Hello Everyone

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I am new to the forum and wanted to say hi. I also have a few questions to go along with it. Am I correct in thinking on a normal DC N scale track, that I shouldn’t run two powered engines together to pull a longer line of cars? I think this is true because two different engines will not run at the excact speed or RPM. I think I would burn one of the motors up running like that.

I have a large rail yard in the next town over from me. I like going there and watching the trains get switched around and ready to go. One thing I do is. I get the engine road numbers and I look them up on the internet to see what type of engine they are. I would like to add some of them to my stock of locomotives I have. But I can’t find them on the internet or anywhere. For example: There was 8 - Union Pacific C45ACCTE engines, 3 - UP SD40N, 2 - UP SD70AH and 6 - UP GP15-1. Now I have found an UPY GP15-1 on the internet but they look different than the GP15-1. Besides the GP15-1. I have not been able to tell the difference say between the SD70AH and a SD70ACe or a SD40N and a SD40-2. Is there a difference between each example on the outside? I know they have different controls from what I read but I want to make sure the outsides are the same. Thank you for your help.

2

Welcome to the forum, Derailed!

I normally model in HO, but I do have some N scale stuff that I run on Kato uni-track. Several manufacturers make multiple road numbers; for example, I have some 20 year old Life Like GP20s in three road numbers that run very well together. Same for some Kato F units I have.

I am not much help when it comes to modern power, as it all looks the same to me! Have fun, don’t be a stranger, and do not hesitate to ask questions. There are so many helpful folks who are glad to share their knowledge and experiences.

3

[#welcome][#welcome] to the forum

Running two locos together is called consisting. When the DCC folks start discussing elaborate maneuvers to speed match, the DC veterans come along and say we’ve been doing this for years, with nothing special except picking locos that run about the same.

For a while I watched a couple Youtube live railcams and kept a spreadsheet on what engines and how often I saw the same engine. I can’t tell an ES44AC from a DC from a CW. Not my era so I really don’t care.

You will not find every version of every loco and every road name commercially available.

4

Welcome to the forums.

You can run two locos together if you speed match them. Just set both on the tracks a few feet apart. If they stay relatively close to the same distance a few times around the track, they would probably play well together. I did this with two of my DCC locos saving the need to consit them electrically.

As for the identity of modern locos, I’m not your man.

Have fun,

Richard

5

[#welcome]

I was in N scale using DC for over a decade. Running two locomotives together is just fine. As others stated, they just need to have similar, not exact, speeds.

Hope to see you around in here.

-Kevin

6

Derailed in CA,

I will say Welcome too!! [#welcome]

I’m sorry that I can’t answer any of your questions, but I think others have already done that. As has been said, don’t hesitate to ask more.

Cheers!!

Dave

7

Welcome derailed,

I too am in N scale and run DC. I do what Richard said and set my locomotives on the rails and space them a few feet apart to see how well they run together. If they are close they are fine.

What I find though is that certain brands will run better together than others. As an example Kato locomotives run faster than say, Atlas or Fox Valley or ScaleTrains so I will only run Katos together. The other brands I mentioned on the other hand can sometimes work together well, but locomotives when new really need to be “broke-in” before trying to speed match them. What I do is run them in each direction at 50 percent power for about 20-30 minutes then start adjusting the throttle down about 10 percent increments to they are able to run slow but smooth. Some may do it differently but this works for me.

AS far as the locomotive types, a SD40N was rebuilt from a standard SD40-2 and outward look the same. The UP C45ACCTE looks just like everyone else’s ES44AC except it has UP’s standard options. Railroads will order their locomotives to meet their specifications and what they call them is sometimes based upon that. When I was working in avaition sometime back we had an aircraft called a DC-9. One was a early stretched version called the DC-9-30 but to Delta it was a DC-9-32 and Eastern called their’s a DC-9-31, the difference? same type of a/c just different options but to McDonnel Douglas and everyone else they were just DC-9-30s.

Hope this helps,

Ralph

8

I want to thank everyone for their inputs. Yes you were very helpful in answering my questions. I did learn one added thing too. I didn’t know about the break in of a new engine. I will now do that as I buy new engines.

As far as the different types of locomotives I will not worry so much about the alphabet that comes after the number. As long as it looks like the locomotives that I see in the yard I will use it. Sometimes I get a little too anal when I want to make sure everything is perfict.

Don’t worry I will stay around and be asking a lot of questions. Again thank you all for your answers.

9

Hello All,

[#welcome]

I run DCC and have a consist of 3 Bachmann GP30s.

These locomotives are similar to their DC counterparts because the decoders are so simple that there is no way to adjust them electronically to match speeds (no support of CV 05 or 06).

Even though they are from the same manufacturer and, in theory, the same type; the dates that they were manufactured was far enough apart that there is a noticeable difference in their speeds.

Two are manufactured from the same time frame while the third is an older version. The older version has slightly higher gearing and moves faster than the other two.

This consist moves an 8-car coal drag up a 3% grade to an unloading siding. Before the lead loco gets to the siding it is cut, runs down the main to receive the empties as they come out of the unloading shed on the siding.

This train has the single, older (faster), unit on the lead, and the two, newer (slower), ones at the rear as pushers.

Unfortunately, manufacturers occasionally make minor changes from one manufacturing run to the next. These changes are not listed on the packaging; GP30- -Mfg. September, 2012.

This becomes more of a problem when purchasing older/used locomotives.

I found out the manufacturing differences when I removed the shells and compared the frame configuration(s) and types of decoders: 8-pin plug vs. PCB type.

The bottom line…

Yes, in DC you can run several locomotives in a consist.

For smooth, trouble-free operation some detective work- -beyond researching the road name & number- -might be necessary to find the best matches.

Hope this helps.

Post Script: I am in the process of upgrading many of my Bachmann motive power from the OEM decoders to Digitrax that support CV 05 & 06.
HTH- -J.J.D.I.

10

I run straight DC HO. I have no problem consisting up ABBA lashups of first generation diesels. Although I must admit that I am consisting units from the same manufacturer. The only time I had any trouble was the time I had an elderly Athearn B unit pulling nearly an ampere consisted with a pair of more modern Athearn A units that drew only 300 milliamps apiece. The Tech power pack could not furnish 1.6 amps and was shutting down from overload. I will do something about that B unit one of these days.