# Aristo Pacific question



## BodsRailRoad (Jul 26, 2008)

I was wondering if anyone had done any mods to help with the front pilot tracking on the newer version Pacific's.

I have the 2011 version a well as the one before it and they both seem to have the same front pilot issue, it likes to derail going through switches







.

I use Train Li R7's and the front pilot sometimes derails when going through the turnout, I have had this problem on my inside test track using Aristo

Wide radius switches also. 

I tried adding weight to the pilot and that didn't seem to help, any suggestions/tips?

Ron


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Did you check you wheel gage on the pilot wheels?


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

That was my thought; switches have guard rails that to often lift a wheel if the back to back is off. 
Since it tracks well elsewhere, what in a switch can cause it? Guard rails. 
I think Greg has a page on shimming the guard rails to pull the wheels over to clear...
John


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## Tom Leaton (Apr 26, 2008)

In addition to the above, you want to check for excessive friction impeding sideways movement. Also, there has been some discussion in this forum about Aristo switch frog depth and the need to remedy same.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

1. There can be issues with flangeway width, frog height, etc. My friend Ted Doskaris is preparing one of his famous "vignettes" on this turnout, but he is working with Axel on solutions and some new parts from the factory. 

2. Checking the wheel back to back AND gage is essential... if the flanges on the pilot are as thick as on the drivers, you cannot put these into specification. 

3. There is no spring on the pilot truck, as with other Aristo steamers, consider this modification, or adding some weight to the pilot truck. 

Regards, Greg


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## NavyTech (Aug 2, 2008)

I had the same issue and I glued some lead weights over the wheels and it rectified everything. I used fishing lead and added two too each and tested it then added a third and it did the [email protected] url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Providers/HtmlEditorProviders/CEHtmlEditorProvider/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Jason, do you by chance know the number of ounces you added? That's a good solution that many others may need. 

Regards, Greg


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## NavyTech (Aug 2, 2008)

I am not sure how many ounces it is. I just grabbed what was in my tackle box and used pliers to squeeze them together and kept adding them until the issued stopped. I used hot glue to attach them to the top of the front wheels..


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## BodsRailRoad (Jul 26, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 19 Aug 2011 11:00 AM 
1. There can be issues with flangeway width, frog height, etc. My friend Ted Doskaris is preparing one of his famous "vignettes" on this turnout, but he is working with Axel on solutions and some new parts from the factory. 

2. Checking the wheel back to back AND gage is essential... if the flanges on the pilot are as thick as on the drivers, you cannot put these into specification. 

3. There is no spring on the pilot truck, as with other Aristo steamers, consider this modification, or adding some weight to the pilot truck. 

Regards, Greg 

The back to back was a litle narrow at 38.5mm so I increased it to 40.25 which gives me a gage of 44mm (the filets are quite small as are the flanges).
The pilot is sprung Greg, I added a little more weights to the pilot and it now tracks much better.

The Pacific seems to be a lot less stable on curves and switches than any other engine I have. 
It must be because the large drivers make for a high center of gravity.


I also added an extra 2 pound lead weight over the front pair of drivers because it was a little tail heavy.
This has also improved it's pulling power, it now pulls it's eight car heavyweight consist with ease, not to mention very very fast







.

All in all the new Pacific runs and looks great and I'm very happy with it and would recommend them to anyone.

Ron


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

It's less stable on curves due to the excessive gage caused by the new wheel back to back settings and the overly thick driver flanges. 

If you look at the wear pattern on your drivers, you will see it is really not on the tread, but on the fillet leading to the flange. 

It's just over gage. This has already been established. 

For some people, it has caused worse problems. For many, it runs ok, but you can see the effects in "wobble" and tracking through switches, which often have tight gage themselves. 

Regards, Greg


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