My MTH Premier Northern FEF runs fine but the tender derails when passing through a tubular Lionel 072 switch (switch is set to straight). Does not matter whether the tender is approaching the switch from either direction. The engine and all the cars track through the switch just fine but the front truck of the tender derails. My other engines and cars seem to handle these switches fine. I have looked at the tender but do not see anything obvious that looks unusual. Appreciate any thoughts on what I could check.
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i have the same engine but have not yet tried mine at the moment i don't have a layout but you might check the wheel flange might be to deep and and is pushing off the wheel of of the frog due to flange being to deep,or one of the wheel.s might be spread further apart then they should be!
Alan
good luck
What he said, then check the gauge of both wheelsets. If flange is ok and both wheelsets are in gauge, make sure the truck sits level, as in not twisted. All of those ok, then add some weight to the truck.
It sounds like a wheel gauge or wheelset profile issue to me. I'd check those wheels very carefully.
Jeff C
Agree. check the four wheel truck on the tender and make sure it swings freely and the wheel gauge is correct. Also, make sure there is weight on this truck... Also, make sure there is play side to side in the rear 10 wheels...
"Weight" is never a bad thing in this field (to a point, of course), but modern, high-dollar model trains typically have trucks sprung at the screw/pivot/bolster and do not need extra weight (Lionel's first scale Harriman 2-8-0 was designed without a front truck suspension and is a notorious de-railer. Ever fixed?). Make sure that the spring is there and/or is not faulty - that is, it is long enough/firm enough to do something.
But, I suspect wheel gauge issues, as mentioned above. I just fixed a wandering wheel on an early Lionel Mohawk tender - the truck was "bumping" through a switch. The wheel had slid inward a bit on the axle and was riding on a switch guard rail. Some epoxy on the inside of the wheel/axle fixed it, probably forever. Being a 3-axle truck it did not derail; your 2-axle has no extra support.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I took the front truck off, checked it out and put everything back together. Seems to work fine now.
I have had wheel gauge issues with post war cars when the truck frames were bent and allowed the wheels to spread too far apart. The wheels would climb the frogs of 022 switches. When I bent the truck frames so the axle had no end play, the derailing stopped.