I was thinking what if the freight cars had motors inside of them instead of the engines. And this is why:
The speakers could be put in the main part of the steam loco instead of the tender.
We could recreate wheel slipping
We could recreate the hump in the switching yards
ect.
And maybe just maybe in the future we could have magnetic air hoses that would conduct electricity (Each car coud share power pickup together) so power pickup won’t be an issue(In case we use traction tires)!
Mainly the boxcars, cabooses and reefers would be powered so there can be lots of weight inside for maximum traction.
A few issues would be that if you had a flatcar/hopper/Gondola only train…
Anyways, this was just a thought in my head.
Im open for thoughts on this, crititism, or if you think if this could be the future of model trains?
Just model subway like Lion. Him has more than anyone else for electrical pickup.
I will stick with motors in my locomotives instead. Thanks.
No offense intended, but, having railcars with motors, when not a subway or light rail transit car, is not prototypical. While I proto-freelance, I will not go that far off the prototype operation. That would fit a whimsical freelance rather than protolancing. So, not for me. And, I feel that a lot of folks will probably feel similarly…
Well you’re going to have some funny problems switching cars. Since all the powered cars will move whenever there is power to the rails. If you attempt to solve this problem with DCC you’ll have to pay for and install lots of decoders. Addressing will be a nightmare as well as “consisting” all the powered cars.
If you have them share electrical pickup, then they will all have to be oriented the same way to avoid shorts.
You could probably do something interesting with a unit train or a Fruit Growers Express train that all stayed together as a unit. But otherwise I think you’ll find it not worth the effort.
But hey, give it a try and let us know how it works out.
Well, powering a boxcar isn’t exactly a ‘new’ idea. Goes back at least to the 50’s if not earlier. Back in the day when the cars did not roll as freely, one steam loco couldn;t pull a reasonable number of cars up grades, so along came the “put a diesel drive under the boxcar” idea to add a helper without adding a helper. At least one club near me used to run a train like this - no loco on the front - as a ‘fooler’ during open houses.
Then there is John Armstrong’s idea of the boxcar with huge flywheel in it - that would surely give you wheel slip if you try to start the train too fast, and probably slide nicely if you try to stop too quickly as well.
ANd of course those steam guys that refer to diesels as motorized boxcars…
I recall reading a review of the brass California Zephyr passenger cars being produced by Oriental Limited in the 1980’s. The reviewer noted due to the weight of the cars, even four powered F units might not be able to get it up a grade, so they suggested those powered trucks could be installed in a baggage car to assist.
I wonder if the steam guys referred to diesels as motorized boxcars because they weren’t terribly different in general appearance to a box car vs. the complex mechancial “guts on the outside” appearance of steam engines - not to mention they may have resented them killing off the “old school” form of motive power.
I agree… I like some new innovations like everybody else but,I draw the line here… What if one wishes to make a light engine move? IMHO that would be impossible if the freight car is powered and the engine not…
I think powered box cars would be a terrible idea. The “Helix Humper” was a series of replacement motors produced and marketed by Alliance Locomotive Products of Alliance Ohio. They were offered for quite a few years, for everything from Athearn diesels to Mantua steam engines. IIRC, the company closed several years ago, perhaps due to the death of the owner.
The motorized freight truck was the Teaspoon of power, IIRC. I suspect that most of them ended up under streetcars.
Many years ago, I saw a beautiful model of a SNCF engine. The tender was powered, and weighed about a ton. The locomotive was light plastic, very free-wheeling and included a device to reverse the valve motion when moving backward. I thought about modeling the (unbuilt) Lima 4-8-6, and powering it by putting an Athearn 16-wheel diesel drive under something like a PRR ‘Lines West’ tender - but that was done in by my shift to Japanese prototype.
As for powering individual cars, the operative word here is, “Nightmare.” Academic, in my case - most of my cars are four-wheelers, and about half are open tops. I will admit that, on the Tomikawa Tani Tetsudo, a mixed with two loaded wagons will have as many locomotives (0-6-0T-kettles) as cars…
The Kemtron Teaspoon of Power was meant to power small rail busses and the like - I’m sure some peopel came up witht he idea of putting them in steam loco tenders. It was one of the first, if not the first, small enough power unit to fit in something like a small Mack rail bus - at least, commercially available.
Helix Humper motors were originally made by Alco Products (which was basically one guy) in the Allentown PA area. He used to come by the L&KV club when I was a member, and we were one of the first to sell them. After he passed, Alliance Locomotive Products in Alliance Ohio purchased the rights and continued to sell them. I know there were some issues with the health of the owner of Alliance as well, and they seem to be defunct for now.