# Problem with Broadway Limited



## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

My first attempt at DCC has been a flop, so far. For Christmas, I got a Broadway Limited 2-10-2 because I wanted the Santa Fe road name. It runs mechanically perfect right out of the box, but it does not go more than 36 inches on my tracks without derailing, either at the front trucks or the 10 wheel configuration. It does a little better in reverse, but not much. I checked all wheels with a wheel guage, and they are all perfect. BL specs say it will take 22 inch radius.

I am using Atlas code 100 NS over cork with two mainlines with radii of 23 inches and 26 inches. Derailments are just as bad on the 26 in radius. The problem usually occurs close to where I have butt-jointed by soldering rail joiners on the 3 foot sections on the curves, but I have two S curves, also. I tried to be real careful when laying the track by soldering the track when straight and then nailing it in place around the curves, making perfect curves. With the Broad Limited, derails occur in certain places but sometimes in #6 turnouts. It takes # 4 turnouts OK, it seems. All of my track and turnouts are new stock, about four months old.

I know the track is not perfect, but it is pretty darn good. I did have to work out some imperfections in the beginning, but I routinely run about nine diesels and three steam engines (2-8-8-2 and 2-8-2) along with about 75 Athearn and Rivarossi freight and passenger cars, and I can go for days and weeks without a derailment. It is usually a truck malfunction when it happens.

Can anyone help?

Is it the 2-10-2 configuration?

What should I do, return it?

Bill


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I have not found BLI steam that picky about track. Make sure you have removed all
of the packing foam underneath the loco. They do put a small piece above the pilot.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Bill

I have a little routine that I use anytime I
am getting derailments.

Since you are certain the loco wheels are in
gauge and swivel correctly then the track
becomes suspect.

You get your loco near any point where you
know it derails. Then with a bright light
you get very close to the track and run
the loco as slow as you can. Keep your
eyes on the wheels. When you see any one
of them start to lift off the rail STOP. You
will find the problem right there.

Make a close up inspection of the track.
Do a track gauge check. Is there a slight kink?

Track section joints are all possible derail
sites due to sometimes difficult to see
misalignements. Sometimes it is a vertical
mismatch, or a slight gauge change due
to a lateral rail misalignement. You could
have a slight bulge of solder.

I have two identical Bachmann FA locos. In spite
of every check, one of them is so much more
sensitive to slight track irregularities I've found
that I have to use it as the backing trailing loco in
a pair consist. It runs well that way. As the
lead loco it will derail where nothing else does.

If you cannot find the track problem your loco
may be one of these hyper sensitive units.
It may need parental therapy.

Don


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Whats going on now with that new BLI?


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## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

I have rebuilt several sections of track over several days with about 66% success. I did all of the things mentioned with gauges and lights and bumps. 

Things are so precise it depends in some cases on how many blows of the hammer on track nails and the amount of twist in the wrist as the blow is being made.

Then, if the temperature drops 5 degrees, a whole different range of scenarios emerge.

I am 70 years old and said "to hell with it." I want to run trains. The dealer stepped up and will let me exchange. I am going to try an eight wheeled diesel.

That BL 2-10-2 is a great little machine and has a lot of features. It just won't stay on the track. There is one just like it for sale right now on e-Bay for a song for the same reason. The only good thing was that going into an S curve, it would derail and then correct itself about three inches later. That is not the way to run a railroad. Not to mention $432 for something that won't stay on the tracks.

Broadway simply needs to state that it is 30 inch minimum radius. It would be great for a big club layout, but not a small layout in a home. 

Bill


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## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

Follow up:

I was determined for this problem to not get the best of me.

I looked in the mirror, and the problem was me!

The engine drivers were climbing over the top of the rails at certain joints that I had butt-jointed and soldered. That is the way it was to be done, people said.
I tore up the outer loop of my track and re-installed with staggered joints four to five inches apart.
Problem solved. The extra one-millionth of an inch that I gained was enough for the 2-10-2 to stay on the rails. My old track work was within tolerances for four wheeled diesels but not the steamer.

I needed to trust the manufacturer and the good reviews it got.

Bill


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

The AT&SF 2-10-2 has some pretty tight trucks on the tender. There are springs on the king pin screws that basically hold the trucks against the bottom of the chassis with little ability to pivot freely. I removed the springs from mine and it allowed the trucks to swivel and pivot a bit more. Also, there is a panel on the back of the loco cab that lays down onto the tender when you join the loco and tender together. That panel has a tendency to wedge into the tender making the loco and tender pretty much one solid unit, unable to negotiate curves. Make sure your drawbar pin on the tender is inserted into the drawbar hole that is furthest from the loco.


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