# Simple set up around the Christmas Tree



## JuniorTm3 (Dec 7, 2016)

I'm just starting and my wife wants a simple layout around the tree.
I set up a simple oval but the train derails a lot. It's a wooden floor and I'm using those easy snap together track for Ho scale modeling. Any tips? Also, can you bend the cork roadbeds to match the curved tracks in a layout?


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## 4G-Man (Jan 2, 2014)

Is it just the loco, or a particular car, or all of it, or at a particular spot on the track, or is it random - I think we'll need more info.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Yes, you can bend the cork roadbed, or the foam stuff for that matter.

Solving derailments is tougher. For starters, it would help to know WHAT derails -- the loco, last car, something in the middle, always the same car, all that kind of stuff -- and WHERE.

Some possible causes:
1) The radius of the turns is too tight for the equipment you're trying to run. Generally in HO scale, 15" is the absolute minimum if you're running short cars (6" or less) and very small locos. Most of us try to stay at 18" or larger. Larger radius is always better. If you have a long loco (more than 9"), cars longer than 6", or diesel / electric locos with more than 2 wheels per axle or steamers with more than 3 pairs of drivers, you will probably need broader curves than 18".
2) Your track may not be joined correctly. Visually examine it for kinks, and run your finger over the joints to make sure you don't feel a bump. There may be an unacceptably large gap between the adjoining track pieces on a curve. Knowing the exact make and type of track would help here, too.
3) Your track may not be level, especially if it's sitting directly on a floor. Any slight unevenness in the floor can translate into a bump in your track that will allow wheels to climb over the rail. The only fix for this is a piece of plywood or OSB under the track.
4) Something on your cars or loco may be catching on the rails. Check the trip pins on the couplers (the little straight or curved pieces hanging down) and make sure they don't get hung up on the rails. Also look for burrs or pieces of plastic hanging down inside the trucks. There are some other, more complicated things that you can check too, like misaligned wheels.
5) Your cars may be too light. They should weigh 1 oz, plus an additional 1/2 oz per inch of car length. You need an accurate scale, like a postal scale, to check this. Adding weight usually doesn't hurt in any case.
6) You may have dirt inside the web of the rail, which is pushing the wheels up and over the rail.
7) If a car towards the end of the train doesn't roll very well, you can have a "stringline" derailment around a curve, where the pull of the loco and the drag at the end of the train will pull cars between them into a straight chord rather than allowing them to follow the arc of the curve. Light cars can make this problem worse. 

Get your head right down at track level, and use a good flashlight or headlamp, and try to see EXACTLY when and how the wheels come off. That will help find the trouble. If you have a video camera, watching video of a derailment frame by frame is a good troubleshooting technique also.

Good luck.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I want to add to the advice of CTvalley.

When testing to find why a train derails,
as he said, get down close to the point of
derail and watch the wheels with a good light. 
Then run the train as slow as it will go. The
instant that you see a wheel START to lift, STOP.
That is where your problem is. Look for
vertical or lateral misalignment or a bent
rail.

Don


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## JuniorTm3 (Dec 7, 2016)

Thanks a lot everyone. I think it's a track connection problem. I switched to another locomotive and it doesn't derail but stops at various places around the loop. The layout is three curved tracks two straight, three curved two straight etc. I've run my finger over the connections and in some places it's not as smooth as other. Doesn't feel significant though. Should I swap out the tracks in places where I can't achieve a smooth connection. Or could it be that the floor is uneven and not amount of work will achieve workable connections.


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

JuniorTm3 said:


> Thanks a lot everyone. I think it's a track connection problem. .... I've run my finger over the connections and in some places it's not as smooth as other. Doesn't feel significant though. Should I swap out the tracks in places where I can't achieve a smooth connection. Or could it be that the floor is uneven and not amount of work will achieve workable connections.


First, make sure that the rail joiners at the problem junctions are properly wrapped around the base of both track segments..

Then, if you have a small (i.e. < 1/32") difference in rail height or lateral alignment, use a small file to make the rails the same match up. If the the difference is greater than 1/32" try another piece of track. 

I have the same thing you do -- a simple oval on a wooden floor. Once I got all of the junctions smooth, I numbered the junctions, so that I can reassemble the track in exactly the same sequence each year.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

JuniorTm3 said:


> Thanks a lot everyone. I think it's a track connection problem. I switched to another locomotive and it doesn't derail but stops at various places around the loop. The layout is three curved tracks two straight, three curved two straight etc. I've run my finger over the connections and in some places it's not as smooth as other. Doesn't feel significant though. Should I swap out the tracks in places where I can't achieve a smooth connection. Or could it be that the floor is uneven and not amount of work will achieve workable connections.


Things that don't feel significant to your 1:1 sized finger can make a big difference to your 1:87 scale locomotive. If the bump is caused by the rail joiner not being properly set on the rail, by all means fix it. Filing, as MtRR75 suggests, will work if it's just a little uneven, but if this is caused by the floor, you may get the bumps in different spots every year. 

Did you try getting down at track level and seeing if it is the bumps which are causing derailments? If you didn't, you'll just be guessing, and you can waste a lot of time fixing things that may not need fixing.


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