I have an MTH Dash 8 narrow nose diesel that sparks and stumbles ever-so-annoyingly when running forward through the straight portion of an Atlas #7.5 switch. This happens when the switch is approached in the trailing point direction. I note that the sparks seem to occur under the front motor truck but, the trailing truck crosses the switch...spark-free.
If I turn the engine around and run it in reverse in the same direction...no sparks, no stumble...smooth as it should be.
If I run the same engine through the switch in a facing point direction...no sparks at all from either truck.
Any ideas what may be happening in the first situation...front of the engine first, approaching the switch points from the trailing point direction??
Is this just part of the "slop" in 3-rail trains??
I realize there is, probably, no definitive answer for this (is there any definitive answer on this forum...except to buy Barry's book?) but, I would appreciate your comments.
Thanks for any kind response(s).
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