Part of the appeal of scale model railroading is capturing the dynamics of real life. Static models may be highly detailed, but the movement, sound and operations of a model railroad give our hobby a lot of scope.
When I saw this, my reaction was WOW! Naturally, this isn’t HO scale (it’s gauge 1). I think the smoke/steam feature could become annoying, but it is really executed well in this video. If running a display layout at a show, or operating during an open house, this type of “action” could certainly capture people’s attention in a postive way.
I don’t know much about the manufacturer or how the system works, or what is used to simulate the smoke (concerns about oils getting all over scenery have been previously discussed as a negative, etc.)
What do you think? Neat idea that takes it to the next level, or just too showy to be useful?
Very nicely done, within its limits, but it has two basic defects:
The cylinder cocks would ‘chuff’ along with the stack - blasts from the cylinders under pressure, wisps from the cylinders exhausting up the stack, alternating on each side, 90 degrees out of phase on opposite sides of the loco.
The stack smoke is the wrong color. The low-grade coal burned by my prototype guaranteed that the cleanest the exhaust would ever be was dishrag grey, ranging from there to soot-cloud black. (No, I DON’T want that on my layout!!)
There is a third, less obvious, defect - what happens to the air quality in a poorly ventilated space with that volume of whatever blasting into it? Since even a little airborne dust will get to my wife, I don’t want to think of her (physiological) reaction to that one.
I guess that, like sound, smoke will be another feature I will happily forgoe.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with stacks that are always clear)
I’m with Chuck on this one: on first impression, it looks pretty good, even though it’s not really prototypical. However, like using real water to depict water, it doesn’t translate properly - the wispy “smoke” still looks like that off a cigarette, “idling” in an ash tray. [swg] I’d classify it as too gimmicky for my tastes, the same as sound and supposedly working lights. My imagination lets me fill in the smoke and sound as required, and the smells too, sometimes. [;)]
I really don’t think I would want any kind of locomotive smoke in a closed room! Outdoors would be fine. What’s the chemical making smoke. Does it leave a residue on the layout or in your lungs?
Now that’s what I call smoke, none of that faded, light, wispy , pretend stuff , that mimics smoke, I can just imagine some people whining about the room full of smoke with a cigarette hanging off their lip. Now if they can just come up with a better sound system from a 1/2 inch speaker that sounds like the intercom at a burger joint.
Smoke is something that will never be realistically modeled for model trains. All the molecules are the wrong size, for one thing - air molecules and smoke molecules. And the quantity required would fill a layout room (of any size) in very short order, even from a small switcher, let alone something like a Big Boy. Do you really want to run your layout by radar, with gas mask in place? It’s one facet of railroading that is best left out of our models.
I don’t know, it seems like the “smoke” dissipates pretty quickly so I wouldn’t think it would build up even in a normal layout room. I think it’s pretty neat. 20 years ago people said sound was a ‘gimmick’ only meant for toy trains. At one time, some modelers thought making loads - like coal loads for hopper cars - was toylike.
I think that the more models are out there and the more sophisticated electronics and building gets, realistically simulating smoke and steam will be an easier and cheaper process that will probably be standard on all steam locomotive models.
My Granddad, always said that a smoking loco was the result of
A, a broken loco
B, a bad fireman
C, contaminated fuel
D, all of the above
and that a smoking loco was a sure the sign of a job opening up soon.
and FYI,
steam is invisable, once it condenses back into water vapor, it may be seen, but depending on the temp and humidity of the air, ranges from blinding clouds to barely noticable.
I agree with Mark…A fireman took pride in his fire however,smoke would happen and cause could be from poor slate filled coal to the engine working hard.