Smaller engines


Correct.

Here's a good way to look at it.

Would this engine look out of place on 15" radius.
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8530 GE ES44AC, BNSF #6308, Swoosh Scheme, Paragon4 Sound/DC/DCC, HO

Broadway Limited Imports is thrilled to announce the release of a new batch of the GE ES44AC locomotives. These six-axle, 4400 HP locomotives were manufactured by General Electric from 2002 to 2019, with a total production exceeding 3,700 units. Presently, they are in service on every Class I...
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or
Would this engine look out of place on 15" radius.
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6754 EMD SW7, UP 1812, Road of the Streamliners, Gray Trucks, Paragon4 Sound/DC/DCC, HO

In stores now.The New York Central commissioned famed industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss to sculpt the streamlined shape for the ten J3 Hudson From February 1939 through December 1949, the General Motors Electro-Motive Division built 1,145 EMD NW2 1,000 horsepower switcher locomotives. The NW2...
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Toolbelt said:
Ok, so it's important to select the proper engine and car length when using 15" radius, but 18" or greater can be handled by most off-the-shelf locos/cars with a few exceptions then?
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Assume "No" 6 axle diesel or large steam engine will operate at all on 15".
Assume "No" 6 axle diesel or large steam engine will operate on 18".
Assume "Most" 6 axle diesels and many smaller and mid-size steam will operate on 22".
Assume almost all 40' and shorter rolling stock will function on 15"
Assume 50' rolling stock will operate on 18".
Assume most 60' and longer rolling stock will operate on 22".
 
Ok so if I just stay away from 6 axle diesels and >50' cars, a 15" radius will have few limitations when buying rolling stock. Frankly, I'm not fond of long stock such as car carriers, etc on my smallish set up, and i'll have a 22" and 19 1/2" ovals for continuous/mainline running and feeding into inner oval switching yards.
 
Most of the end-cab switchers with 4-axle trucks should work fine on 15" radius curves if you don't try to run them too fast. (Prototype wouldn't either.) F7A should also work okay. You might have to check if the coupler will deflect sufficiently with 40' freight cars. The draftgear might interfere with the truck sideframes, so you might have to remove some part of the end of the end. Overall, I think you will be able to get along okay in the staging yard.
 
I know things are different here in the U.K than over the pond, to me it is all a compromise. I prefer smaller locomotives with two or three carriages or three or four freight wagons pretending they are bigger and longer. Running them gently around the layout is more satisfying (to me) than a large engine and six or seven carriages overpowering the scene. Oh I do have 4.6.2 locomotives and carriages and run them some days, but they do take a back stage to the smaller ones.
 
Ah the small engine debate! Boy this one will probably get me in trouble. 🤣 A couple of answers here. The big one: Because it's what we as a community want. Sometimes modelers grumble about how expensive the locos have gotten too, but again, we as a community drove the market there with our desire for realistic detailing, prototype fidelity, sound, and DCC. A secondary reason is that it costs pretty much the same to set up a project for a NW-2 as it does for a DD-40 or a U-50 when it comes to staff time, engineering, cutting tooling, and other project costs, so there's that whole profit thing too!

Now a little background on me: I'm a steam guy, and a prototype modeler, and something of a rivet counter. I apply these standards to myself only, and never judge other people's work by my standards because the object of the hobby is to have fun your way. If you ask me or want to learn these things, I'll tell you, but I don't preach them. That gets you disliked! :) Since I'm a steam guy, I had big issues with this small loco thing. I can get all the 4-8-4's and Big Boys I want, but a 2-8-0 or a 2-6-0? HAH! Dream on! I've read posts about modelers getting a 2-10-4 around 18" radius curves by doing extensive modifications to the mechanism. Now I would never do that. It would look silly to me going around those tight curves, but if it pleases you, go for it. If I had to limit myself to 18" radius curves it would be nothing bigger than a 2-8-0 or a small 2-8-2-, and 60-foot passenger cars, or GP-7's or F units, and 40 ft freight cars. We all like big trains, and we all have real estate challenges! I accumulated a collection of every steam locomotive wheel arrangement the Southern Pacific ran, in brass. It took years, and you know what models were the hardest to find? The 2-8-0's and 2-8-2's. They are in my humble opinion the largest practical steamers to run on 18 and 22 inch radii. They were only available on the secondary market of course and everybody wanted them, so I got consistently outbid on e-Bay auctions, or in hobby shops they were priced out of my budget. I finally got them, but it took a while! I don't look for this problem to ever be solved, so grab what you can on the secondary market and when you see a small loco announced put in your reservation. They sell out fast!

There, I said it! I hope I didn't offend anyone. Remember these are my opinions and they are worth every penny you paid for them!
 
This reminds me of this Polish comedy schetch where two factory chiefs are discussing how to use government money so they will stay in business without producing what's in demand. This took time during communist times, but what one chief said, applies today:-"Sir, people are as$holes, they'll buy anything"🤣
Point is, buying stuff gives is temporary satisfaction and if we can't find what we need, but have money to spend, we'll buy something we don't need to boost our ego-just how the market works😆. Big Boy for our 4×8 pike?, eff it, i've got the money, and it's so nice and shiny. This works on most consumers and those who sell know it. Fewer of us are crazy enough to stick to what we really like, do research and actual kit bashing/modeling to fit our exact expectations.
 
KriegslokBR52 said:
This reminds me of this Polish comedy schetch where two factory chiefs are discussing how to use government money so they will stay in business without producing what's in demand. This took time during communist times, but what one chief said, applies today:-"Sir, people are as$holes, they'll buy anything"🤣
Point is, buying stuff gives is temporary satisfaction and if we can't find what we need, but have money to spend, we'll buy something we don't need to boost our ego-just how the market works😆. Big Boy for our 4×8 pike, eff it, i've got the money, and it's so nice and shiny. This works on most consumers and those who sell know it. Fewer of us are crazy enough to stick to what we really like, do research and actual kit bashing/modeling to fit our exact expectations.
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Amen! 🤣 🤣 You know I once interfered in a sale at a hobby shop out in Phoenix. A guy was looking at a Big Boy and mentioned his 18" radius. The shop owner told him it would negotiate that radius just fine, which it would have. I piped up and said "If it were me I'd buy two 2-8-0's. It would look better going around the curves, and you'd have two locos instead of one." I don't know what the guy eventually bought, and in truth this was a gross breach of etiquette on my part. I should never have interfered in a sale between people I didn't even know. Sometimes I can't resist the urge to be helpful. :)
 
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Espeefan said:
Amen! 🤣 🤣 You know I once interfered in a sale at a hobby shop out in Phoenix. A guy was looking at a Big Boy and mentioned his 18" radius. The shop owner told him it would negotiate that radius just fine, which it would have. I piped up and said "If it were me I'd buy two 2-8-0's. It would look better going around the curves, and you'd have two locos instead of one." I don't know what they guy eventually bought, and in truth this was a gross breach of etiquette on my part. I should never have interfered in a sale between people I didn't even know. Sometimes I can't resist the urge to be helpful. :)
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That must have went over like a lead baloon with the salesman😆.
 
Espeefan said:
I'm sure it did too, but you know he might have made more on a pair of 2-8-0's. This was when the Bachmann 2-8-0 was pretty new, and that was a solid model with a reliable mechanism.
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Unfortunately I'm not an artist, so I don't paint pretty pictures either.
 
Marlin39 said:
Unfortunately I'm not an artist, so I don't paint pretty pictures either.
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Some of my best work starts in a concept like this. :)



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