Re-Railers????

[cmgn9712]

from reading through all this, my guess is the poster has a lot of train set quality cars which are notorious for having trucks too tightly mounted to allow any flexibility. This explains both the derailing and lack of rerailing. The trucks have to have some movement in all 3 dimensions in order for the wheels to be  redirected. If the trucks only swivel and do not have some slight tilt from side to side they are too tight. This can be difficult to correct in train set cars which are often pinned to the floor instead of screw mounted

[rbryce1]

That is a very good point.  I will do some testing tonight with that in mind.  I know I have some cars with very loose trucks, and some not so loose.  Will exercise each type and see if this turns up anything.

[rbryce1]

I had pretty much let this thread die, as everything I had tried to correct the re-railers did not work.  I tried and examined everything everyone suggested, with no positive results.  They still do not work.  

A week or so ago, H & R Trains had a show and the Bachmann factory rep was there with a demonstration layout using Bachmann NS track and the re-railer I was having the problems with.  I told him of the problem, and he said they all worked fine.  He then took several types of new cars which he had with him on the Bachmann layout and proceeded to show me that they all worked ... however, none of them did!!!  No car entering the re-railer in a de-railed condition would re-rail.  He tried playing with the issue for the 2 days he was there, and could not get the re-railers on his layout to re-rail a single car.

He indicated he was going to get with the Bachmann design group and have this issue looked into.

[jbrock27]

rbryce1, while I felt your pain and frustration reading this thread (I have been there (here) myself) I am glad to see you persisted in trying to figure out the problem.  I am curious to find out what Bachmann does for you.

In reading this, I was somewhat entertained (and I don't mean at your expense over your exasperation) it was like watching a tag team wrestling match at times-"In this corner we have fans of all things Bachmann and in this corner...."

And I hear your point loud and clear on how some approach trying to help in answering a question with the mindset of "bc I never had that problem must mean your problem lies elsewhere".  Also funny (I don't mean in a ha ha way) that sometimes people don't read fully what was said before they post a response-basic skills people.  Like I have said before, so many incorrect assumptions are made around here.

Good luck with this.

[Morgun 30]

rbryce1, while I felt your pain and frustration reading this thread (I have been there (here) myself) I am glad to see you persisted in trying to figure out the problem.  I am curious to find out what Bachmann does for you........

And I hear your point loud and clear on how some approach trying to help in answering a question with the mindset of "bc I never had that problem must mean your problem lies elsewhere". 

Yes, I see both sides here. 1, the re-railer should just simply do that, period. 2, de-railing is not desirable and the cause should be corrected.

Some people want everything RTR while others get enjoyment out of tinkering and fine-tuning.

One thing we all have in common is the enjoyment we get from this hobby, and helping others.

[jbrock27]

Yep.  Key phrase Morg, "helping others".  Not sure that it is everyone's intent who post here but for the most part...

[richd286]

This is an old discussion.  There is a flaw in the Bachmann rerailer.  There is a small channel on the outer edge of the rail that snags the flange and stops it from crossing over the rail head.  Ever notice that when you are placing a car on the tracks it takes a lot of "passes" to get it to seat correctly and sometimes you have to manually drop the wheel into the flangeway.  This discussion is not about track/wheel mechanics which is always a worthy discussion but rather the Bachmann rerailer.  I have an Atlas rerailer that gets the job done in one pass every time. 

[jbrock27]

Richd,  I for one realize this was an old post that the originator, rbryce1 recently added a follow up to.   And I am glad he took the time to do so.
It amused me to read through it from start to finish.
Like you, I also have Atlas rerailers, some 40 years old that currently work flawlessly.  To your point, I am curious, has Bachmann ever acknowledged their flaw in their rerailers?  It sounds to me up until recent experience cited by the OP, that has not been the case.

[Ken G Price]

Bachmann, we are still waiting!
Please, no more ignoring us. What is going to be done?

[WoundedBear]

Bachmann is never going to admit there is a flaw in anything it does or produces....the HO Shay and Climax gears are a perfect example. Until the problem grows out of control, they will take the usual route taken by corporate America.....deny the problem exists.

Sid

[richd286]

Bachmann must have a 100,000 rerailers out there and is not likely to own up.  They are useful as a power connector and serve setting a car onto the tracks by hand if you move the trucks perpendicular to the track until the flanges seat.  That's the only use I get out of them.  I have tested fitted running a fine wire down the groove on the outer edge of the rail that would roll the flange over into the flange way but have other tasks are on the priority list to do and have not put it into operation.  I bet there are any number of solutions to fill the groove.  Get out your magnifying glass and check out the groove.  Maybe a gap filler glue bead?

[Bucksco]

The issue has been discussed and will be remedied.