# Athearn Auto-Max issues



## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

I got myself an Athearn Auto-Max for use on the tail of my double stack and for the life of me i cannot figure out why it keeps jumping the rails. I have 27.5"R, 29.75"R and 32"R curves the box says minimum 22"R curves so i am well exceeding that. I have inspected the wheels and my track and can find nothing wrong. My double stack cars roll fine all the way around and they are light compared to this tank of a car. it is articulated. What on earth is happening with this thing!! $70 is too much for a car that does this!!

Pic of car


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## buck71usa (Dec 27, 2011)

I had the same problem. I found that the trucks were to tight on mine so after l loosened them a half a turn it rolled more freely!


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

checked the trucks and the move freely. the truss in the center was to tight on one side so loosened that up a touch. but it's still doing it. If it had said CSX or NS on the side of it it would have been prototypical LOL! all the joints on my track have been filed smooth on the insides and soldered on the out sides. my drops are hidden under the track and there is no solder on tops of the rails. this one may just have to go back and i'll get the Walthers goldline ones in place of it


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## buck71usa (Dec 27, 2011)

Hmm maybe the shear weight of it being pulled by lighter cars? Maybe move it farther to the front of the consist? Just a thought!


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## mgwsy (Aug 14, 2012)

Prob a dumb question but did you check the wheels to see if they are all in gauge? Also which truck is derailing outer ones or middle one?


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

Also, see if adding weight to it helps. Just set some on top so that you can still send them back without getting dinged for "modifications".


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## Davidfd85 (Jul 4, 2011)

I'm thinkin about the weight myself. I got a set of A-Line container cars and with just empty plastic containers they jumped bad added some weight inside them and now run great.


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

it varies to which truck jumps they all seem to like taking turns doing it. the wheels are in gauge and weight really isn't an issue this thing weighs quite a bit. it had it behind 2 5 unit well car sets which are light so theoretically those should have jumped not the 2 ton tina. all my other rolling stock rolls around fine. it's just this one. thinking there is a reason they don't produce this thing anymore. taking it back to the hobby shop tomorrow. for the same price i can get 3 of the normal auto racks from Walthers Gold Line.

thanks for the help


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

odd thing to think of and I know its only this one car, but hey why not, have you checked your tracks to see if they might be slightly askeew? on my set up I have some heavy cars that won't derail like you describe, but the light cars will always jump track if the rails are slightly misaligned untill its fixed....


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

sawgunner said:


> all the joints on my track have been filed smooth on the insides and soldered on the out sides. my drops are hidden under the track and there is no solder on tops of the rails. this one may just have to go back and i'll get the Walthers goldline ones in place of it



everything on track is up to par. my light to moderate cars run around fine. i even filled my 53' gondola up with sand and ran it around no issues. so right now it's the car thats the issue


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

are the flanges to spec? they could cause this, one of my engines had a flange that was slightly off spec so I resolved that and the engine stopped having issues with my rerailers so could this me going on here?


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

all scale flanges on code 100 track. flanges are good


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

hmmm a conun-drum-drummm.........ive ran a few of these already on my EZ track and they don't experience the same issues, only time I get issues is with rerailers that are curved styled...


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Sawgunner are the couplers mounted on the body or on the trucks? Metal or plastic wheels? Does the derail occure at the same place or anyplace? On curves or straight track? Have you tried swapping the wheels out with some spares or those on another car that runs well? Are these trucks double or triple axles? Pete


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

they are metal wheels in 4 wheel 100 ton roller bearing truck frames. the car jumps at random just about anywhere on the layout. it has factory body mounted McHenry plastic couplers. have not tried swapping the wheels on it yet. will be heading to the shop in a few to have him look at it and see what's up


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

Check the couplers "brake hose" piece of metal. They may be hitting something. I have had that happen on reraliers and switches.


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

took it back to the shop today and he said that's really common with them so i traded ut for some more rolling stock.

thanks for the help guys


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

Since it's a common issue, we now know to avoid them until they get the problem under control. 

Thanks for the update!


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

info figured out when i had it.

longer drawbar for use with curves less than 26"R (included in packaging)
car has sloppy connection at center drawbar but fails to pivot correctly in turns if too tight
couplers too high to mate with other rolling stock
jumps track at random could be any of the 3 trucks at any time straight, curve, switch

info found out at hobby shop
comes in package fully assembled (excluding undecorated model)
when extracting from package the center truck may catch on Styrofoam and break the pins off that hold draw bar on one or both sides
sloppy rolling performance 
good detail but very fragile
drawbars known to break if car is lifted unevenly to include the pins with screws that hold it 


still looking at the Atlas version of the articulated auto carrier to decide if that is a better choice. will update when i purchase one.

No news from Athearn weather or not they will produce the Auto-Max again


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