I was wanting to know if any N scalers know where to get some unpowered engines in n scale. I know that Life Like makes sets that come with one powered engine and one unpowered engine. I was just curious if there were any other ones out there.
Thanks all[:D]
I haven’t seen any available outside of sets, other than some Con Cor SW “calf” units.
burn out the motor in one of your iNvisible scale engines[:D]
N-scale engines, due to their relatively light weight and the relatively high drag of the rolling stock, are light pullers to begin with. If you plan to pull a moderately long train or want to negotiate even a modest grade, you will probably need everyu engine pulling its’ own weight.
Life Like made a unpowered GP38-2 that came with the “Diesel Charger Set” and they made a unpowered F7.
Just my opinion here, but I think there are not many ‘dummy’ locos in N-scale because there is little call for them. This is a scale that is better suited for multiple powered locos, not because they are weaker relative to larger scales, but because many who model N-scale have layouts that allow for longer trains to be run that require the extra power.
The only other loco (not yet mentioned) I can recall that came with a dummy unit is the LL F40PH.
One tip that might be of help - try searching for “Del Prado” in the model train section of ebay. They’re a publishing company that recently made a whole series of unpowered N scale locos (freebies with magazines) - I have a couple of the FP45s they did which will probably end up on Bachmann SD45 mechanisms if I see some going cheaply, the detailing and paintwork is pretty good. You’d need to re-wheel them and change the couplers to run them as dummies but that shouldn’t be impossible. Hope this is of help!
Life-Like sold unpowered E6 and E7 B units…but I think they’re discontinued. I think Kato has similar unpowered E8s and 9s.
i seen an ad for those in model railroader last issue, 4.95 per month for one i think it was, do you happen to know what the steam engines are like in that?
The steamers are a dead loss - the valve gear and wheels are solidly fixed. The diesels and electrics do have some potential though as it should be possible to fit them onto a RTR mechanism - some of the Japanese manufacturers offer assorted wheelbases of 4-axle chassis that would work on things like the “Brighton Belle” EMU car. The snag with those is that everyone else seems to have figured this out too, so getting hold of the “Belle” is getting expensive (you’d need two of the power cars, then either kitbashed or scratchbuilt centre cars to make up the full set).