Recent content by Espeefan


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    Espeefan's Passenger Car Modeling

    Tha That sounds like the Hustler post steam! Where did you live? Was it between Dallas & Houston?
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    I don't have any myself, but a few of our club members have them in all brass consists. One member has a Santa Fe passenger train he pulls with a Blue Goose Hudson with one of these in a baggage car. It works very well for him. It depends on a couple of things: Are they still available...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    As I mentioned, The Coach Yard does these: https://www.walthers.com/power-truck-2-axle-w-36-quot-wheels-can-motor-dcc-compatible-suitable-for-cars-w-8-6-quot-to-9-wheelbase I have seen them in four and six axle configurations. They are expensive but work very well. Walthers doesn't carry...
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    Espeefan's Passenger Car Modeling

    Morning All! I figured I'd finish the last Daylight diner before moving on to the trolleys. I haven't done a before and after shot yet (I don't think?... :) ) Anyway, here it is. The interior was a real pain on this one and I forgot the blinds, but then I figured I wanted people to see the...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    Interesting. So, is there a way to calculate the loss of efficiency?
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    Walthers decal issues

    Whose decal film itis important. Micro Sol and Set work best with their decals. You might try Walthers Solvaset or DDV (same thing) The thicker the film the more solution it takes to get it to lay down. Decals do go on best over a gloss finish. They will go on over a dull finish, but you...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    I don't mean to lean on you or be overly argumentative here, but I've been tuning steamers for over 20 years. Some plastic, mostly brass. Some ran well right out of the box, some were real stinkers. In all that time I've never heard of "torque surge". It's an interesting theory, but a...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    Find the surge: :) This is a 20 car train counting the tender on a 2% grade. The cars are weighted to NMRA standards, some maybe a little heavier. As you can see the pulling power is there, no traction tires, no Bullfrog snot, no modifications out of the box. Also no surge. You'll...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    Exactly my point! While generally model diesels will pull better than model steamers, mostly because of all geared axles and smaller wheel diameters, when compared to the real thing, they aren't all that far off. I very much doubt the real GP 9 would pull 20+ cars yup a 3.7% grade (if you...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    I don’t know that I agree here. True at 3 and 9 they would be compromised, if not for proper driver quartering. The problem with physics is it doesn’t scale. The counterweights are more to balance the driver, being located 180 degrees from the rods and their bearings and hardware. They also...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    Proof that Proof that more weight does not necessarily mean more pulling power. The loco has to lift itself as well as any cars. On 20 radius curves I wouldn’t run anything larger than a 2-8-0. Most of my large steamers are brass and wouldn’t negotiate a 20” radius curve. 😊. Combining them with...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    I understand. I think in most cases this is the reason for a surge at the start because it takes a little more voltage to get everything turning than with a diesel model. The motor selection is a big thing here. The rule of thumb has always been "the biggest one that will fit" which has...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    All true. Even with steamers the smaller drivered engines had better tractive effort where large drivered locos got slippery, and all axles geared is more efficient than a single geared axle with rods transmitting power to the rest. I don’t have pulsing power issues though. None of my engines...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    You just can’t get enough weight into those Bachmann steamers to get them to pull anything. whatever alloy they use ismjust too darn light. I had the same issue with a Bachman Spectrum GS-4. It wouldnt pull much at all. I finally sold it I have some PFM brass Santa Fe northerns that are pretty...
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    Improving Our Steam Engines Performance

    Here are a couple of re-motoring projects I've done. I don't use flywheels anymore. I've found that with modern DCC decoders they are no longer necessary. Westside P-10 4-6-2 Westside T-31 4-6-0: Westside TW-8 4-8-0: PFM UP FEF-2:



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