Bachmann HO 2-6-0 steamer and tender question

[Dan S.]

Good morning to All,
First of all I would like to Thank all of you Gentlemen out there whom help answer all my questions in the past, you have been a huge help explaining all my problems and frustrations and save money by not buying the wrong items. I have a new DCC sound equipped small steamer which is giving me fits! When I run the little steamer and tender around my layout it runs fine, but as soon as I hook 1 or 2 cars on to it the front trucks on the little tender going around curves pulls the front wheels of the front truck off the rails! Now as soon as I use a different engine to pull same car configuration I have no issues at all, but it seems that the tender on the steamer doesn't have enough weight to hold itself down on the tracks? Have any of you ever heard of such a problem? if so how did you fix it? As allways I would very much appreciate any help from a experienced model train export. Dan.

[jonathan]

Dan,

Not an uncommon problem.  As you surmised, adding a little weight to the front of the tender should correct your derailment issue.

Also, check the wires between the tender and the locomotive.  These can be adjusted/wiggled a bit to get the front of the tender a little more cooperative.

Finally, check the drawbar connection. Sometimes, I have to put an ever so slight bend in the drawbar to keep it from riding the tender up off the rails.

These are normal adjustments that need to be made to get your locomotive to track smoothly.  We've all been there.  Good luck.

Regards,

Jonathan

[rogertra]

Wot Jonathan said, in spades.

Cheers

Roger T.

[Dan S.]

Good morning Fellow's,
Yes, I found the problem pretty much as you stated, the metal connecting strap between the engine and tender was holding up the tenders first set of trucks just enough to be a pain on the curves, all set now, just a lttle adjustment needed! Can any of you guy's recommend the Bachmann HO Berkshire steamer or another model steamer to work on 18 and 22" radius curves? I just can't pull my set of 72' heavy weight passenger cars with the little steamer, it only can pull 2 at a time! just need a little more mussel/weight to get the job done. I only have a 5' by 10' layout and the curves really limit me to the size of engine I can use, don't want to order a new Berkshire if it will have trouble with my size of curves I'm using. Thanks again I appreciate all the experience that you guy's have in this matter. Dan.

[jonathan]

With 18" radius curves, the 2-8-0 Consolidation is about as large as you can go on a steam locomotive. It is a great locomotive, good runner and puller.  I have six of them and all run great.  As before, a little tender tweaking is needed; minor stuff.

Look for a new/unused one.  The recycles on fleabay are risky.  One never knows how they have been handled/abused by a previous owner.  An older version, if unused, is still a good purchase.

In my experience, all versions from the first Spectrums to the latest Standard model are all excellent performers.

The headlight has a reputation of being a bit dim, but can be reworked if you like to tinker.

Regards,

Jonathan

[ACY]

If at all possible I would suggest totry to have a minimum radius of 22 or 24 inches but I see you are limited on space. A 24" minimum radius will allow you to safely operate almost anything. With the 18" radius you are very limited on what you will be able to run. The Berkshire wil not be able to run on 18" radius unfortunately. You might be able to run a consolidation but depending on your grades and the weight of your passenger cars you may not be able to pull them all still. Especially if they have lighting that causes friction making the cars more difficult to pull.
An alternative option would be to add lead weight to the 2-6-0 to improve the pulling power and perhaps even adding traction tires to one set of drivers.

[Doneldon]

You might be able to run a consolidation but depending on your grades and the weight of your passenger cars you may not be able to pull them all still. Especially if they have lighting that causes friction making the cars more difficult to pull.

ACY-

How does lighting change the friction either between the wheels and rails or between the wheel bearings and journals?

                                                                                                                                                                    -- D

[ACY]

ACY-
How does lighting change the friction either between the wheels and rails or between the wheel bearings and journals?
                                                                                                                                                                   -- D

The brass piece that makes contact with the axles can often times be a source of friction. Of course sometimes other lighting systems are used that would be a non-issue, or perhaps these are not lit at all.

[rogertra]

ACY-
How does lighting change the friction either between the wheels and rails or between the wheel bearings and journals?
                                                                                                                                                                   -- D

The brass piece that makes contact with the axles can often times be a source of friction. Of course sometimes other lighting systems are used that would be a non-issue, or perhaps these are not lit at all.

Those brass pieces are the pick ups for the motor's power.  Lighting is merely a by product of power pickup and has absolutely nothing to friction.

AFAIK, there are no separate pick ups just for lighting, just power pickup.

Cheers

Roger T.

[Doneldon]

The brass piece that makes contact with the axles can often times be a source of friction. Of course sometimes other lighting systems are used that would be a non-issue, or perhaps these are not lit at all.

ACY-

OK. I see what you are thinking, but I don't see it exactly the same way.

Yes, power pick-ups add a tiny bit of friction but that's not really due to the lights themselves. The friction would be the same for a locomotive whether or not it had lights and whether or not the lights were on. In the case of passenger cars or cabeese, the same principle applies: There is a small amount of friction added by the power pick-ups but it would be exactly the same whether or not the lights were on. So ... to my way of thinking, the lights don't add any friction; it's the presence of electrical pick-ups. True, a car wouldn't have power pick-ups unless it had also lights to use the power, but the friction would still be a function of the pick-ups, not the lights.
                                                                                                                                             -- D

[jward]

don and roger,
I think what acy is referring to is the lighting pickups on the passenger cars. if they have them, they would increase rolling resistance, especially on a long train.

[ACY]

Those brass pieces are the pick ups for the motor's power.  Lighting is merely a by product of power pickup and has absolutely nothing to friction.

AFAIK, there are no separate pick ups just for lighting, just power pickup.

Roger, I am referring to the original poster's 72' passenger cars, I am not referring to the locomotive he might potentially use. And if the original poster has a 5 car or larger train of lighted passenger cars, the Bachmann consolidation most likely won't be able to pull all of them even on a level grade due to the rolling resistance.
What you stated is correct for locomotives, but apparently it was not clear I was talking about the passrnger cars.

And Don, why don't you try to pull a long train of passenger cars with brass pickups with a Bachmann 2-6-0 or other small locomotive, and then compare with pulling an equal length trsin of passenger cars without any pickups (lighting). Let me know if Jeff and I are wrong about the pickups on passenger cars causing rolling resistance, enough to affect the length of train that the locomotive can pull.

[Doneldon]

don and roger,
I think what acy is referring to is the lighting pickups on the passenger cars. if they have them, they would increase rolling resistance, especially on a long train.

Jeff-

I know. Please read my post from this early morning. It explicitly mentions the electrical pick-ups on
passenger cars and cabooses.
                                              -- D

[Doneldon]

And Don, why don't you try to pull a long train of passenger cars with brass pickups with a Bachmann 2-6-0 or other small locomotive, and then compare with pulling an equal length trsin of passenger cars without any pickups (lighting). Let me know if Jeff and I are wrong about the pickups on passenger cars causing rolling resistance, enough to affect the length of train that the locomotive can pull.

ACY-

Again, it is the pick-ups themselves, not the lights per se, which add resistance. As for pulling long strings of passenger cars with a Mogul, well, that wouldn't have worked on the twelve-inches-to-the-foot railroads any better than it would work on our models. I really can't imagine that a Bachmann Mogul would be unable to pull the kind of short passenger consist, say three or four cars, which real 2-6-0s would have been asked to haul in the real world.
                                                                                                    -- Doneldon