I grew up dabbling in HO model railroading several times before ditching that as a teenager for N Scale. I last put away my N Scale rolling stock in 1987 and have largely ignored model and real railroading since then.
Recently, I became inspired to give the hobby a try again as an adult. But model–and real–railroading have certainly changed in 17 years. I’ve done my best to read up and get refreshed but I have several nagging questions about model and real railroading. I have decided to post here as most are HO Scale related but there are also some real railroading question that I hope no one will mind me asking here. If anyone can take the time to answer some or all of these questions, I’d sure appreciate it!
The first thing that strikes me about the hobby is the dominance now of knuckle couplers. Sure, I remember Kadee back in the 80s but I had a 20 dollar allowance and there wasn’t much cao go around for such luxuries. That said, I am still not sure how these things work. The guy at the train store says you just puhe cars together. I was playing tonight with a KATO locomotive and an Athearn dummy locomotive (Both had plastic knuckle couplers) on a few pieces of True Track. There didn’t seem to be any “magical” connection. The two couplers did attach in a way, but I did not need a pin or a magnet to separate them. Just lifting the dummy off the track was enough to separate them. Is this how they work or am I doing something wrong? Would Bachmann E-Z Mates work well with Kadees or other knockoff plastic brands? Finally, the guy at the store said plastic couplers don’t work when hauling long trains. Is there a rule of thumb for how many cars plastics can support?
I have read that this new Code 83 (I think that is it) track does not support HO scale rolling stock that is 20 years or older. Is that true? Is that why the Rivarossi, Con-Cor, and older Athearn stock is so cheap now?
Whether it was 1983, 1987, or 2004 I have always wanted to model t
I can’t answer all the questions, but I’ll take on a few.
Kadees and clones work by pushing together to join. Uncoupling is accomplished by stopping the train with the couplers over a magnet either fastend between the rails or a bigger one under the track (Kadee sells both). Then reverse slightly to put slack in the couplers then pull forward. The couplers part and if you then back up the couplers are pulled to the sides by the magnet so that they then don’t re engage and you can pu***he uncoupled car to where you want it…
Some issues with Kadees, Coupling on sharp curves can be a problem, the clones seem to have more of a problem with this. Clones and Kadees don’t always mix well. Using permanent magnets on the mainline can lead to unwanted uncoupling if the train slows down going over them (can be rekieved with electric magnetic uncoupler (at greater expense and installation hassle). Clones don’t seem to last as long Kadees based on reports on this forum and elsewhere.
Code 83 and older rolling stock. The problem with older rolling stock is flange size. If you have deep flanges you can either replace the wheels or use code 100. For locomotive wheels you may be able to turn them down (remove them form the loco first since you don’t want filings in the motor) to work. Not all older rolling stock has this problem so check it first,
3-7. I don’t know
Get one of Kalmbach’s books on wiring your model railroad. Also see this section of the NMRA’s site http://www.nmra.org/beginner/ for some good information.
This page on NMRA’s site http://www.nmra.org/standards/rp-11.html has recommended curve. While a lot of HO equipment is made to take sharper curves it doesn’t mean they will run well. I would recomment that you consider 32" radius curves.
10-12 I don’t know.
Welcome back to model railroading. [#welcome][#welcome]
Too many questions in one post but I can answer a couple. Amtrak has been licensing for more than ten years. At times the can be persnickity and other times they don’t seem to care. The models with wheels you will have trouble with were made overseas and have very deep flanges - mostly older Rivarossi, Lima and some others. Not a problem with american m,ade stuff unless you get way back to old Varney, Gilbert and the like (50’s - 60’s stuff)
Don’t know what an mp36 is. Maybe its just some modification of a standard loco. At any rate, because it wouldn’t sell very well because of limited application I wouldn’t expect anyone to make it.
24" radius for the stuff you want to run is really at or below the minimum. Larger raduius will definitely work better and certainly be better looking.
Amtrak is so strapped for equipment they run virtually everything they have thats runable.
The AC loco thing is very technical and not all railroads are sold on it yet. Mostly it has to do with efficiency and durability. It actually has a higher cost when new. There are websites with info including GE but you have to have time to read it all.
Knuckle Couplers were once ruled by Kaydee until the patent expired. Now everyone who wants to can make “Similar” couplers. I once had to replace horn and hooks with kaydees in addition to the expense of the rolling stock. Now some include clones with the rolling stock… however, I maintain a stockpile of Kaydee’s (about 20-50) because the clones will fail at some point in the future.
Question 2
Rolling stock made some time ago have deep flanges or does not confirm to current standards today. I say this is kind of not-a-problem… because of the abundance of fine metal wheelsets. A box of Intermountain, Protos (they dont sell bulk, my favorite wheels) and other wheelset makers have made sure that there are good quality wheels ready to go. For Athearn Blue Box, Accurail, Walthers etc etc they are adequate. Similar to couplers, manufactors are beginning to include metal wheelsets in the offerings.
Question 3
I feel your pain, perhaps a careful search of Chicago area may yeild a shop that is able to produce these models you seek. Chicago is a rail hub of the USA and I think there has to be some one who has the ability and the resources to commercially create these models as either a retail offering or a custom order.
Question 4
I have dealt with Aurora in Trucking over the years and let me tell you… it is BUSY. I dont know too much about Naperville.
Question 5
I cannot tell you about Amtrack, however some of my projects used Microscale decals… for example I built a small Dominos Sugar Fleet of tank and Covered hoppers only to find Athearn releasing Tanks in ready to run (Better than my adequate workbench skills I may add) in the Dominos roadname shortly after finding out the supply has dried up from Microscale.
Road numbers are in very short supply, I have several peices of rolling stock that have the same road number simply because there are not any availible. Maybe someda
In short Kadee’s patents expired. But working with and working well are two different things. Having several thousands of cars to convert I bought samples (at least 20 each) of each type. I always return to Kadee. In fact, when I purchase a new car I still allways plan on converting it to Kadee, just like in the old days.
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Finally, the guy at the store said plastic couplers don’t work when hauling long trains. Is there a rule of thumb for how many cars plastics can support?
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There was an article about this in Model Railroader a few years ago. They stressed each one until it streched out of shape. They then converted that to number of cars. Sorry, I don’t have the issue number. Perhaps someone else will recall it.
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2. I have read that this new Code 83 (I think that is it) track does not support HO scale rolling stock that is 20 years or older. Is that true? Is that why the Rivarossi, Con-Cor, and older Athearn stock is so cheap now?
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No, only the older rolling stock that had the really large “cookie cutter” flanges. I’ve never had any trouble with old Athearn on code 83 track. Older Athearn is so cheap now because everything else has gotten so much better in the detail / painting categories. If you want to fill a yard with rugged equipment blue box Athearn is hard to beat.
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8. I remember in my N Scale layout, I came across my first ex
Regarding 13, I havent’ looked too heavily into it, but it would make sense if the newer tracton motor controllers are of the VFD type (variable frequency drive) so as to allow a constant speed on the prime mover (for, say, max efficiency), and letting the VFDs put out the proper voltage and frequency of 3 phase power to induction traction motors (no brushes). Basically, it’s the same technology that’s been used in other industries to drive medium-sized to enormous AC motors for more than a decade. Advances in semiconductor power density (and the vetting time for new technologies insisted on by the luddite railroads) are probably what’s allowing it’s use in locomotoves these days. From an engineering perspective, it makes gobs and gobs of sense.
I, like you, took a few years out of model railroading. (Aging grandparents, college, wife, kids in that order.) I was also surprised at the changes from then to now. This takes some getting used to…
IIRC, Brian Solomon’s book Modern Diesel Locomotives (don’t take me to Court and make me swear on the title) had the comment that an AC locomotive could run down to any speed greater than 0 and still keep moving, albeit very slowly, for a long time. DC motors will burn up if they run less than 5 (?) MPH for a few minutes. Then you have to call for a helper to get you over the obstruction. On the test run, an AC locomotive nearly stalled on a steep grade pulling coal tonnage, but crossed the summit moving at about .05 MPH, and accellerated as more weight got on the down side of the hill. The motors were fine when checked later. This makes a nifty capability for stuff that can arrive just whenever it finally gets there, but not for on-time-or-else-delivery materials. I won’t claim this is a technical answer, but it may provide you with the reason WHY your railroad uses an AC locomotive, and some further inspiration.
A huge change in the hobby, related to your question #8, is the advent of DCC (Digital Command Control) since you’ve been gone. This is a new way of controlling trains, where you have a computer chip in each locomotive, and a handheld controller that also has a computer chip that communicates with the locomotive - so you can run many trains on the same stretch of track without having to isolate them with gaps or insulated joiners. The signals are transmitted over the rails. If you go that way, wiring can be somewhat simpler, but read up on it before you make the investment in a system. Kalmbach has a book on it, as does Digitrax, one of the leading manufacturers.
As far as getting late Metra coaches and cabs your best bet is Three Brothers Manufacturing. They are the only ones other than the brass makers that offer the CB&Q/BN/RTA/Metra style coaches and cars. I have built a couple of the metal kits and they are pretty easy to put together and look awesome when they are done! I think they went under so their stuff might be a little hard to find. I’m sure Walthers has a pretty good stock of their stuff. (I can no longer access their web site.)
For BN E-9’s the best bet is to get an undec Life Like Proto 2000 E-8 and paint it up for the BN. The only difference between the E-8 and E-9 is the gasket in the nose light. Unless you are dealing with an expert on E’s no one will know the difference.
Of course if you want to model other lines like the C&NW/RTA/Metra and ex-Rock lines the Walthers Bi-levels are a perfect match. Katos’ F40PH will work great with those cars too. For the newer stuff you are pretty much out of luck unless it becomes available in brass. Save your money up, I’m sure we’ll see a MPI unit coming out of Overland in the next year or so…