Ho enthusiast Don asks:

“I am looking for a system to imitate rail yard sounds. Huffing & Puffing, bells, whistles. Something with a push button at the controls to sound the imitation noise of a train for my grandchildren to hear when operating the trains. Any such product out there? Seems like a no-brainer.”

Mark Rauen makes this observation of a model train set he purchased:

“I cannot speak to anything other than what I have but…

I purchased a used Bachmann Diesel Express HO Train Set. In addition I purchased a new unopened Bachmann Track Pack (Steel Alloy E-Z Track with black bed.) When I run the train around the fixed circle track it runs fine, when I run it on an oval it is fine up to about 80% throttle. When I use the turnouts the cars derail almost every time no matter what the speed. These are remote activation turnouts. And here is what happens. (Gleaned from keen observation over a few hours of trying variations of numerous adjustments and work arounds.)

When the turnouts are set for the straight away the cars can be run up to full speed without derailing. When the turnout is switched to the curve the cars derail as soon as the trailing end of the engine starts the turn.

Here is my opinion of the problem; poor design and cheap construction.

Let me explain.

When my engine is traveling straight everything is fine, when the engine starts into the the 18″ radius turn the coupler moves a bit to the left or right. (I have the old style HO Universal Horn Hook couplers.) This pushes the coupler on the rolling stock coupler, which is still moving straight, to the right or left. At up to 80% throttle the rolling stock can handle this pressure and stay on track. At full speed it will derail 1 out of 5 times. When it hits the turnout it will ALWAYS derail at any speed. The reason is the locomotive coupler pushes sideways on the stock coupler too hard and the taper of the cheap plastic wheels forces the forward truck of the stock to move in the opposite direction of the turn. This causes the front wheels of the forward truck to ride up on and over the rail. The lighter the rolling stock the easier it is to derail. I tried adding weights to the front of the stock and saw a minor improvement, 1 out of 10 times it stayed on the track at up to 40% power.

This is where I place the blame squarely on the design. From my experience the rolling stock is far too light. They added a lot of weight to the engine for obvious reasons but then they made the cars as light as possible to save on cost. It would have been nothing for them to add a weight in the base of the car or even in the trucks of the stock themselves.

In my opinion this ‘toy rolling stock’ offers nothing but frustration to new people like me and my grandson. I suspect that the weight needed to keep these cars on the track would cost the manufacturer a few cents per axle? I think this is right because that is what I paid for the material and I am not a factory buying in large quantity.

I have bought my last Bachmann product, not even used.