wheel gauge are the tools to reach for first when there are uncouplings or derailments. I suppose that newbies, especially, are a bit intimidated by using unfamiliar tools and they don't want to spend the $20 on something they don't understand.

I am not intimidated by the prospect of doing this, it is just not possible with this set as is.  After the holidays I plan on upgrading my wheel sets to the metal ones, and will also look into the coupler gauge I am not sure if the couplers that it has with it are adjustable or not.  They certainly didn't appear to be when I switched them one piece of rectangular plastic held it in place and I saw no way to adjust the height of it.  This was originally intended to be a decoration for around the tree.  Despite all the issues I have had with it I found it quite fun to try to find a solution to them.  Though they may not be ideal solutions at the moment it is the best I can achieve.

How are you configuring your string , gondola first then box car then caboose . Have you tried switching the gondola's direction or putting the box car ahead of the gondola car . Do you see the little tiny springs in the knuckle part of the coupler and if it is a circle are the cars actually locking together when you couple them up . If it is the gondola ,try putting a couple of penny's to keep the tention on the couplers . When going around on a circle track ,coupler swing and momentum can be a factor . I had a CN coal car that came with my Digital Commander set that gave me fits . Uncoupled no matter what I did . I finally had to weight it down with some coins under the coal load and move it to a different location in my string of cars . Try pulling just the box car and the caboose and see if you have the same results . Also make sure your track is flat and all rail joiners are made up to the rail correctly . Check the simple things first ....

And one time I had uncoupling problems . Did everything changed couplers ,changed wheel sets ,weighted cars to standards , then I finally got mad and pulled up my track and found a under track magnet I didn't know was there from a previous change in track layout design . I was like hmmm that was stupid of me . Fixed my problem when I removed the magnet .

My gondola is currently filled with close to 3 oz of extra weight,  it did the same thing no matter which car I put after the tender.  Currently there is only the loco, tender, gondola, and box car, there is no caboose as I have taken the wheel set from it to fix the tender.  This is not the ideal solution as don has pointed out several times now, but is the best I can do till after the holidays.


Jeremy

[Jhanecker2]

Have been a science fiction fan since the 1950's my self  ,  and an Arch-Mech for almost as long . Your plastic wheelsets are replaceable, bachmann makes  metal wheelsets in  33" diameter for freight cars & cabooses , and 36" diameter  for passenger  cars.  These can be inserted into the wheel frames  and will roll better than plastic and are adjustable .  You do have to be careful to make sure that they are installed with the insulated wheels on the same side to prevent short circuits . All of the previous comments will still probably apply.   J2.  Good Luck!!!

[Doneldon]

will also look into the coupler gauge I am not sure if the couplers that it has with it are adjustable or not.  They certainly didn't appear to be when I switched them one piece of rectangular plastic held it in place and I saw no way to adjust the height of it.

darth-

You don't adjust the coupler, per se. Adjustments are made by adding extremely thin washers between either the coupler shank and the top of the box in which it is mounted (to lower the coupler) or the truck and its bolster (to raise the coupler). That probably sounds backwards but think about it for a moment and it will make sense. Of course, the washers are just for minute adjustments. Larger adjustments are made by adding or removing material from where the draft gear (coupler box) sits on the car's frame, or by using couplers which have their shanks attached to heads of the couplers near the top or bottom of the head. Adding material between the draft gear and frame and using a coupler with its shank attached to the top of the head will lower the coupler head; cutting into the car frame or using a coupler which has its shank attached to the bottom of the coupler head will raise the coupler. Which of these latter two techniques is used is largely a function of how much change is needed and whether the draft gear can be cut it or built down without adversely affecting the car's appearance. Using offset heads is good when more movement is needed than the washers allow. Frame modifications are necessary when a lot of movement is needed; however, there are usually structural problems which need to be corrected when so much movement is needed. Once that is done, the adjustments can generally be made with washers and offset shanks.
                            -- Doneldon

[darthraven]

Well after a trip to a hobby shop I have replaced the wheelsets with metal ones and it runs smooth as can be now.  Thank you all for the great advice.

[jward]

on the wheelsets that seem too narrow, do they wobble if you turn the tender over and spin them by hand? maybe you have a bent axle. at any rate you may want to replace them with metal wheelsets if they are giving you problems. most of us serious rails do this anyway.