Number 6 was delivered from Richmond yesterday afternoon. The standby crew took her for a break-in spin up the line five or ten miles and returned complaining that the pilot truck tended to climb the rails and this resulted in a generally rough ride.
The shop crew removed and inspected the truck for burrs, lubricated and replaced it with no improvement. The shop foreman recalled that the Spectrum 4-6-0 had been delivered with a brass shim spring mounted between the truck connecting bar and the frame. This was missing on No. 6. The shim extends forward the length of the connecting bar, pivots with the connecting bar on the frame mounting screw, and provides slight downward pressure on the pilot truck.
Further investigation revealed that the spring is not included on the 4-4-0's illustrated parts breakdown.
Since the pilot trucks for the 4-6-0 and the 4-4-0 are identical, the spring was temporarily removed from the ten-wheeler and installed on the 4-4-0. Further test runs indicated that this solved the problem and 4-4-0s should probably have this same spring for pilot truck stability.
The Bachmann part number for the 4-6-0 spring is H817X-MT069. The part can probably be fabricated but requires very thin material, otherwise the spring and pilot connecting bar will bind when the screw is tightened.
All's well and No. 6 made her first run up the line this afternoon with the RPO and a coach.
Bob
The shop crew removed and inspected the truck for burrs, lubricated and replaced it with no improvement. The shop foreman recalled that the Spectrum 4-6-0 had been delivered with a brass shim spring mounted between the truck connecting bar and the frame. This was missing on No. 6. The shim extends forward the length of the connecting bar, pivots with the connecting bar on the frame mounting screw, and provides slight downward pressure on the pilot truck.
Further investigation revealed that the spring is not included on the 4-4-0's illustrated parts breakdown.
Since the pilot trucks for the 4-6-0 and the 4-4-0 are identical, the spring was temporarily removed from the ten-wheeler and installed on the 4-4-0. Further test runs indicated that this solved the problem and 4-4-0s should probably have this same spring for pilot truck stability.
The Bachmann part number for the 4-6-0 spring is H817X-MT069. The part can probably be fabricated but requires very thin material, otherwise the spring and pilot connecting bar will bind when the screw is tightened.
All's well and No. 6 made her first run up the line this afternoon with the RPO and a coach.
Bob