Derailing on turnout

I received some hand-me-down HiT Toy Company trains and eventually bought some tan TM track on ebay. The engines and track are in good condition and the only real problem is the turnout derailment (both of my engines, Thomas and Victor, do it) . When it's configured to turn instead of go straight, the engine derails its front wheel most of the time. I was surprised after some googling that I didn't find anyone else with this issue. The turnout type in the middle row of this pic is what I'm having trouble with:


Thanks for any help you all can give!

[Super]

I don't use the Trackmaster track like those you have pictured (Tomy Man Here) but I do have a couple ideas. One being, are the tracks on carpeting or a hard surface. I have found that on carpeting that depending on how high the nap is, it could hamper the full movement of the point from underneath so when Thomas or Victor hit that part they don't know exactly which way to go and end up going over the point.

Secondly may be due to the weight. I know that Thomas has 3 weights under the front wheels and if they have been removed it may make his front end rise easily. I am not familiar with Victors design but I will guess that he has some type of weight either under the chassis or perhaps behind his face in the the front of his shell.

Something that may help is a spray Dry Lubricant like silicone of dry slide on the moving track points both at the pivot point and the sides where the wheels rub. May help lesson any friction that might be hampering the transition of the wheels through the point.

Oh and, Welcome to the Forums LtChambers, I think you are going to like it here.

I am not familiar with Victors design but I will guess that he has some type of weight either under the chassis or perhaps behind his face in the the front of his shell.

I have a HiT Victor and I believe he has weights hidden in his smokebox.

I don't have any Trackmaster tracks, but I think the characteristics should be similar to Tomy. Derailment depends on what your layout looks like. In the picture below on the left, the train is very likely to derail as the height of the yellow part isn't very high to make sure the the wheel doesn't go over when turning. The same happens to the Y shaped track. If your train is going from a straight portion to curve, there shouldn't be any problems. Also, if the train is too fast, it's more likely to derail. Derailment isn't something unusual.

Yes, it does seem to depend on whether the front wheel is rubbing toward the straight or turning side of the turnout. When it's rubbing toward the straight side, it's far more likely to derail. However, on the TM track at least, I don't think it has anything to do with the plastic moving switch. The derailment happens at the red circle:



I think I'm going to see if I can fix it with a shunt on the diverging track's outer rut. Something that will keep the inner wheel from getting too close to that red circle.

"Derailment isn't something unusual."
I will not accept defeat so easily!

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Putting a shunt there fixed it. Now I just have to find to do it with something more permanent than playdoh...

[Super]

Great work Lt, when you get your mod finished, please share a photo for us.