Min track radius confusion

[ACY]

Like Yardmaster said and I already suggested if you have 22" radius curves or broader, then you can run larger locomotives.

The only reason you can even run a Mikado on 18" radius curves is because in this case Life-Like made modifications to the locomotive such that the locomotive is not accurate or entirely to scale.

There likely aren't any locomotives bigger than what you have a that have a suggested minimum radius from the manufacturer of only 18" radius.

[guslcp]

Need a little more info...Was it just the pilot truck that derailed first and cause the main drivers to jump off the track..??..??  In my experience, B'mann pilot trucks will jump off the track at the slightest unevenness of the track or going through turnouts.  I fixed mine by gluing a small weight on top of the truck.

Gus,

[Sunbeam2]

How do you add photos on this forum???

[rogertra]

How do you add photos on this forum???

A common question and the common answer is, you need to set up a photo account at places like Photobucket or Flickr and copy and paste the photo URL.

Cheers

Roger T.

[Sunbeam2]

Need a little more info...Was it just the pilot truck that derailed first and cause the main drivers to jump off the track..??..??  In my experience, B'mann pilot trucks will jump off the track at the slightest unevenness of the track or going through turnouts.  I fixed mine by gluing a small weight on top of the truck.

Gus,

two things are causing it to derail, the front truck jumps off at a rail joint in the turn and I noticed by slowly moving it into a turn that the two middle drive wheels also derail.

I will just put it on E bay and see if I can get back what I spent on it. I am not a collector, I just want to run my trains

[rogertra]

Need a little more info...Was it just the pilot truck that derailed first and cause the main drivers to jump off the track..??..??  In my experience, B'mann pilot trucks will jump off the track at the slightest unevenness of the track or going through turnouts.  I fixed mine by gluing a small weight on top of the truck.

Gus,

two things are causing it to derail, the front truck jumps off at a rail joint in the turn and I noticed by slowly moving it into a turn that the two middle drive wheels also derail.

I will just put it on E bay and see if I can get back what I spent on it. I am not a collector, I just want to run my trains

Is this rail joiner the only place the loco derails?  If it is and from your description it sounds like poorly laid track, nothing to do with the loco.

Cheers

Roger T.

[Len]

I don't see how getting a $300 loco new in the box for $160 is getting "screwed". All you need is the 22" radius curves called for in the product description and you're in business. Worst case, sell it for $200, so you're $40 ahead, and get a different loco.

Len

[ACY]

Worst case, sell it for $200, so you're $40 ahead, and get a different loco.

I doubt he could sell it for $200 since many online hobby shops have the 4-8-4's for less than what he paid for it in the first place. On MB Klein 4-8-4's are available for only $140.

[Len]

Worst case, sell it for $200, so you're $40 ahead, and get a different loco.

I doubt he could sell it for $200 since many online hobby shops have the 4-8-4's for less than what he paid for it in the first place. On MB Klein 4-8-4's are available for only $140.

You've never seen an eBay bidding war where a Tyco box car worth $1.98 on a good day goes for $75.00??

Len

[jbrock27]

I have LenS.  It is both comical and despicable at the same time   What was that PT Barnum said?

[Sunbeam2]

PT said a sucker is born every minute
I will be very happy to get back what I paid for the Loco
I saw the same model for sale on model train stuff for 159.95 plus shipping, probably cost me 10 bucks worth of gas to go and get it
Damn the minute I saw it was a 4-8-4, I should have backed off, except that old man was scary as hell

[jbrock27]

Re PT: Thank you Sunny for filing in the gap.  Just so you know and do not become unecessarily offended, I was not connecting what you have done to be related to the punchline of the PT Barnum thing. 

Take what you have learned here today from these good folks to be invaluable information and a good lesson in doing the research ahead of time.  Good luck!

[Sunbeam2]

To Roger T.
Naw it derails at every curve

Here is an interesting comparison, the drive wheels on my Mikado 2-8-2 are exactly the size of a dime and the drive wheels on the Bachman 4-8-2 are the size of a quarter. Just line up 4 dimes and then line up 4 quarters. you will see that 4 dimes are almost exactly as long as 3 quarters

[Trainman203]

Yardmaster we need one of those upfront , in the general discussion section, permanent topics about minimum radius, what only functions, and what actually looks correct.  The failure to understand the minimum radius / overly large steam engine issue is like a broken record.

[Pacific Northern]

Hi Sunbeam2,

I have the Bachmann K4, item #84014, which was DCC equipped.  The tender does not have a speaker installed, but the floor had an area moulded for a 1" speaker.  The minimun radius of all curves on my layout is 18" and my Pennsy 4-6-2 operates just fine.

Here is a video of my steam engine roster that I posted awhile back.  The K4 appears last.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADa0EU7p-3Y

I hope this helps.

Very nice layout, excellent detail. Any more videos of your layout?

Rod in PA