# 322 Power Lose



## Dewman (May 15, 2018)

AF experts! I have 2 questions regarding a recent purchase of a 1948 322 Hudson. First the trailing truck on the locomotive has this upright bar that seems to cause it to hang up in turns and causes it to derail. None of the rest of my 322s has this. Can I solve this by cutting this piece off? 
Secondly the rear truck on the tender has much more play in it than the front truck and it seems to short out going thru one of the switches. Is this what is causing it to loose contact and how do I rectify the problem.
As always thanks for any help.
Dale


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

The vertical bar on the trailing truck was eliminated in later production, so you can cut it off. I have never had one cause a derailment, it makes me wonder if something is bent.
I do not think some excess play in the tender truck would cause a short at a turnout. What will cause a short and is very common is wear in the axle holes that will cause them to become oval shaped. This causes the truck side frame to rub on the rail and then short out at a turnout. Try putting some masking tape temporarily on the bottom of the truck sideframes where the wheels are located. If this fixes the problem let us know.


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## Dewman (May 15, 2018)

Thanks AmFlyer. I will try that


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## Dewman (May 15, 2018)

AmFlyer, after taking your recommendations I cut the vertical bar out and that solved that problem. I put tape under the side frames as suggested and came up with a different result. No longer did the tender spark and short out but each time it passed the same turnout it would shift to the neutral position. The wheels must be losing contact there somewhere. Any thoughts?
Dale


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

My first action would be to take out the two end wheel sets in both trucks, and clean the pickup wheels, the axles and the brass axle wipers. Then bend the axle wipers down to increase the pressure on the axles. Put the wheel sets back in.
The reason I suggest this fix first is it sounds like the engine looses power briefly when one of the pickup wheels crosses the plastic frog on the turnout. This means only one wheel in that truck is picking up track power. If it still drops into neutral then the turnout is likely the problem. It could be the turnout looks correct but it is slightly misaligned.


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## Dewman (May 15, 2018)

Thanks Tom.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

I hope that gets it running flawlessly.


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## Dewman (May 15, 2018)

Thanks for the help but it does not work. I cleaned the wheels, the axels and put more bend in the copper piece going to the axle. I took the tape off and it does look like the side frame is hitting going through the turnout. I tried 2 other 322s that I have and they are no problem. It must be in the opening for the axle.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Replace the entire truck including the wheels sets, and see what happens.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

I am late responding. There is a momentary loss of continuity somewhere in the engine/tender assembly. Try what Flyernut says. Before doing that you can try pushing down on the tender with your hand as it goes through the turnout and see if this changes anything. It is most likely a bad truck. As an example of how elusive these problems can be, I have a Hudson that would stall or go to neutral going through a right hand turnout, but not to the left. The engine was on the layout and made all LH turns on the main line. The problem turned out to be a failed conductor wire in the harness that only pulled apart on RH turns.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Instead of cutting it, you could have tried bending it a little, I like originality... Also there's a possibility I can find you a NOS rear truck, if you want it or need it.


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## Dewman (May 15, 2018)

Thanks guys for your replies. So many things to track down and it was something I thought would be a simple thing.
Flyernut I may take you up on the NOS rear truck. It seemed so strange. Without the tape it would spark and short out but with the tape it would shift to neutral. I was expecting it to make it through it.


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## Dewman (May 15, 2018)

would putting in the brass bushings do the same thing or is installing a new truck the best way to go.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

One possible cause of the stalling is a bent truck frame that causes the two sides to be "torqued" with respect to each other. If this is the case then that would still need to be fixed before installing new axle bushings. The bushings, when properly installed, will cure the shorting on turnouts problem.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Try the bushings first as Tom suggests, it would be a cheaper way to go.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Before you start removing wheels make sure the drive wheels do not touch the frame at the insulated part. 
The cure is to space out the wheels more on the axle.


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## Dewman (May 15, 2018)

Thanks Guys. I will try the bushings first.


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