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AristoCraft 4-6-2 pulling power

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  • #1

    AristoCraft 4-6-2 pulling power

    Good afternoon to all.

    I have an AristoCraft 4-6-2 (Crescent Limited) and several passenger cars that I am attempting to pull. I can't seem to get the loco to pull more than 3 or 4 cars. I am running on very level track so inclines are not an issue. I have seen YouTube videos of 4-6-2's pulling a good number of cars with what seems to be no issues.

    Is there something that someone may know to assist me with this?
    Johnny
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  • #2
    First off do your cars have metal wheels, that will help pull and roll better, being able to pull more cars. I always change out my wheel sets to Intermountain wheel sets because I swear by them for the best rolling and tracking.

    Also, some Locomotives have a set of rubber drive wheel sets, with their locomotives if pulling power is an issue.

    I believe if your Locomotive is properly weighted and the cars have metal wheel sets you should not be having a problem.


    Louis L&R Western Railroad
    Pacific Northwest Logging in the East Coast

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    • #3
      Thanks Louis,

      Have all metal wheels.

      Can AristoCraft locos accept rubber drive wheel sets? I assume I would have to find an LGB set to use.

      Maybe I need to lubricate those wheel sets on the cars. That may help as well.
      Johnny

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      • #4
        quote:

        Originally posted by Johnny

        Thanks Louis,

        Have all metal wheels.

        Can AristoCraft locos accept rubber drive wheel sets? I assume I would have to find an LGB set to use.

        Maybe I need to lubricate those wheel sets on the cars. That may help as well.

        I'm not sure if they make a rubber traction wheel set for these, but this is some information I found on line... "The Pacific is not as good a puller as the Aristo Mikado, due to the larger driver size. You may find you want to add weight to help tractive effort. As with all Aristo steam locos, check the tightness of the drivers on the axles every so often, they are a tapered fit that can come loose."


        Louis L&R Western Railroad
        Pacific Northwest Logging in the East Coast

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        • #5
          Thanks Louis.

          Adding weight is a good idea. I will also take a look at the drivers.

          Get back with you with a report soon.
          Johnny

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          • #6
            Hi Johnny,

            Do you run Battery or track power? Do you have tree's that might produce sap or are you in a high pollen area? If you use track power then this probably wont apply however if you use battery then you might want to check your track for a slit glaze. I run battery and a couple of years ago all my engines stopped pulling up the grade, engines slipped badly. After adding more weight and even trying Bullfrog Snot, I got smart and looked closely at the track to find it had a slippery coating on it. A few rounds with a track cleaning car with really light grade wet dry sand paper and a good cleaning of the loco wheels and I haven't had the issue anymore. I will occasionally run the track cleaner to make sure it doesn't happen again.

            Bill

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            • #7
              Good morning Bill.

              Thanks for the advice. I run track power. I think more weight may be the key although I do not see the drivers slipping. Those Aristo passenger cars are heavy but I would still like to have a six to eight car consist.

              I am going to figure it out this weekend.

              By the way.....I have a few plants near the track that, when trimmed, I need to make sure that all the trimmings are removed or they will leave a residue on the track. Purslane is a prime example.
              Johnny

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              • #8
                There are several place for information on these engines..

                Here is one:

                http://girr.org/girr/tips/tips2/paci...ml#performance

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                • #9
                  After reading through the 2 pages. You need to figure out which model you have. Early or late model.if you use the way back machine you can get the exploded views of thr engine...

                  Ty

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                  • #10
                    Going back to Model Railroader's old performance test format, "stalling" a loco means it's getting full voltage but the wheels won't turn. Usually, the motor will fry if this condition persists. "Full Slip" is when the wheels are turning more or less full speed but the loco isn't moving. Most model locos go to 'full slip' when the load is too heavy and they're getting full voltage.

                    If your 4-6-2 is 'stalled' by a small number of cars on level track, this implies the motor is very weak. Could have been assembled wrong, or incompletely magnetized. But before I took it apart, I'd check the voltage at the point where the loco is sitting on the track.

                    If it's making mechanical noise but the wheels aren't turning, something in the gear train is slipping and will have to be fixed before the loco will run properly.
                    James

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