Does anyone know where I can get some more info on this system? How about a Faller website?Specifically I am looking for info on how to set up automated car systems with switching, automated intersection lights, automated routes with start/stop points and wan to see first - how involved is a project like this and second - how expensive would this be.
I searched Google for a Faller website and could not find one. I did find the Yahoo Grp and two store sites but, none of these had what I am looking for.
The Faller website is http://www.faller.de and the car system information is under the products link at the top of the page. The starter sets prices are 75.00 euros and up. I don’t know how much they cost in the U.S. as I live in Mannheim, Germany. Individual cars can cost over 100.00 euros each so it does get quite expensive.
while i am not sure about the Faller cars, i did do a quick conversion and at todays rates, the 75 euro would be $107.71 and the 100 euro would be $143.62.
I would like to suggest for you to go onto the german ebay. It is http://modellbau.shop.ebay.de/items/Modelleisenbahn-Spur-H0__W0QQQ5fcatrefZ1QQ_flnZ1QQ_sacatZ9053 . This gets you to the model railroad page in HO. Then in the search window type in Faller System, or Faller Autosystem or Faller Car System. If you set up Google as one of your task bars on the top of your computer screen, you can use the TRANSLATE function and translate the pages to english. Most people speak at least a bit of english over there and the prices are quite a bit cheaper and it is surprising how much there is for sale as well.
I have the bus that leaves the main road to park at the bus depot, and then proceeds back to the main road, after stopping at the intersection. I also have several trucks and half a dozen Faller System cars. Be sure to watch the video "Miniatur Wunderland Videos “4 minute” I have already spent over $1200 on the Faller Car System. To achieve what you propose, you are up to $2000-$3000+ To get to Faller on the computer, type in “Faller Car System” on the Internet. I happened to have a set of old Slot Car track. I bury a heavy iron wire in the slot car section , that travels about 18 ft, over a bridge, to connect two towns. You prepare the slot, such that the wire top is at the level of the roadway, (with Hydrocal plaster) Then weather the roadway. Bob Hahn
As Maxman points out, there’s an article in the February 2010 issue of Model Railroader on how I installed a two-vehicle system at home. Subscribers also have access to a video of the system in operation. I really enjoy the system and a basic installation is pretty simple. Faller even offers roads in two different styles if you want the ultimate in simplicity. If you want a more complex installation, then it’s similar to building a train layout, with one important exception - since you have no direct control over the cars, you need to build the controls, such as sensors and solenoids, into the layout. It’s not difficult but it does take time.
Walthers carries Faller products so your local shop should be able to order what you want that way, and quite a few North American internet/mail order shops also carry Faller.
Good luck with your system and thanks for reading MR!
Thanks gang, I appreciate your input, especially the site links.
I read the article in the Feb MRR and that is what got me interested. I have found the starter sets for around $150-200 and most vehicles run $50-100 so it sounds a little expensive but no more so than adding a loco or train to the layout. My main concern is getting all the stops at crossing gates, traffic lights, stores and such automated and wanted to see how much that type of automation would run. I checked Walthers and they have a large selection which is mostly out of stock. Found a site in CN and one in GB that look pretty good for stock.
Oh, the horror! Jumping lizards! (or falling out of trees from the cold, will you.) It is another universe: vehicles moving at high speed or stopped, nothing in-between. Reminds me of those Lionel layouts where people jump out and retreat from/into structures at fantastic speed. It’s almost like rockets launched from flat cars and exploding boxcars, and trains traveling 100 mph around city-block-size curves. That’s fine for a toy railroad, but that Faller system is a total “negative detail” in my book. Oh well, enjoy your toys, and I’ll enjoy mine.
Mark - I totally agree, but if you look at what the people of Miniatur Wunderland have made out of this, you´d be amazed how real this looks. Slow acceleration, slow deceleration, reduction of speed when turning around a corner, indicator lights flashing when changing lanes or turning …
To be fair, the HEAVILY modified the Faller Car System.
I looked into whether I could change this on-off style of operation, but there’s actually a technical reason for the abrupt starts and stops. In the Faller system, vehicles stop when a magnetic field opens a reed switch mounted on the vehicle and remain stopped as long as the switch is open. If the vehicle coasted to a stop, it would coast through the field and the vehicle would resume speed. The need for quick stops is the reason for using a worm drive and not a spur drive (which would allow for a limited amount of coasting).
Miniatur Wunderland puts microprocessors into the cars, which allows the MW team to do far more things with their system. If you’re technically inclined, it’s also possible to purchase digital controls for home use. For example, Modellbahn Claus http://modelleisenbahn-claus.de/index.htm offers a DCC-like system for the cars called DC Car.
Now if I could just get the little plastic people to walk to the bus stop on their own . . .
That system seems pretty neat but it’s virtually a layout with in a layout. At a quick glance it seems like a rather complicated system and your limited to the era and type of vehicles you have. Kinda neat if you can get it to work right I have a hard enough time with my trains don’t need another reason to rip the hair out of my head just yet.
The total space where the vehicles operate is 16" x 72". The distance between the two bus stops is 48" and the minimum radius is 7" for the bus. The turns into and out of the alley where the truck stops are tighter but that vehicle has a smaller turn radius. Faller recommends 150mm, about 6". As I note in the article, it’s important to test, not only for minimum radius but also overhangs. An installation using tractor-trailer combinations would need much broader curves.
As far as whether it’s a layout within a layout, yes, that’s a fair description. You go through the same process - planning, building, testing, and adding scenery. It’s a lot like adding a narrow-gauge line or a streetcar line. The bus will run automatically, but running the truck at the same time requires an operator.
I really enjoyed the process of planning and building the installation. Since we took the photos for the article I’ve painted and decaled the bus, and I enjoyed that also. Visitors really, really like it. Most people have seen a model train, and the track tells them where the train is going to go. Very few have seen a Faller system, and because there is no visible means of guidance, it looks like magic.
Thank you for the response. This will be a great help in planning on my layout. Early on a friend recommended the Faller cars and I now can envision them operating with 3 crossings, integrated with the future JMRI controlled trains. Exciting possiblilities!!!
Neat idea but nothing terribly new tech about it, just a wire with a magnetic pickup over it following along – I was actually thinking about building something along these lines when I was a kid, a hidden wire with a magnet. The tricky part is the controller, they seem to have the timing down great, with signal lights and all. They did a good job in the controls. I think the price is quite high though for what one gets. Seems if I bought a kit and played around with it, it would not be that difficult to reverse engineer for my layout, for personal use of course, using off the shelf components.
Only problem I foresee in the cars is the lack of variety in vehicle bodies for the US market, that would be easily solved by using HO slot car bodies.
It’s sad there is not better distribution in the US to keep prices reasonable, I think these would really take off if they were well distributed in hobby stores to help keep the pricing reasonable.