N scale handbrakes on grades

[randgust]

Well, that got your attention.   What I've got is a situation on my logging module that I need to 'hold' a cut of empties on a passing siding that has one end of it on a downhill grade, just steep enough that it requires little provocation to have them completely roll away.  And if you attempt to couple into the cut from the uphill side and don't make the joint on the first try.... look out below!

In the past I've set up solenoids with fine wire to put a vertical wire up on the downhill side between the rails.   That works... but these cars are so light that they'll get completely derailed with the wire either coming up or going down.  I've seen in MR that at least in HO, fine monofilament has been used for a permanent 'axle brake' that doesn't require an actuating device, switches, and the usual operator goofs in using it.   The trick is to use something light enough the cars can roll over it if deliberately pushed, but not derail.

Any other obvious/elegant solutions I've overlooked?    I'm not real interested in nicking the rail heads like a chock although I've used that trick before as well.  I may experiment with some ground foam up against the wheel backs, although that's a little tricky to execute as well and my Atlas shay needs ground foam in the gears like....

I had the entire passing siding on the flat and the vertical curves to the 4% switchbacks were just too awful.   Now I've created a new problem to solve.

[garethashenden]

Micro Trains make little spring that go on the axle point of the wheel sets and provide a little bit of resistance. I have used these in a similar situation, I had a coal trestle at the top of a short incline. Cars would occasionally roll down the incline but one of these per car solved the problem. You mad need more than one per car depending on the grade etc. Part number N-2 or 001 12 002; Truck restraining springs.

[C855B]

The axle springs have been around... well... since dirt (dirt = 1969, with my first pack of Kadees)... and you get anti-roll at the cost of quite a bit of drag if you have more than a couple of cars with them. I think we're trying to find automatic means of chocking a cut in one particular location, not generally "downgrading" overall rolling performance. This will be a critical issue when there are lots of steep grades.

My suggestion is a couple of tiny neodymium magnets in the middle of the rails, oriented with the poles vertical (versus horizonal and perpendicular to the rails, the orientation for uncoupling). I don't know if you're using metal wheelsets, but a possibility is getting a variety of the small magnets and trying to gauge the attraction, getting just enough to hold but not too much to pull away when necessary. If the metal wheelsets axles aren't ferrous (or you're using plastic), maybe magnets strong enough to attract the car weights, which I've generally found to be just a hunk of steel.

FWIW.

[Kisatchie]

Micro Trains make little spring that go on the axle point of the wheel sets and provide a little bit of resistance.... Part number N-2 or 001 12 002; Truck restraining springs.

I have thousands of those springs. PM me with your shipping info and I'll send you a bunch.


Hmm... and they're free,
too...

[chessie system fan]

What about a large patch of tall weeds?  I bet broom bristles would do the trick.

[conrail98]

We use clear push pins on the layouts I operate on, especially if we're doing it while switching out industries and need to prevent our train rolling away,

Phil

[randgust]

I've got a lot of the wheel springs and they're not quite enough - I already need one axle per 'cut' on the end car so that I can use MT couplers without getting the bouncy-bouncy.  If I load up much more than that I've got a problem of how many cars I can push up a 4% grade with my tiny geared steam locomotives.   Yesterday's tests confirmed that it's not enough to slow down a six-car cut from rolling down the hill either, and that wheel starts to slide.   I've got strings of loaded and empty 25' Gloor-Craft and N scale kits log cars - the cast metal ones.  For little cars they have some mass.

But I think you have got me thinking about the obvious here; particularly when I'm already using MT magnets for uncoupling.   A few steel-axle wheels in there might do the trick nicely... at least an incredibly easy experiment to do, and to play with orienting the magnets to actually hold the train in place rather than to annoy with running the slack in and accidentally uncoupling.  I'll try that first.  Yeah, I'd completely forgotten about that phenomenon entirely, deliberately using a magnetic axle.  Cars with magnetic axles sucked into those uncoupling magnets to the point of complete annoyance....wow, an actual purpose for that.

To get something like between-the-rails weeds or brush up to axle height I think I'd risk getting it in the gears as well, I'm running over whatever I do with power including the all-fussy Atlas Shay.  I've used glued-down turf to hold down cars only on industrial spurs but not where locomotives regularly had to venture into.

[TiVoPrince]

Considered
using a model airplane control rod?  Push in to set the brakes, the rod rises between the rails to stop runaways.  Not my original idea, probably from MR or RMC back in the day...

[conrail98]

Considered
using a model airplane control rod?  Push in to set the brakes, the rod rises between the rails to stop runaways.  Not my original idea, probably from MR or RMC back in the day...

I thought I read that in MR recently also,

Phil

[randgust]

Well, that's a really good idea!  And my train-dead LHS does stock a lot of RC airplane parts that I've never paid any attention to at all.

I only have to reach in about 20" from edge of fascia to final spot.   Cool.  Another great idea.   Thanks.  I like that a lot better than what I was going to do (explosive honking solenoid or another grindy Tortise machine pushing up a vertical wire).

[Coxy]

I like the idea of 'weeds' in the track. A line of individual paintbrush bristles glued to the roadbed and long enough to catch the axle would probably work. Would require some experimentation to dial the number of spacing of bristles to the grade and cars in question. Sounds like you probably want enough bristles to catch the axles on a few cars, such that the cut is ******** from rolling down the grade but only a small force is needed to overcome the bristles. Fun project!
- Coxy

[davefoxx]

Considered
using a model airplane control rod?  Push in to set the brakes, the rod rises between the rails to stop runaways.  Not my original idea, probably from MR or RMC back in the day...

Anybody got some sort of diagram to show what parts might be useful and how they would go together?  Like Randy, I have a location on my layout where I would like to hold cars on a 3% grade while switching a siding.

DFF

[C855B]

Combine ideas - how 'bout putting a weedpatch "brush" on a linkage? When retracted, the broom bristles look like weeds, when activated they press up against the axles?

[TrainCat2]

Anybody got some sort of diagram to show what parts might be useful and how they would go together?  Like Randy, I have a location on my layout where I would like to hold cars on a 3% grade while switching a siding.

DFF

Sullivan Gold-n-rod
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFU90&P=7

Dubro Bellcrank
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD938&P=7

Dubro Clevis Rod
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD881&P=7

Mount the Bellcrank under layout, Gold-n-rod connects to Bellcrank with supplied clevis, Clevis Rod connects to Bellcrank and goes up through layout between tracks.

[TiVoPrince]

Diagram
looks like what I might build.  I would probably add a weight that kept 'brakes on' unless operator pushed or pulled to retract the rod.  When operators leave the area, the weight would automatically enable the safe setting of the brake...