My question is how can the diesel smoke exhaust be accomplished for an HO diesel? Is there a kit that can be installed a HO diesel?
[#welcome] to the Forums.
I haven’t heard of anyone doing that. White smoke is available and in wide use on HO steam locomotives. Diesels usually put out black smoke or none at all. I don’t know of anything that can make black smoke (and not be toxic).
Maybe others will have more information.
Hey Jerrye,
Welcome, & yeah that would be a pretty neat effect. I like mine to run clean, but my weathering suggests they be a might smoky too! A slight condrum! As a former 1/24 model trucker, a few drops of Diesel on the display base went a long way to make the suggestion…
If you do find out how to make a model train smoke badly, I would like to hear about it, as I have a really dirty GE Dash9 that would look really neat if it did this in HO !!! Taken from www.railpictures.net - a great resource!
Good luck,
Although “smoke” might be a nice effect, Using it regularly on your layout can have some really bad consequeces. The residue that settles all over the layout is terrible for the scenery, structures and especially coating the rails. These have been banned from use at our club just for this reason.
I still haven’t seen real looking smoke from any of the smoke generators as yet. The smoke just rises from the stack w/ no prototypical effects coinciding w/ the operation of the loco.
[#welcome]
Welcome to the squirrel cage. Watch out for low-flying nuts!
While black smoke (which was far more common from steam locos than the little white wisps one usually sees) might seem to be a good idea, I wouldn’t even consider it within any enclosed space.
In addition to creating grime on railheads and filth on scenery, it also fills the air you and your family, friends and fellow railroaders breathe. My wife wouldn’t be able to take it for more than two breaths without needing emergency attention. I might last longer - but not much.
My advice? Forget trying to make it part of operations. For photos, either mock up some painted cotton or photoshop it. (And be sure to paint the cotton in a well-ventilated area.)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with smoke-free coalburners and diesels)
Smoke from my diesels? My bronchitis would love that! I’d be on the floor inside of two minutes. Been there and done that with steamers many years ago. I quit going to a couple of modelers homes because they insisted on using the stuff when I was there. I have a friend near here who uses the smoke in his steamers but not when I’m there. When he does use it he does so sparingly because it settles on the scenery and leaves an oily film on the track.
Actually EMD puts out blue smoke as did the FMs…Alco,GE,Lima and Baldwin belch black smoke…
Well, someone has figured out a way…Go see the HO Southwest Chief video in the “user submitted videos”
I’ll skip the videos, the smoke generators and sound effects and just fill that part in with my imagination just as I have done for the last 40 years.
Sheldon
Seuthe is the only company that produces smoke units anymore.
Other than the issues others already have mentioned, there really isn’t any place to put them in HO or N. Right below where the exhausts are, are the circuit boards/decoders and motor.
I’ve seen all of his videos on Youtube.com and his smoke effects are great. I just wish he’d share his little trick
I once had an Athearn SD60 with a MRC decoder that smoked out the exhaust. It looked cool but didn’t run after that!
Joe
I just spent a half hour watching there video’s, I think the smoke was digitally added. Just looks to real, and we know HO smoke units don’t look real. Layout, sound dubbing and video angles are great.
Cuda Ken
Grey smoke can be done in 0 Gauge (1/43). It needs a lot of body space - so no go in H0…
What was done involved some electrical wizardry but the guy had two smoke units (or 3?) and 2 small fans. When on tick-over the loco just made a small haze of smoke. When the throttle was opened the smoke burners kicked in followed by both fans. This blasted a pall of smoke nice and high. As the loco got under way the system dropped back to one burner and one fan. When the load changed the second set cut in again. Very impressive. I saw it work - but I have never seen anyone else try it.
As for faking smoke - lambs wool or accoustic wadding for speakers is the way to go. The wadding is easier to spray paint. Just tease it out thin, hang it up in the wide open or against something you don’t mind spraying (like the wife’s new outfit) and spray: then leave to dry. Wadding doesn’t clog or matt - at least the stuff I’ve dug out of dead speakers doesn’t. (It’s also supposed to be fire retardent - subject to what your painting it may do to it…). Once painted it can be set to make pretty good “smoke” for photos.
The next thing is how to do those flames bursting out the top??? [:P]
You guys are being sarcastic about the “smoke effect” in those Southwest Chief videos on YouTube right?
It’s so clearly a digital effect that I’m surprised if anyone would think it is real. Pretty much the same thing he did with the sounds. Looks and sounds great in the video, but it’s not real.
Here’s a link to the video:
The big problem with smoke effects, in addition to no black smoke, is you can’t scale down smoke. So no matter what you do, it will never look right with model trains. Similar with real water. Can’t scale it down, so that’s why it never looks right with models.
I am not as dumb as I spell. Still a great video!
Cuda Ken
The black smoke can be created by puffing carbon powder.
You would need enough room inside the shell for a tank of black carbon power and a small pump to propell puffs of it in the air.
Could you create smoke by pulling apart some pieces of a cotton ball and and wrap it around wire to keep it straight? You can glue that to the loco and paint the smoke gray or black. That’s the only way I know to mimic smoke. Smoke is the last thing I want on my layout!
Ask a miner what that stuff can do to your lung! That´s an absolute no go!
ESU of Germany now offers Diesel locos (only German prototype so far) with a built in smoke feature involving a two speed fan - similar to what you get in steam locos, so not the old Seuthe stuff. It looks much better, but not yet fully realistic and is certainly not black.
Like all smoke features, it leaves an oily residue on the loco and the track.
You can always ask the on youtube under the comments section. He hasn’t posted a video in a year so he may not answer.