N Scale freight cars jerking, how to fix?

[Sparky]

This is a very interesting read.  Thanks everyone for your comments.  At least now I know the cause of the problem..

[hminky]

Ended that by using McHenry's, they fit the MT boxes on the trucks.

Harold

[Ed Kapuscinski]

You can tell them that they'll go blind. That'll work for a little bit.

Another good solution is to flush a toilet when you think they're at it in the shower.

Parental controls on various screens can help a bit too.

At the end of the day it's a losing battle though. Boys will be boys after all.

[Petty Cash]

You can tell them that they'll go blind. That'll work for a little bit.

Another good solution is to flush a toilet when you think they're at it in the shower.

Parental controls on various screens can help a bit too.

At the end of the day it's a losing battle though. Boys will be boys after all.

It's a good thing I didn't take a sip of my beer reading that. 

Unfortunately, as many others have noted, the slink is just an undesirable side effect of the MT couplers.

[peteski]

While the slinky effect is intrinsic to all Micro-Trains couplers, some bounce while being pulled, others bounce while being pushed.

Neah.  Well, you are right, the location of the spring changes when the bounce o occurs, but the bouncing occurs when a free rolling cars are in a coasting mode, not being pushed or pulled. SO, with either type of coupler design, the cars will bounce while pushed *OR* pulled.

"Pizza-cutters" and "slinky effect" are 2 derogatory (but descriptive) model RR terms coined specifically do describe some Micro-Trains Line (MTL) "problematic" designs, which have been around since the early days of MTL (in the 1960s). But at that time nobody noticed or cared much about either.  Only when modelers started using a more realistic track height (like some code 55 and smaller) that pizza-cutters came into the model RR vocabulary.

I believe that "slinky" term came into play after the MTL coupler patent expired and other companies started manufacturing their versions of the knuckle couplers, which (while IMO not performing as well as MTL couplers) had a different draft gear design which does not cause the oscillating effect.  Suddenly some modelers found that effect very disturbing, while others can't care less.

[peteski]

You can tell them that they'll go blind. That'll work for a little bit.

At the end of the day it's a losing battle though. Boys will be boys after all.

Oh come on, girls do it too.  They're not all innocent sugar and spice.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Oh come on, girls do it too.  They're not all innocent sugar and spice.

Yeah, but there's a different word for it.

[peteski]

Yeah, but there's a different word for it.

True, but it is just as enjoyable (or as I hear even more so, and multiple times in a row).   

[CRL]

There’s a couple of solutions. The axle springs are best used on light weight cars where you can’t add weight, such as the unloaded hopper in the video. If you add some weight to a car, it will reduce the tendency to jerk.

[ednadolski]

Wow, I thought mine was bad, your bouncing is a lot worse..

It's a little hard to tell in that vid, but that track is on a down grade.   Switching to the LEZs eliminates the pogo completely:

Edit: no axle springs on any of those cars either

[Sparky]

Ended that by using McHenry's, they fit the MT boxes on the trucks.

Harold

I'll have to look into the McHenry's.  Thanks

[Doug G.]

I'm in the "it doesn't bother me even one little bit" group.

Doug

[bbussey]

McHenrys are much larger than the MTLs.

You can minimize the effect by:

• Removing the truck-mounted couplers and body-mounting 1015 or 1016 couplers.  The spring is in front of the coupler pivot post instead of behind it, so the oscillation is minimal to non-existent when the cars are being pulled.
• Replace the plastic wheels with metal wheels.  The metal axle in the Celcon plastic truck creates less friction than Celcon-on-Celcon.  While the plastic wheels roll freely, it takes more effort for them to start rolling - whether due to additional static electricity or like materials or other reasons.  The Celcon-on-Celcon also attracts more dirt and lint than metal-on-Celcon.
• Make sure the cars are weighted properly.  The lighter the car, the greater the oscillation at slow speeds.
• If you're operating in an era that still utilizes cabooses, add metal wheels and two axle springs - one on each outer axle, on diagonally-opposed axle points.  The caboose will still roll freely, but it will create enough drag to stretch the train out.

[peteski]

Not a fan of McHenrys either. Not only they are very large, they don't seem to work as well as MTL couplers.  But work I mean magnetic uncoupling.  Ten there is that very unrealistic-looking and easily lost knuckle spring.  But no slinky! 

[Doug G.]

As Bryan wrote, a heavier free-rolling car will offend less than a lighter car with high friction rolling qualities. You can see the high friction action as the car is pulled but sticks until the force overcomes the friction and the car suddenly moves until friction takes over again and the whole process recurs over and over.

Doug