kato ho track and incline


B

Bristolman2012

Active Member
testing track with rolling stock at incline , basically rolling to peak of incline and letting go of car . sits until i nudge but about halfway up it rolls almost 7 ft back down ( sides are 10 ft . all suggestions appreciated . first time using inclines .
 
At the top of the incline ( wheels still on incline ) I let go of the car it just sits there . Move car down to about 1/2 way of incline and car rolls freely back down incline when I let go . Not at any track joiner either .
 
When you push the cars up the incline do you feel any kind of binding. Like the track is out of gauge?

Try swapping a few pieces of track around.
 
just one I used to test altheran bb rtr , one I just took from box . Like I said half way up incline car free rolls about 8 foot so I really believe nothing to do with the car . i did take level out again and table is slightly out of level . my table is on 6 rollers but I can shim foam if I have to . Liked I said just double checking everything befre I flip the switch .
 
I’d pull a different car out and test with that.

I do my roll tests with multiple different styles of rolling stock from a couple different manufacturers. They do vary.

Do you have a NMRA gauge? That will catch a lot of issues.
 
migalyto said:
I’d pull a different car out and test with that.

I do my roll tests with multiple different styles of rolling stock from a couple different manufacturers. They do vary.

Do you have a NMRA gauge? That will catch a lot of issues.
Click to expand...
I’m going to get the scale out and weigh the car too . Time I started out learning how to do that . Thx again for suggestions .
 
Assuming you really do have an incline, which can be checked easily with a bubble level, or even a cell phone app, if the grade is at least 1%, any item not with internal gearing should roll easily on its own and gather speed. If it doesn't, it has dirty bearing cones, cones not reamed out properly or misshapen, or the axle points aren't correctly seated...which also fools one or two of us now and then.

If you don't have one already, you really ought to have, along with an NMRA gauge for the scale, one of The Tool reamers from Micro Mark.

www.micromark.com

HO & On30 Truck Tuner

DetailsTruck Tuner Makes 'em Really RollTunes HO & On30 scale railroad truck bearingsMeets NMRA’s recommended 60-degree contourCleans burrs and grimeA Micro-Mark ExclusiveIncreases train length that a locomotive can pull by 20%
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Don't think you need to apply graphite, I’d try the truck tuner first and check gauge on wheels and track.
Another factor here might be if the car you’re using has plastic wheels or metal.
Most of us use the tuner then add metal wheels/axles and knuckle couplers right from the git go.
Some add weight too, depending on the make and type of car.
As was suggested best to try another car and maybe another length of track.
 
After i put two bridges together I started connecting track , lo and behold gap was 3/4 of an inch between last connecting kato pieces . So much for thinking you measured carefully . As I used glue gun on track it was easy to cut loose and move . Now I have to cut foam and risers loose together them back under track . Another live and learn .
mike
 
hooray ! All together and works well , electrical / switches/ crossovers and all . Train pulled 7 cars up incline no sweat . do have problem with couplers so another new learning curve . Doesn’t always happen either but i do have a spot on programming track all fixed for setting couplers at the end ( removable ) . I’ll probably go ahead and put kaydee on all the rolling stock . Lord have I spent the money on this layout .
mike
 
Back in the nineties I helped a friend figure out how to do an operating hump yard. We started by clamping a ten foot run of plywood to a stud wall and started rolling cars down the incline to see how fast and how far they would go. Got very inconsistent results. Used a NMRA gauge to check the track, found one tight spot and fixed it, found some wheels not in gauge. Biggest issue was the trucks, using the same set of axles and wheels on the same car gave different results with different trucks. We found any metal wheel-set with any car would roll the same distance as long as the trucks were the same. He wound up replacing half of his trucks to make them all the same. In a couple months he had a smooth operating nine track hump yard.

Remember, when working on your railroad, keep the NMRA gauge in one hand all the time and use it frequently, it will quickly show you your problem causes.
 
Like I said I’m going to have a learning curve especially the rolling stock . Even though I tried the blue box cars ( that I had ) even those were not consistant . It was a little disappointing . ( actually a lot ) . I really do appreciate all the suggestions though . I’ll learn .
mike
 
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