|
|
Post by rockymountaineer on Oct 30, 2024 3:20:29 GMT
ALERT: Hey folks, how are you doing with these ore cars? My earlier comments were based on running these cars on my layout loop with the broadest curves (O-102). Tonight I ran a smaller train on a figure-8 that has O-54 curves… and I sensed some binding was occurring. At one point, one car derailed… but I haven’t been able to replicate that consistently.
These cars are rated for O-31 curves. So O-54 shouldn’t be an issue whatsoever. There is certainly some binding going on though, because the cars don’t seem to roll as freely on these curves when coupled. Definitely need to look into this further.
Anyone else running into this? I’m using MTH ScaleTrax, and have never encountered this with rolling stock from other importers/manufacturers. I’ll keep you posted.
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Oct 30, 2024 13:16:05 GMT
Uh oh. While I only am in for two NH&I ballast cars, the same cannot be said for their woodside reefers for which I am heavily committed.
Were the redesigned trucks intended for all RMT rolling stock or was the redesign specifically for the ore cars?
Dave did you try just pulling one ore car? It would be interesting to determine if it was the length of your consist which was creating the dragging/binding issue. And if so how many cars was the tipping point so to speak.
Regardless what a drag.
|
|
|
|
Post by rockymountaineer on Oct 30, 2024 15:34:43 GMT
Houston... I think we have a problem.
Normally I don't give a hoot about what goes on over at the other forum. But I was curious to see if anyone else has reported "issues" with the newest batch of RMT ore cars. And sure enough, someone started a thread this morning -- reporting the same issue I did last night with the ore cars not running smoothly on tighter curves. He reports the issue with as few as two ore cars coupled together on O-31 curves. I ran into the binding problem with 2, 3 or 4 ore cars coupled together on O-54 curves. After experiencing the problem at 4 cars, I stopped adding more to the consist.
On a related note: I should mention that I also purchased several of the newest RMT 36' reefers which are real beauties, and I am NOT experiencing this binding problem with the reefers. So far, they are running VERY smoothly on my tightest curves, which are O-54. So that's good news for those of you planning to buy reefers.
Back to the RMT ore cars... so it would seem we're not completely out of the woods yet. My plan is to bring this up with Henning's Trains this week. The folks at Henning's Trains are good people, and they will not be happy to hear about this -- especially if more folks report the same issue(s). I'm just glad all my RMT purchases thus far are with a local brick-and-mortar store.
Keep in mind... before I purchased 12 of the New Hope & Ivyland ore cars, I tested ONE car on the store's layout... and it rolled smoothly. It never dawned on me that I should have coupled 3 or 4 of them together for a better test. We shouldn't need to do this in 2024, but it is what it is.
So to summarize the ore car problem: my initial thoughts are something seems amiss with the forces of physics, when the ore cars are coupled to cause this binding. I was shocked to see this happening. Almost in disbelief, while shaking my head. I still need to study the situation more closely to see what's actually happening and why. Stay tuned... meanwhile, proceed with caution.
|
|
|
|
Post by frankmulligan on Oct 30, 2024 19:22:06 GMT
Not that it should matter in your case, but Walter responded saying these cars are rated for O-36 curves, not O-31. If your having trouble on O-54 that's not good.
|
|
|
|
Post by rockymountaineer on Oct 30, 2024 20:21:36 GMT
Not that it should matter in your case, but Walter responded saying these cars are rated for O-36 curves, not O-31. If you’re having trouble on O-54 that's not good. Interesting that RMT rates their small rolling stock at O-36, when MTH small rolling stock has a rating of O-31. All that notwithstanding… I’m definitely encountering noticeable binding on O-54 curves. I can best describe the observation as creating drag/friction on the wheels, so that the cars don’t run as freely as they should. If I flip the car in the palm of my hand and spin one set of wheels (i.e., just one axle), sometimes they spin very freely… while other times they stop spinning almost immediately. This is more prone to happen if I touch the side of the truck in between the two axles. So when the cars are coupled, that may be creating enough force to cause this extra drag which prevents the wheels from spinning freely. I might try some lubricant near where the axle ends meet the truck side(s). But I don’t want to create a scenario where excess lubricant falls onto the track rails. Ugh!!! It’s just a damn shame we’re encountering this kind of nonsense on something like wheels, trucks and couplers — stuff that should be tried and true after DECADES of O-Gauge train manufacturing. Again… I want to reiterate this problem appears unique to the ore cars. No problems with the reefers. |
|
|
|
Post by rockymountaineer on Oct 30, 2024 20:33:23 GMT
I also wanna say that I’ve never encountered the bind/drag phenomenon with any of my older RMT ore cars. So this is definitely unique to the newly emerging RMT ore cars: first the disastrous trucks in the rolling stock from several months ago… and now potentially these latest models as well.
Very disappointing… which has me on a hard pause for future RMT ore car purchases. As I said… proceed with caution before making a huge commitment for a 12- or 24-car ore car purchase. YMMV, but I recommend going slow.
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Oct 30, 2024 21:02:34 GMT
From your description it sounds as though the lateral pressure going around the curve is the culprit combined with movement of the truck frame pinching the axle at some point. How stable is the truck frame?
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Oct 31, 2024 1:36:19 GMT
If one were so inclined to replace the trucks on either the ore/ballast/tank/Woodside Reefer cars for whatever reason, would either Lionel or MTH sprung trucks work? Is it a simple swap out or is it more involved than that? BTW the Christmas tankers are really nice looking.
|
|
|
|
Post by frankmulligan on Oct 31, 2024 12:34:57 GMT
If one were so inclined to replace the trucks on either the ore/ballast/tank/Woodside Reefer cars for whatever reason, would either Lionel or MTH sprung trucks work? Is it a simple swap out or is it more involved than that? BTW the Christmas tankers are really nice looking. Problem is now you've taken a $30 car and raised it to over $50. I recently sold some MTH Premier rolling stock for less than $20 a car and I had thought that I was definitely in the territory of keeping them just for the trucks.
|
|
|
|
Post by superwarp1 on Oct 31, 2024 12:54:41 GMT
I'm so maxed out with rolling stock but want to try RMT when they come out with some New England road cars. As for trucks, they seem to be a premium these days. Specifically Weaver trucks
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Oct 31, 2024 16:25:58 GMT
While not an ore/ballast car, I can attest that the Christmas tank cars and the White Rose Woodside Ice Cream Reefer look terrific in person. Only a minor inconvenience, the knuckle of one of the couplers was loose in the packaging with not a pin in sight. A replacement truck will be forth coming at some point but in the mean time that is what sidings are for right?
But this snafu does not diminish the attractive paint schemes and over all quality of the product.
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Oct 31, 2024 16:32:30 GMT
If one were so inclined to replace the trucks on either the ore/ballast/tank/Woodside Reefer cars for whatever reason, would either Lionel or MTH sprung trucks work? Is it a simple swap out or is it more involved than that? BTW the Christmas tankers are really nice looking. Problem is now you've taken a $30 car and raised it to over $50. I recently sold some MTH Premier rolling stock for less than $20 a car and I had thought that I was definitely in the territory of keeping them just for the trucks. The RMT trucks on the Christmas tankers are high gloss, and I mistook them for plastic at first. I was corrected of that impression (they are metal) and for holiday rolling stock the gloss finish is fine by me. The only reason I would swap for MTH or Lionel sprung trucks would be to add weight and or lower the center of gravity to improve the ride if I felt that improvement was called for. Yes as the value of used rolling stock in some cases is mostly in the trucks, parting out is a logical choice and the trucks take up less room than the car box!
|
|
|
|
Post by g3750 on Nov 3, 2024 22:35:52 GMT
Oh boy. I just had a closer look at this car in a hobby shop. Take a good look at the road number in the upper left. It's a sticker!
Sorry guys. RMT is producing Marx-like quality product and charging premium prices for it. 
George
|
|
|
|
Post by rockymountaineer on Nov 3, 2024 23:44:01 GMT
Oh boy. I just had a closer look at this car in a hobby shop. Take a good look at the road number in the upper left. It's a sticker!
...
Gotta agree. At best, these are decals. And you're rolling the dice when ordering these online for shipping. When I was at a local train shop here in southeastern PA, I noticed some roadnumbers were peeling off the rolling stock. And they hadn't even been removed from the box yet. These were brand new items that were just received after York. 
The last time I saw something like that was WAY back when Lionel produced their Famous American RR series of train sets. I bought the Great Northern set, and years later the Great Northern "decal" on the tank car lost adhesion on the top and bottom of the logo. Are we really going back to those days? 
Some pieces of RMT rolling stock tend to show this flaw more than others. But it's very real. We're not imagining this. So proceed with caution.
If your goal is to create long unit trains and not go broke doing it, then the $30 pricetag is tough to ignore. HOWEVER, look with both eyes WIDE open before making large purchases, when you can't inspect the product before buying. And then there's also the wheelset/truck binding issue that rears its ugly head on curves -- mostly on ore cars.
I guess this was all too good to be true... and we're now realizing HOW these cars can be sold for $30-$35 each. While the graphics are admittedly eye-catching in the online illustrations... and arguably even behind the plastic clamshell inside the product box... these are NOT Atlas-O, MTH and Lionel levels of graphics. Now whether you wanna spend 3X more for the latter models is strictly up to each one of us. Sometimes we will... other times we won't. But at least we know a bit more about these latest RMT offerings now.
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Nov 4, 2024 0:08:29 GMT
While that sticker/decal has been reported as visually objectionable on one or two road names, it has not been reported as an issue on other ore cars. My NH&I ballast cars have very well applied decal numbers which the black background helps mask. It may come down to the owner's tolerance of the optics.
As for a premium price, I can only say that we will have to disagree that aspect of your post.
IMO $30.00 for an ore car compared to the price of MTH or Lionel is bargain basement not premium.
|
|
