Need Some Help with MTH PS3 Imperial Berkshire

I would remove shell of engine and make sure the wires that plug into the drawbar have enough strain relief so they don't tend to disconnect at that extreme angle.   G

It's the curve, not the loco, almost certainly. It may say 031 capable, but the RK Imperial 2-8-4 is not a small loco, RK or not, and this is probably at the ragged edge of production variation.

But, as suggested above, check the plugs, wires and mountings as well as you can; you may be able to fiddle a solution.

Or, buy some 036 track. I know, it's a little more space-hungry, but not much. These are nice locos, 1:48 or not; a friend has one.

D500 posted:

It's the curve, not the loco, almost certainly. It may say 031 capable, but the RK Imperial 2-8-4 is not a small loco, RK or not, and this is probably at the ragged edge of production variation.

But, as suggested above, check the plugs, wires and mountings as well as you can; you may be able to fiddle a solution.

Or, buy some 036 track. I know, it's a little more space-hungry, but not much. These are nice locos, 1:48 or not; a friend has one.

We did try it on O-36...same response. Has anybody tried to take the shell off the engine? Can you post some instructions or photos? I don't want to break anything taking it off, steam shells are quite a bit more complicated than diesels!

Here is the manual.

Go to page 35 and there is a diagram showing the body mount screws.

Before removing the shell check that all the pins in the drawbar are snug on the tender connection.    I have found that after some time running the connection at the drawbar drops slightly causing the engine to stop.