Did you not get the last sneak peek update?

Identifying derailment-prone trucks

Here's a new video that's part of the Run like a Dream Rolling Stock book I'm currently writing.

This video illustrates the proper amount of side-to-side slop in truck wheelsets. You want just enough that the wheelsets spin freely but little more. If there's any significant amount of side-to-side slop, the trucks can roll down the track dogleg fashion at an angle, making them very derailment-prone.

As part of the currently-being-written second volume in this series, I've taken the time to collect wheelsets and truck sideframes from many vendors and am comparing them to see how they stack up. I am compiling my results for this book. 

The video illustrates one of the many tests I perform to determines which wheelsets and trucks will perform best.

Nice!

Gotta watch that one... (though, I'm looking for something that helps me figure out why the pilot on my Richmond 4-4-0 "American" keeps derailing any time it backs up over any right hand turn out... never the left... just the rights... and never if the turn out is switched... only if it's going straight)

spin test

Hi Joe:  Your spin test shows the metal wheels out-performing the plastic-wheeled Blue Box models, but isn't this more likely due to the higher inertia of the heavier wheels?  I recall the Reboxx website having a roll test on a sloped track to evaluate axle friction.  Also, wouldn't replacement of the short axle wheelsets be just as effective as replacing the trucks? 

JimW

Spin test and trucks

I have done spin tests with metal wheels too that don't spin well also (much less than 10 seconds). No doubt the lesser mass of the plastic wheels makes them spin a couple seconds less than metal wheels, but it's the friction at the axle tip that makes the biggest difference.

The spin test is just one of the tests I perform to determine rollability. I also put the car on a 24" long test track and elevate one end with a piece of 1/4" square styrene, giving essentially a 1% grade (actually, a 1.042% grade, but close enough). The car must freely roll down the 1% grade with *no* coaxing.

As for Reboxx wheelsets, the many axle lengths they offer are great, but they only make code 88 (fine scale) wheelsets and not code 110 (standard scale) wheelsets. I've had code 88 wheelsets give me problems so I've standardized on all code 110 wheelsets. Also code 88 wheelsets will drop into the frog on number 8 and larger turnouts, making derailments more likely.

For the book, I am doing extensive testing of trucks and wheelsets in HO and providing tables of my findings. From the tables, you can determine the best combination of wheelsets and trucks to get minimal side-to-side slop. I have found you want metal axle tips in solid plastic truck sideframes to get the best performance.

Sprung trucks seem like a good idea, but the extra variability of the springs makes performance less predictable. The scaled-down physics of sprung trucks in the smaller scales just doesn't work like it does on the prototype.

spin test

Thanks, Joe.  As usual you have provided a thorough and thoughtful answer. I am looking forward to the complete set of your books.

JimW

The last update I got was dated May 11

Nothing since then either in valid emails or spam.  Unfortunately the way your sending address shows up in Outlook 2007 (on behalf of, etc.) I've had little luck adding it (or similar types) to a Safe Senders list.

@MikeM

Joe, i received a notice the

Joe,

i received a notice the sneak peek 3 would be out soon but have not seen it actually released.

Frank

That's because ...

That's because it's still not done yet. I'm working on it, believe me -- but the hold up is the trucks and wheelsets chapter! It's huge and getting larger as I keep adding more details such as that in the video above about side-to-side wheelset slop in trucks.

I have been collecting trucks and wheelsets from every manuafacturer I can for HO and building tables with the details of each. My goal is completeness and value rather than trying to meet a deadline and then cutting corners as a result.

Trust me, I'm working on it, but it's taking some time to gather all the products and compile all the data. The result will be something that has never before been published about how to get trucks and wheelsets that run like a dream.

I'm hoping to push out sneak peek 3 before September.

Joe have you looked into

Joe have you looked into using the Micro Mark truck tuner? I have found huge differences in before and after rolling qualities with the use of this gadget. It seems to provide the ideal pocket and removes only a small bit of material from the trucks. That little tool seems to improve most trucks and wheels greatly. I know that is another variable and you might not want to tout a manufacturers product in your comparison But I believe addressing the space for the axle ends in the trucks is as important as addressing coupler height and other variables.

Micro-Mark truck tuner

Sneak Peek Updates???

I bought the hard copy book of vol. 1.  I have not been receiving sneak peek updates.

Do I qualify?  Do I need to sigh up?

To get sneak peek updates of book 2

Sneak Peek Updates???

Thanks fo the reply.

Well said, Joe. The idea is a

Well said, Joe. The idea is a cleaning and flash removal rather than drilling for oil. And your description covers exactly how I use it. I like the longer one better as the shorter one requires too much pressure to be consistent for me. A few quick turns is generally all it takes to make a big difference.

Identifying derailment-prone trucks

Thank you, Joe. I have been trying to sell this idea to the folks at my model railroad club for quite a while. Its nice to see someone testing and validating these ideas. Can't wait to read the book! Now I can tell my fellow club members, "Eureka! I have proof!"

Thanks for doing the all the fieldwork, testing, and presenting. This is great information!

loboloco

Any further updates?

Just curious...

Sneak peek 4 coming out this week

So sorry, you do NOT need me adding to your stress...

Family first, the rest of this is just a hobby after all.  My best to your mom and to all your efforts in caring for her.  Been there...

Winter is Coming.

Winter has been coming for fifteen FREEKING YEARS!

That is to say, George R.R. Martin has taken forever to finish a Song of Ice and Fire, and the TV show will be finished, and will have aired before he even finishes his final two books.

But he's also an incredibly popular writer, with a HUGE fan base, because he takes his time, and does his books right, and the way HE wants to do them. The books come second to his family, and life obligations, so his writing is stress free, and again, he writes the way he sees fit. He tells people, if they ask about the next book, that every time anybody asks about the next book, he will kill off another Stark.

What I'm saying is... take your time. Do it right. Put your family first, and when your book comes, it comes, and it will be all the better for having been done with joy, and no stress. It will be all the better with the material being what YOU need it to be.

True art cannot be rushed, and books are art as far as I'm concerned.

Anybody can hammer out a rushed book... but the ones worth reading weren't rushed, and are written with true passion.

We are going to love it, and it's going to be useful!

Joe, I am more than willing

Joe, I am more than willing to wait for you to complete your book. The research you are doing as well as the related testing is very important and may have a lot to do with time it takes to prepare it. Toss in the work that needs to be done to care for your mother and tend to her needs, well clearly that is much more important than your next book about trains.

Excuses are not needed there are only so many hours in a day and yours are quite full I am sure. Take care of Mom you only get one.