I was wondering what the 3.....

[LocoDave]

I was wondering if someone could shed some light on what the 3 numbers at the end of every engine meant, for example (HO Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-0).
Please explain the 4-6-0

Thanks, Dave

 

[lmackattack]

4-6-0

4 wheel leading truck (2 axels)
6 drive wheels(3 axels)
0 trailing truck wheels (no axels)





its the common way to designate steam engines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whyte_notation

 

[LocoDave]

Wow, that was quick. Thanks for the info lmackattack.

Now are there advantages or disadvantages on these different configurations ?

Thanks, Dave

 

[hamltnblue]

Here's a link that might answer your questions.

http://www.nashvillentrak.org/Whyte.html

 

[LocoDave]

Thank you very much, the link answered alot of my questions.

Dave

 

[lmackattack]

Also with wheel arangement comes the size of the drivers. The diffrence in size can also give a clue to what the locomotive was used for.

example...
A 0-6-0 mostlikely has small wheels as its primarly used as a switch engine.
a 2-8-2 commonly has small drive wheels as it is used to pull med speed freight trains . A 4-6-4 hudson is commonly found with large drive wheels as they were used for fast passenger service.
the size of the drive wheels gives the loco either a better starting power (heavy slow freight trains) or faster speeds (passenger or special High speed freight trains)
think of the driver wheel size of a loco to that of a automobiles gearbox. you need the right gearing to start and maintain speed the loco is intended to pull.