Side-rod "clank" on steam locos was generally a sign that the loco was about due for a shopping  - it was usually an indication of worn side-rod crankpin bushings.  It would normally be drowned out by the exhaust chuff if the engine was working hard, would become audible if the loco was "drifting" (moving with a low, nearly-closed  throttle setting, such as going downgrade or preparing to brake for a stop).  Shouldn't be present on a  new or well-maintained steam loco.

You didn't mention what scale you were working in, but I believe Phoenix Sound has "rod clank" available as an effect on some of their large-scale sound board files (for their 2K2 & P5 boards).  I have 4 locos currently equipped with the Phoenix boards; 3 are geared logging locos (1 of my Shays, Heisler, & Climax), so the normal "clank" effect wouldn't really apply to those (or it would sound different from a rod engine, at the least).    The one conventional "rod" engine I have equipped with sound is my Bachmann "Centennial" Spectrum Mogul, which I consider to be a well-maintained, 'spiffy"    passenger loco (so no "rod clank").





                                                                                                     Tom

QuoteI don't want to use brass track from other manufacturers unless there is just no other way.

- Considering what an outer curve of alternating R1-curves-&-straights is going to look like (NOT very realistic! ), you may want to reconsider.

Here's what wide-radius parallel curves look like on my garden railroad:



- I should also add I'm not finished with this area yet; since that photo was taken , the "gaps" between the HDPE roadbed sections have been covered over with permeable ground-cover cloth, in anticipation of ballasting this coming season.     This is all sectional, NOT flex track, by the way.  (Aristo 12.5-foot diameter, 80" radius, for the outer curve; 11.5-foot diameter, 69" radius for the middle track; and the mine spur the Climax is sitting on a combination of 11.5 - foot & 8-foot curves to allow space for the R3 radius turnout).

I'll also admit this track was purchased long before the recent Aristo brass track price increases  (most of what you're seeing is Aristo; the turnouts are LGB).  SInce you're building an INDOOR layout, you might want to consider purchasing used track; a bit of time spent cleaning  & installing new rail joiners would probably give you a better-running railroad than the Bachmann tubular steel track.                                  Tom

There's happily been some VERY POSITIVE  developments in the "licensing issue" over the last year, in particular a settlement between UP & Mike's Train House, which resulted in a substancial reduction (in fact, close to elimination) of UP's licensing fees to virtually all model railroad manufacturers  (From what I understand, CSX's policy was never as oppressive as UP's was).  I agree that this was a MAJOR "black eye" against UP in particular, as they were applying it not only to the UP trademark, but also "copyrighting" that of virtually any other railroad they had absorbed - such as Rio Grande!   (And all you narrow gauge guys who thought that since they didn't run "Big Boys", "Challengers", or DD40X "Centennials" thought they were unaffected by this!).    

It's not only the model railroad world that's been affected by this onerous practice  - model car manufacturers have had licensing issues with the automakers, plastic model aircraft guys with the military aircraft manufacturers (who aren't exactly hurting in the pocketbook either!).  Guess the corporate "bean counters" &  lawyers have to find justification for their  (inflated ) salaries!

I'll agree that "theoretically" , the 1:18th scale cars are closer to 1:20.3 than 1:24th scale models.  HOWEVER, one time when I was buying 1:24th scale cars off eBay, a dealer mistakenly shipped me a 1:18th scale car (a 1948 Chevy station wagon) in place of the 1:24th car I actually ordered.  The 1:18th scale auto was nearly as big as my Bachmann 1:20.3 Climax!   This wasn't a "big money" deal - only $10 for the car itself, if I remembered correctly - & rather than go through the hassle of shipping it back, I bought a 2nd car (1:24th) from the dealer (who at least shipped it for free to make up for their error) , & gave the 1:18th car to my girlfriend's father, who collects die-cast model cars as a Christmas present!   Although a bit under-scale, the 1:24th scale cars make the 3-ft narrow-gauge trains look more massive ; my only personal experience with real 3-foot gauge was a visit to the East Broad Top maybe something like 20 years ago (& the 3-foot gauge EBT "mikes" didn't exactly strike me as "dainty" - they were pretty hefty-sized locos!).

2-foot narrow gauge locos are another story entirely!  Last summer I happened to visit the Wiscassett, Waterville, & Farmington Railway museum in Maine; their #10 Forney (shown below) isn't much longer than my Chrysler minivan!



For a bit more comparison, here I am checking out #10's cab (I'm a little guy at 5'6" ....)



- & here's using my height as a scale reference against a modern standard-gauge loco - the GE U23B that powered Conway Scenic RR's "Notch Train" that I rode earlier that same week!



- Speaking for my own preference, even though the scale numbers are "wrong" to me the 1:24th scale autos look more "right" next to Bachmann's 1:20.3 models (3-foot gauge).                         Tom

Removing the PC boards will cause you to lose your "firebox flicker" , & I believe the voltage regulator for the smoke unit (if you use smoke) may be there as well.  The "noise suppression" boards in the Heisler are located in the trucks; you need to remove them ONLY if you are running DCC for control.  (Their function is "suppress" electrical noise from the motors which may cause radio or TV interference; as a result, they look like "short circuits" to DCC signals).  You may also have to rewire the headlights if you remove the boards.  If you're only running straight ordinary DC power, there's no real reason to remove them.                                                                                     Tom

Looks appropriately "grungy" , Brian!  Nice conversion & weathering job!                                                                                      Tom

QuoteNot the best idea.  Especially if you are running indoors.  Those smoke units work by heating and vaporizing oil.  It eventually has to settle out somewhere--on the carpet, furniture, drapes, the cat, your lungs--

For INDOOR operation, I'll second a lot of GlennK28's comments, especially if you have a family member with athsma!   (My girlfriend  does, so I usually don't run smoke indoors). I remember back when I used to collect American Flyer "S" gauge @ 20 ~ 25 years ago; most AF steam locos had pretty good smoke units, & running 2 ~ 3 of them simultaneously would produce a pretty good layer of scale "smog" over the layout in short order!

QuoteA little better outdoors--it can blow to the neighbors'




Besides, none of them ever really look right. 

The first part of that statement, I'll agree with to some extent - the second part, I beg to differ!  Here's a STOCK Bachmann smoke unit, running on DCC power...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz9m0LUCJ0g

- & for even MORE fun, here's the Bachmann 3-truck Shay again, this time double-heading with an Accucraft live-steam Shay!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpbBhsy0ZCQ

                                                                                              Tom

Nice "catch" GG!   If you ever make it over to the Danbury Railway Museum, they have B&M Mogul 1455 there:

http://www.danbury.org/drm/whatsee.htm

- & here's MY recent catch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbq0GoulL24

                                                                          Tom

No, I hadn't seen your "Image Management" thread, Bob; these were pictures I already had stored on Mylargescale.com.  Although you can store high-resolution photos in their web space (if you have a 1st-class membership - I do), they limit you to 640 X 480 resolution for posting photos directly into threads there (I guess for the benefit of those still using dial-up vs. broadband service).  They were shot with a 5-megapixel Olympus I bought the girlfriend  as a Christmas present a couple of years ago - she grants me "borrowing rights" on it!   I used "Infranview" to reduce them to VGA resolution before uploading the pictures to MLS.  When I was new to digital photography myself, I went through the same "teething" difficulties  most "newbies" do in changing photo resolutions & uploading to web sites - now it's "old hat"!

By the way, both locomotives in the photos are Bachmann -  the little N scale one runs very well & will pull a surprising load for it's size!  The Large-scale one is the "Spectrum"  4-4-0 "Centennial".                    Tom

They say a picture is worth 1000 words...



For further consideration -

the LITTLE engine in the photo is N scale (standard gauge)...

the BIG engine is 1:20.3 (F) scale narrow (3 ft.) gauge...

So if built to the same scale, the N scale 4-4-0 would be LARGER  (since it's a model of a standard gauge locomotive0 than the F scale (narrow gauge) loco!



(& before somone comments, excuse the dust - this was a little-used area of my small indoor Large Scale layout!).                                       Tom

My 38-ton 2-truck Shay has been one of the most trouble-free locomotives on my roster; all I've done to it is keep it lubed & convert it to DCC.

The older 36-tonners can be upgraded to the die-cast trucks (Bachmann P/N 88999), I've converted 2 of mine.  Last time I looked, they were available from Trainworld in NY for $109.   I personally have not noted much of a difference in noise on the die-cast vs. the older plastic trucks (not disputing you, Dave, just my own experience - "your mileage may vary"!). 

                                                                                                             Tom

                                                                                                             

QuoteThird alternative (only if you run your trains on dc) - connect a small capacitor across the motor terminals.  A .001 microfarad ceramic would be a good place to start.  The motor may be radiating radio frequency noise at or near the internal clock speed of your keyboard.

Jim's suggestion here is probably right on the money!

I've been an amateur radio operator for nearly 39 years, & also worked in the two-way radio field at least 15 years.  Any DC motor (especially one with worn, sparking brushes!) can generate a tremendous amount of radio-frequency intererence!  (Also known as "RFI").  A very quick check would be to bring an AM radio, tuned to a relatively weak station, near the loco while it's running; if the loco's at fault, you will hear a "tearing" sound in the radio, corresponding to the loco's speed.  It may also do a number on a TV connected to an antenna (although probably not one on cable).  Some older AHM motors are especially notorious for RFI generation;  back when I used to operate O-scale 2-rail DC, I had an AHM C-liner diesel that would tear up my Mom's TV picture (with subsequent phone calls! ) whenever I ran it.  (My brass steam loco's, with better-quality motors, electrically "shielded" to some extent by the brass shells, never caused any problems- the AHM diesel's plastic shell was transparent to radio energy).  I quickly "banned"  it to our club layout, eventually sold it.                                              Tom

Contrary to what you may have heard, DCC can be used outdoors!   (I've been running DCC on my garden line for 3 years now!).   Only cautions are you MUST use either brass or stainless-steel track, NOT Bachmann steel track!   I keep all the DCC control electronics (Power transformer, control station, 10-amp booster, wired throttle, & receiver for wireless throttle) in a large plastic file tote, just bring it out & connect the track feed to the railroad to it & AC power (through a ground-fault interrupter protected AC outlet) when I want to run.  My system is an NCE "PowerHouse Pro" 10-amp system; but I'm running much larger engines than "Annies" as well (2 - & 3-truck Shays, Heisler, Climax, "Connie", etc).

I'm using a Digitrax DG583S decoder in my "Annie"; since the "Annie" is a relatively light, single-motored loco, the DG583S handles it easily (I also use them in the twin-motored locos such as the Shays).

For an indoor layout running just 2 Annies, EZ Command should work as long as you use the 5-Amp booster.                                         Tom

QuoteSo yea... That girl... um... hasn't stopped texting me since like monday... lolz....

OK, GG, now I know we didn't see you!

I should have some video up from the show in a week or so (including Mr' B. demonstrating his gorgeous RGS brass ditcher! ), as soon as I get a chance to edit it & upload it to "YouTube".

Something else I hope to videotape this coming weekend - came back from Springfield with something I've been thinking about for a while - a complete 5-car New Haven streamlined passenger set (including a second Alco PA) from USA Trains!   Also picked up a second Bachmann Climax - (the price was just too good to pass up! ).

Oh, & Mr. B. - the "Eureka & Palisades" 4-4-0 has definetly gone on the "must-buy" list - (if it gets my lady friend  more "into" the hobby!).

                                                                                                       Tom

I'll second a lot of Kevin's comments regarding the detail level on the newer 1:20.3 equipment (Bachmann "Spectrum", Accucraft / AMS) vs. the earlier "Big Hauler" equipment.  I have a 4-car set of the older "Big Hauler" (1:22.5 scale) coaches; size-wise, they look OK behind an "Annie" (which is ALSO 1:22.5, although the newer versions approach the "Spectrum" detail level ), or the Bachmann "Centennial" 4-4-0 or 2-6-0 (both 1:20.3, but relatively SMALL prototypes).  I just saw the new Bachmann (1:20.3) K:27 2-8-2 first-hand this past weekend; compared to most of their earlier offerings, it's HUGE!   I also saw the AMS (plastic) 1:20.3 "wood" coaches this weekend for the first time; incredibly detailed trucks & interiors (even fantastic detail on the seat armrests! ), vs. the solid-plastic side frames & "1-piece" floor & "suggested" seats of the Bachmann "Big Hauler" J&S cars. They're also comparably HUGE & will look FANTASTIC behind the new K27.   Bottom line - you get what you pay for!

                                                                                                     Tom