Good Day Folks!
I finally started my layout, after all these years, I have the track laid for the most part. I am look for suggestions on a budget locomotive for testing, I already have had one loco fall off the track and it the ground, I was able to repair it, but its an expensive one. I see Proto 2000’s on the cheap, would these work for testing? I am looking for something in the $20 -$50 range.
Thanks in advance,
-Steven
Ouch.
Yes if you can get Proto-2000s in that price range they would work great for testing as well as good locomotives for running all the same. When I first saw the subject of the thread was going to suggest Proto-1000s.
Be aware that loco’s with different wheel bases and truck form are going to behave differently. I think I would find the longest 6 axle unit to test with. Something like an SD60, SD45, E8 and the like.
Hi,
That is very painful. I am not sure if you run DC or DCC but Bachmann has some inexpensive units in both formats that are very nice in appearance and built like tanks. The DCC units with the built-in decoder are a bit noisy when running slow but smooth-out at say speed step 30 of 128. Hope this helps.
All the best.
Reinhard
Sounds like you have some track pretty close to the edge of your layout. I just finished installing an easily removable plexiglas safety fence around my small portable layout. It is not only good for keeping trains from taking a dive, but keeping little fingers from sending them to the same fate. I did mine removable so that I could continue working on the layout.
There was mention in the answers to my question, “Plexiglass Adhesive” thread over at the “Layouts and Layout Building” part of this forum, that indicate methods of attaching the fence with screws.
There is an article in the Apr 2010 MR mag and under VIDEO above, then click on Expert Tips, scroll down to one that is on installing an easily removable one as I have done.
I was fortunate, no locos took the dive in the time before I got the fence installed. Even an inexpensive loco is a major expense these days. A couple of cars took the dive, but the worst damage was a broken stirip.
Good luck
I just finished repairing my Proto 2000 E8/9 after it took a dive to the floor (56" dive!). I now have either 1/4" plywood or masonite sides around all my hidden tracks, where the dive took place. The Proto 2000 locos are good but any loco diving to the floor is bound to need some bandages and glue! If you are going to continue exposing the loco to possible ‘diving exercises’ I would recommend an old Bachmann or Tyco diesel that you can pick up for about $10. Don’t expose those nice P2K or even P1k locos to nose dives.
-Bob
I can see it:
The cheap Tyco loco runs through all day. First time you run “Ol Wunnerful”, down it goes.
You should ASSUME that your trains will derail. That said, what can you do to keep them off the floor?
Years ago, at my club, the guys were running a long train up perfect (yes, really) trackwork. Well, they were running a pusher, and 8 cars went down to the ground. Hey, guess whose cars they were.
Plexi on the edge is a GREAT idea.
Ed
Perhaps for some, Ed, but I’m not one of 'em. [:-^][swg][(-D]
Wayne
Um, er, YIKES!
D&RGW, you got nuthin’!
Ed
How long can you hold your breath??
Steven, are you DC or DCC? All so where or did you find Proto’s 2000 in the $20.00 to $50.00 range anyway?
If you are DC, the old Athearn Blue Box engines will take a licking, not count dive’s to a hard floor. I have all so heard the Trail Line engine’s are fairly good in the $30.00 range.
DCC Bachmann DCC on board are not that bad. I have a GP 30 and starting to like it but it was $60.00.
All Proto engines drive’s are top notch, I mainly run Proto’s. If the prices range you listed, more than likely they will be Proto 1000’s and will need some wiring to make them DCC, but well worth the effort.
Now if you have found a stock pile of Proto 2000’s in the $60.00 range, let me know!
Cuda Ken
While it’s a pretty good drop, I’ve had no problems (yet) running trains on this hill, and have even run a 71 car train here using using four locos - two pulling, and two pushing.
Here’s a video of a shorter train taken from afar:
…and one with my camera riding a flatcar (it clips a lineside signpost near the end). The line currently dead-ends about where the locos stop, awaiting management to finish the partial second level of the layout, and all trains have to back down the 3/4 mile grade. Incidentally, there’s not much in the way of sound here, as this is strictly DC operation.
Wayne
Wayne!
OOPS![swg][(-D].
Neat trackwork.
Dave
How many times will the budget locomotive need to hit the floor before you complete your test?
Bill
And I now promptly apologize for that caustic comment. My point is that one should not have locomotives hitting the floor, and a lip of facia and proper track-laying should prevent that. Life is too short and our wallets are too thin to allow the purchase of locomotives that we don’t really want for our layout. A flatcar made from plexiglass (and those are also available commercially) can allow one to see just how the wheel sets track though the curves or turnouts. Slow operation in both directions can detect track problems. Spending money for a locomotive that may be a poor runner or otherwise doesn’t “fit” your layout seems unnecessary. Many of the cheap locomotives may have somewhat oversized flanges, which won’t offer a true test of what the finer models will do anyway.
I don’t know where Steven sees his but,I see P2K locomotves between $30-50.00 at the local train shows.
Next show you attend slow down and look around includuing under the front of the dealer’s table..You might be surprise of the deals you find lurking there.
I picked up a Atlas yellow box S4 for $25.00 by looking at the boxes under the front of the table.He had several Atlas yellow box GP38s SD24s and SD35s for the same price.
You want a big steam engine with a gazillion wheels to test your track. And, I don’t care if you’re modeling the modern era.
Nothing “tests” your track like a steamer. Nothing is more likely to pick the points or climb over the outside rail. Nothing will show you where you’ve got a horizontal kink, or a vertical kink, like a steamer. Nothing will let you know that 23 3/4 radius is NOT 24 inch radius like a steam engine.
A 4-axle diesel will run all day on marginal track work. You might have to pull a few underweighted, oversized flat cars to find your problems. Cheaper engines are designed for tighter radius curves, and they’re more forgiving than their higher-cost cousins. After you’ve built that perfect layout and it’s time to splurge a bit and reward yourself with a high-quality locomotive, you don’t want to see that your trackwork isn’t as good as your test engine said it was.
And, at the end of the day when you’ve got that beautiful relic of bygone days running reliably around your track, between the jars of ballast and past the glue containers, foam roadbed boxes and empty beer cans on your still-pink foam, with the lights turned down so you can see the headlight pierce the darkness and throw shadows on the walls, you will know why so many of us still think time itself stopped sometime in the Transition Era. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
I have several spots on my layout where disaster can happen, 4’ off the ground.
I got brave & placed a yard track right on the edge as well as my 4" wide duckunder to access the train room.
Nothing ( KNOCK ON WOOD ) has met the floor…YET!
Try an Athearn Loco, they can usually be had inexpensive like.
Gordon
Thanks all for the great suggestions. I was impatient, and wanted to test out my track work, thus, the loco hitting the floor. I have added profile boards, to prevent such a tragedy again. Having a blast, working on my first layout. I am going with DCC, from Digitraxx.
I have misc number of Proto 2000, some are DCC, DC, , some of the engines have broken drive shafts I bought these at an Estate sale. I don’t have a way to check DCC. I am just starting to work on a layout, so I am not familiar with how these are "likely " to run…
Looking for honest advice…[tup]
SooLine, in Wisconsin
On e-bay you can get them all the time, in fact I just bought an 0-6-0 proto 2000 for $60 which I consider a premium but they are a lot rarer than the 0-8-0’s, Katos can be had for as little as $40 for transition era diesels.
Where can I see more of your layout, looks interesting!!!