City of Coventry

[oswebb]

Hello,

I am a new boy and building a small layout for my 93 year old dad to have on his table. He has bought a City of Coventry model. It is beautiful model however.... it keeps de-railing the front bogie, occasionally going forward but every time in reverse usually on the bend. The track radius is Peco ST-15 which is 10 3/8" I believe. There seems to be little or no weight on the front bogie. Any suggestions?

Rodger

[Newportnobby]

Hi Rodger, and welcome to the forum

You might want to have a read of this as Dr Al is doing replacement front bogies........

http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=25291.msg271944#msg271944

You might find the entire thread interesting, but if you do require the bogie just drop Dr Al a personal message (PM).

[Bealman]

G'day Rodger and welcome to the NGF!

Yeah, the front bogies on N gauge steamers can be problematic,  especially on tight curves and set track points. NewportNobby's idea is worth looking at, and failing that, may I suggest (eek horror) a diesel?

[Newportnobby]

failing that, may I suggest (eek horror) a diesel?

No! You may not. Go and sit on the naughty step

[PLD]

You are operating on the minimum radius advised by Farish, so it should work...

Far less drastic than the above suggestions of changing the bogie or the entire loco to do first.

1. if it always at the same places on the track that it derails, check the track at those locations - could it be a misaligned joint, or some unnoticed obstruction (e.g. ballast, glue, track pins)?

2. try tightening and/or loosening the screw that attaches the bogie half a turn. This can make a big difference to how freely the bogie moves, especially upwards and downwards to deal with imperfections in the track.

[Bealman]

Excellent advice. Look at the simple solutions first before attempting major surgery.