Derailing 2-8-0

[sparkyjay31]

I need to know why the heck my 2-8-0 is derailing. 
It's the front truck on the tender that's doing it, I can see them getting lifted off the track going thru my 18" radius corners.  The wires from the loco to the tender are connected correctly.  The larger of the two which has the two protective sheaths and the knot tied in it I have going over the top of the bar connecting the loco and tender.  If I drop that down it gets snagged on the frogs or drags on the track.  Are the little protective sheaths supposed to drag?  If so how can I keep them from catching on the frogs?

Bending the drawbar is an option as it slipping the knot and stuffing more wire into the tender.  Has anyone else has this problem? 

As a side note: Why doesn't Bachmann simply make all the connections for us?

[THB-DAVE]

This is a common problem with the Consul and here are the ways to fix it. Ream out the holes on the draw bar a little with a dill bit to give it a little play. Just hold the bit in your hand, don't use the drill. I have done this with my Consols and it helps. I also add weight  in the tender over the front truck, as I do with all my tenders, 2 ounces will do and pull in the wire harness into the tender. Make sure the wires are distributed evenly on each side of the drawbar and are not crossing. Make sure the Cab apron isnt binding and forcing the tender up. I had to file mine a bit to get around 18" curves.

Dave

[SteamGene]

I agree with Dave.
Gene

[Atlantic Central]

I agree with dave as well - tender weight, minor drawbar ajustments, proper arangement of wires - it has fixed every tender tracking problem i have ever had with a spectrum loco.

Sheldon

[sparkyjay31]

Thanks guys for the help.  I appreciate it!

[MC]

What is the purpose of the Protective Sheaths? Do they just keep the wire together or is there something else they do?
MC

[SteamGene]

Conceals the wire colors.
Gene

[rains train]

I say just get ridda the 18", I just did that with my layout! It's a lot easier than it sounds....and it doesn't even sound that hard.

Alex

[SteamGene]

What is "ridda"?
Gene

[ta152h0]

and what is a " dill bit " ?

[sparkyjay31]

Mr. Bach Man,

Quality control is not an extra-cost option.  I feel that the paying customer has the rght to a defect free, properly operating product right out of the box.  And what I have heard from others that have posted here appears to be a long list of QC issues.  I would expect to tinkering to be required on a 10 year old model, not a brand new one.  My needing to drill out the drawbar, adjust wiring, adding weight to the tender of a BRAND NEW locomotive in unacceptable to me.  I'll be calling Customer Service looking for assistance.

From a very disappointed modeler,

[Atlantic Central]

Sparky,

Not to be too technical here, but the issue of tender weight is a design issue, not a quality control issue. A search of this board would reveal that these "issues" have been discussed at great length in the past.

Not everyone, and apparently not Bachmann, believes the tender weight issue is a problem. And, I will admit that for some it may not be. It is an issue for me because I pull trains as long as possible and back them up, this often puts tender weight at issue with lots of brands/designs of locomotives.

As for the drawbar hole reeming, while I have had many tell me about this one, I personally have never found it necessary. I have five Bachmann 2-8-0's from at least 3 different production runs.

As for the wires, well common sense says there is no way for Bachmann to "pre adjust" them. That is just part of the deal with all this new electronics on these trains. EVERY brand of steam loco I have requires some degree of fiddling with the wires to get them in he best functional and cosmetic location after the loco is coupled to the tender and on the track.

Over the nearly 20 years that Bachmann has been offering the Spectrum line, and for that matter going even further back, ever since they started taking modelers seriously rather than just making cheap train sets, THEY HAVE HAD A FEW QUALITY CONTROL ISSUES, but that is largely history as each new product or new production run has seen dramatic improvements in build quality/consistancy, design, detail, and operational performance.

I have had to return a few locos for poor running qualities - all of which where replaced with units that ran fine. That is a quality control issue. But the number of such problems seems to be on the decline by all reports and certianly my own experiance has shown that newer releases and production runs are much better in this reguard. I own 14 Bachmann Spectrum steam locomotives, I have had to return three, again all older models, 5-6 years ago. All recent purchases have been great.

In my experiance in this hobby (modeling since 1967 and about 8 years working in hobby shops), Bachmann now offers one of the best products out there, and certainly one of the best values considering price/quality.

I have purchased much more expensive products, for example the PCM Reading T1, and still had to "tinker" to get them to perform to my standards. So given the low cost and delicate nature of these products I think Bachmann does a great job, and getting better all the time.

I never bought brass years ago for the same reasons you are complaining, too much work yet to be done  - but brass is expensive - then and now. These models are not and yet they need less work than many brass models over the years.

Are Bachmann models perfect? That's subjective at best, but they are very good for the price and getting better all the time. I for one would rather add some tender weight or ajust a drawbar or two than pay more money.

Sheldon

[SteamGene]

Sparky,
Don't try any old craftman kits. 
Gene

[grumpy]

I have bought almost 20 locos in the past 3 years and have had only one problem that required addressing . The train modeling industry for the most part puts out an excellent product. The biggest problem I have is trying to decipher the Chinese interperatation of the English language..
Don