Rapido N-Scale FP9A Wheel Gauge Issue

[eja]

Once again I ask, why should the purchaser of these not inexpensive locomotives and other products have to deal with issues like this?   

Rapido's web site states

If your FL9 shorts on your turnouts, we recommend playing with the wheelset spacing to find the "sweet spot" for your turnouts. We do not offer this service for you but information on how to adjust the wheelset spacing can be found in the Support section of our web site.

They know there is a problem, but they tell you we are not going to fix it or you. 

Well, thank you very much.  Given what I read on TRW regarding new products from several manufacturers,  I am almost afraid to purchase any new locomotive.

[peteski]

Doug uses NMRA wheel gauge (the "official" standard).  I wonder why multiple manufacturers choose not to follow that spec, and make their wheelsets narrow?  It is  not just Rapido.

[BCR751]

Good show Doug! 

In such case, I usually add thin styrene washers so the wheels are not able to move inward.

The following example is for Kato wheelsets, but the general idea applies to your wheelsets too.


Pete, did you get those washers direct from Kato?  That sounds like something I should do as well. Part numbers would be welcome.

Once again I ask, why should the purchaser of these not inexpensive locomotives and other products have to deal with issues like this?   

Rapido's web site states

If your FL9 shorts on your turnouts, we recommend playing with the wheelset spacing to find the "sweet spot" for your turnouts. We do not offer this service for you but information on how to adjust the wheelset spacing can be found in the Support section of our web site.

They know there is a problem, but they tell you we are not going to fix it or you. 

Well, thank you very much.  Given what I read on TRW regarding new products from several manufacturers,  I am almost afraid to purchase any new locomotive.

Regarding the Rapido website, although it says "can be found in the Support section of our website", there is nothing mentioned there about the FP9A. 

I agree that if there is a known issue, the manufacturer should deal with it prior to making the unit available to the consumer.  Gauging the wheelsets to the NMRA standard should be done at the factory, not left to the purchaser.  As Pete says, that gauge is the defacto standard, at least for North America.  And, in addition, turnouts, both DIY and commercially built, should also be following that standard, eliminating any need to try and find the "sweet spot".

Doug

[BCR751]

Stuff like this gives me a tinge of doubt on my pre-orders. And why I dislike the dependence on pre orders to even have a chance to get stuff.

I hate pre-orders with a passion.  With the huge delays between the pre-order and the actual delivery, you're never really sure of what you're getting.  A few times I've been less that happy with the item once I received it.  If I had seen those items in a hobby shop, I never would have purchased them.  Not all are "iffy" but some definitely are.

Doug

[basementcalling]

Traction tires and pick up wires from trucks to frame. N scale locomotive construction is going back to the 1970s.

Traction tires probably are not such a big deal any more as with free rolling trucks and flywheels any electrical conduction gaps caused by the TT is likely not impacting operation. But if the point of the wires is a solid connection so the sound decoder doesn't cut out, and you add traction tires which reduce the number of places to conduct electricity from track to mechanism....

As for the wheels being out of gauge, heck, EVERY locomotive needs those checked. They could well have been in gauge when the unit left the factory and moved out of alignment during the bumps and bounces of transit.  It's model railroading, so I don't mind doing a little modeling and fixing wheel gauge. Now if they would leave the detail parts OFF to make weathering easier, that would be just great.

[thomasjmdavis]

This conversation makes me nostalgic for the days when you went into a hobby shop to buy a locomotive, and they let you "test drive" it on the in-house demo track (if it was a popular scale this might be a complete layout that also exhibited popular building kits and one or more brands of track) for 15 minutes before you paid for it.  And the hobby shop personnel (like as not the owner) would adjust and lube it before you left the store.  OK, I know that nobody under 50 probably believes such things actually happened, but those of us over 60 experienced them in our younger days.  For all I know, there may be a few hobby shops out there where it is still the case.  If I discover one, I might have to move....

[Point353]

Here is my FL9 - similar construction..  Using tweezers I just grabbed the piece that connects the gear cover with the sideframe and twisted it (to unlatch the snap).I still don't  know how removing the shell makes this easier (unless you took the trucks out of the chassis).

Doug uses NMRA wheel gauge (the "official" standard).  I wonder why multiple manufacturers choose not to follow that spec, and make their wheelsets narrow?  It is  not just Rapido.

In addition to wheelset gauge, have you ever measured the Rapido wheels to see how well (or not) they conform to the NMRA standard?
Also, to which standard - (regular) scale, deep flange or fine scale.

https://www.nmra.org/sites/default/files/standards/sandrp/pdf/s-4.2_2019.01.04.pdf
https://www.nmra.org/sites/default/files/standards/sandrp/pdf/S-4.3%202010.02.24.pdf
https://www.nmra.org/sites/default/files/standards/sandrp/pdf/s-4.1_2006.01.pdf

[peteski]

In addition to wheelset gauge, have you ever measured the Rapido wheels to see how well (or not) they conform to the NMRA standard?
Also, to which standard - (regular) scale, deep flange or fine scale.

No, I have not, and I'm not planning on doing that, because my expectations are that most manufacturers wheels do not adhere to the standard.  My expectations are so basic that I'm just asking for the wheels to be in-gauge (and even that is often not the case).

[peteski]

Pete, did you get those washers direct from Kato?  That sounds like something I should do as well. Part numbers would be welcome.

There is no part number -- I make those washers myself.
I take the appropriate thickness sheet styrene, drill bunch of holes with a #57 (1.13mm) drill bit, then punch the washers out using a 2.0mm punch in a punch set I got from Micro-Mark.

[peteski]

This conversation makes me nostalgic for the days when you went into a hobby shop to buy a locomotive, and they let you "test drive" it on the in-house demo track (if it was a popular scale this might be a complete layout that also exhibited popular building kits and one or more brands of track) for 15 minutes before you paid for it.  And the hobby shop personnel (like as not the owner) would adjust and lube it before you left the store.  OK, I know that nobody under 50 probably believes such things actually happened, but those of us over 60 experienced them in our younger days.  For all I know, there may be a few hobby shops out there where it is still the case.  If I discover one, I might have to move....

Sure, but back then there was no c55 N scale track, and most N scale models had wheels with deep flanges (with the turnouts having ample flange-way clearances).  No c55 or smaller track, no NMRA standard flange depth.  They were toys.  Nobody cared that all the cars in a long train full of coal hoppers all had the same road number, or that a loco (which looked like ti was dipped in glossy paint) was decorated in a fantasy scheme (foob).  No limited runs either -- the same few models sat around hobby store shelves for years.

Nowadays, everything has to be accurate "to-scale", and we examine every little detail under a microscope. Heaven forbid if some manufacturer produces a foob.  Times have changed.  No way to go back to the times when America was great.  The closes we come to that is @wm3798 retro layout (which BTW is really cool).

Did we really have it all that "good" back then?  I guess that depends on how you look at it.

[Point353]

No, I have not, and I'm not planning on doing that, because my expectations are that most manufacturers wheels do not adhere to the standard.  My expectations are so basic that I'm just asking for the wheels to be in-gauge (and even that is often not the case).

In gauge to which NMRA standard?

[peteski]

In gauge to which NMRA standard?

The standard standard. 
Seriously, to the NMRA gauge shown in Doug's photo.

[OldEastRR]

Do the HO guys have problems like this Rapido?

[tehachapifan]

IIRC, some 3 axle trucks can potentially experience problems on tighter radius curves if the wheel gauge is not set a tad on the narrow side. Otherwise, there may be some wheel climbing or hopping. This can be more of a factor if there is not enough side-to-side play with the wheelsets in the trucks (or at least the center wheelset). Probably not as much of an issue with a 4 axle truck though.

[wazzou]

There’s got to be some middle ground here.
You should expect an expensive new release to perform admirably on a layout with 18” radius curves but shouldn’t your expectations be diminished somewhat if you expect the same reliability on 9-3/4” curves?