@Krieglok posted:Another issue to consider is one I encountered with a Lionel Alco S2 switcher. It was brand new and would derail going into a curve. It turned out, the traction tires were way too thick. I took them off and it solved the problem.
I replaced them with thinner MTH tires and they worked fine…here is a before and after photo set…
Thanks for the tip- I don't have that problem YET, but will definitely keep it in mind. In my case, the Lionel Legacy Conrail SW8 switcher ITSELF doesn't de rail- various freight cars hooked directly to it do, mainly the lighter ones, unless I weigh them down considerably. Right now I'm going to re position the location of my 022 switches (adding STRAIGHT sections of track to each "leg". This problem is unique ONLY when using my Conrail SW8 Legacy switcher, and I still have a hunch it is due to the SHORT electro coupler arm, which pivots ALL THE WAY to extreme right or left, applying significant lateral pressure to the freight car truck, causing the freight car wheels to momentarily "snag" the indented part of the switch rail that accomodates the width of the swivel rail (I hope I explained that correctly?) You can feel this abrupt indentation by rubbing your finger across this section. I simulated this phenomenon manually by rolling a freight car thru any one of my numerous 022 switches, and by appying slight side pressure on the truck, the wheels fall into that "gap", and if I keep going, eventually the wheel will pop out of that gap, and up and over the rail- INSTANT de railing! As I mentioned earlier, this engine is the ONLY one causing these freight car wheels to ride up and off of the 022 switch rails, and sometimes the adjacent tracks connected to them.
