Quote from: Irbricksceo on December 14, 2014, 11:59:15 AM
The reason these old athearn cars can go around tight curves is the trucks are Talgo trucks. While most would say Talgos look funny, I replaced the couplers with short-shank ones and so the couplers are partly under the body anyway, the result is they look faitly close coupled and about as nice as passenger cars can get on 18 inch.

Irbrick-

The issue with Talgo trucks is operation, not appearance. Granted, there are fewer problems with Talgos on passenger cars
than freight cars, but that's because passenger trains are backed and switched a whole lot less than freight trains.
                                                                                                                                                                         -- D

Jim-

No, there's nothing the matter with Athearn kits other than that their detail isn't great. I've sure built a bunch of them over the
years but now I try to score old Silver Streak, Central Valley and LaBelle's kits. I find them more fun to build, due to their
complexity compared to shake-the-box plastic kits, and I have a better looking model when I'm finished. As Roger
mentioned, it's hard to appreciate, or even see, the difference in a moving train but I do enjoy seeing them lined up on the
railroad.
                 -- D

Quote from: electrical whiz kid on December 14, 2014, 04:39:17 PM
I make it an iron-clad rule:  All coupling systems will be (A) kadee, (B) will have draft gear, (C) will be-and this last one is no exceptions-put to muster at the Kadee coupler gauge.

Rich-

I'm with you. I've never found better couplers than Kadees so that's the way I make up trains, too.

I understand that modelers with a ton of rolling sock to convert see going the Kadee route a daunting one but, in my opinion,
it's well worth the effort. Properly installed Kadees on everything will eliminate coupler problems completely. I've been a fan
since 1959.
                     -- D

Jim-

Nothing! But that's not what I was critical of.

My point had to do with the expectation that dealers should service and help with merchandise which was purchased elsewhere, like at a different shop, on line or used from a train show. Skillful, knowledgeable employees cost shop owners money. Why should a non-customer expect to benefit from that expertise for free? It seems rather presumptuous to me, at best, and unfair to the shop owner.
                                                                                                                                                                        -- D

They pretty much have to continue the walk around. Without it the EZCommand becomes a non-starter as a DCC system. The best thing the EZC has going is its inexpensive way to have a system with multiple DCC cabs or throttles. I certainly haven't been a big fan of the EZC but I do recognize the ease and low cost for multiple cabs.

Moosie-

This looks like an interesting small layout. You'll have to stay with comparatively small equipment but there are lots of operational
possibilities. I salute your choice.
                                                    -- D

Quote from: rogertra on December 13, 2014, 05:27:25 PM
Conclusion.  It would seem that a combination of wider radius curves, free rolling quality freight cars, equipped with metal wheels is the answer.
Cheers.
Roger T.

Roger-

I think a lot of model rails don't appreciate just how important these factors are. They want to run long strings of  low-qual rolling stock at high speeds around tight curves and then they complain because their engines aren't powerful enough. As a young (I mean YOUNG!) railroader I had to put up with some operational problems because the best I could afford was Athearn car kits and inexpensive locos. Today's models are so superior operationally and with their level of detail that there's really no excuse for lousy equipment. But people still buy junk at train shows thinking they are getting a bargain.
             -- D

brick-

All of the usual adjustments apply to locomotives as rolling stock except that you often can't shim or shorten truck bolsters. Once in a while you can with a diesel and you can certainly do whatever on a tender but most of your efforts will have to focus on moving coupler height with underslung or overslung knuckles.

First check the heights of your loco couplers. If you're lucky they'll be okay. That's good because it's much easier to adjust coupler
height on rolling stock than on locomotives.
                                                                    -- D

Stew-

It depends on the scale. HO and N use 12-16 volt DC. "O" uses AC but I don't recall the voltage anymore. Large Scale uses DC, around 18 volts. Any model railroad power supply will tell you its output, including amperage which is the supply's capacity for running more than one train.
                                                                            -- D

Al--

It's certainly reasonable for you to ask the store which sold the loco to help you get it reprogrammed. However, I must say
that I think it is unethical to expect that other stores or even other modelers should be willing to do this for you. I know you
haven't done this yet; I'm just sharing my feeling on the matter before you must make the decision.
                                                                                                                                                     -- D

Moosie-

Traction tires aren't simply rubber bands that are stretched around a locomotive's wheels. The wheels themselves are designed with
a groove to contain the bands. That means you can't just put traction tires on any locomotive; you would have to change the
wheels if they don't have the needed groove.

There are better, or at least easier, alternatives. One is Bull Frog Snot which was already mentioned. Be aware that you will
probably lose electrical continuity in wheels coated with BFS. A better option (my opinion) is to add some weight to the loco.
This should be located as low as possible and so it maintains the loco's balance on its drive wheels.

Keep in mind that Moguls were small loco which couldn't pull long trains. We really shouldn't expect more out of our models than
what the prototypes could do.
                                             -- D

choochoo-

You can get a squeak anyplace to pieces of anything move against one another. It sounds like you have a pretty good start so lets go to the next step. Put a tiny bit of plastic-safe oil in each truck journal -- the pits into which the ends of the axles fit. A bit of graphite will work, too. Then check other articulating points in the mechanism. The motor should be lifetime lubed but drive shaft supports, "differentials," the gear train and gear axles can all develop a squeak.
                                 -- D

Dar-

Count me in as for going with all metal wheels. Plastic just doesn't cut it.

As for keeping your track clean, well, that could be a problem seeing as how it is placed high in the sky. But there are certainly a number of things you can do.

There are track cleaning cars including ones which use a fluid on a roller, a mild abrasive or even electrostatic cleaning. And there's always hand cleaning which is, unfortunately, where you need to start. Once your tracks are clean you just have to worry about maintenance.

An old modeler's trick that dates to the days when just about all track was brass, is to use the rough side of a small piece of Masonite to buff the rails as it was pulled in another train. Two nails (ten penny should do) are driven up through the hardboard with their heads flush with the rough surface. The nails pass through the bottom of a house car (box car, reefer, caboose, covered hopper or whatever) with loose holes for the nails so the Masonite is rubbed on the railheads, constantly polishing them. The cleaner car becomes quite inconspicuous and a piece of the hardboard will last many miles. Just replace I when I gets grooves in it which interfere with curves rails.

Another trick is to use the tiniest drop of Wahl clipper oil on the rails. Your train will spread the oil around, protecting the brass from quite so much contact with oxygen.

Congratulations on getting your cloud line running again. I wonder, does this have anything to do with grandchildren?
                                                                                                                                                                                -- D

linn-

You will have most sounds if you operate a DCC/sound loco on DC. That's because most decoders these days are what's called dual-mode, meaning they can work on either DC or DCC and even detect which is available on the track. You will lose some sounds and the ability to control just when some others play. I believe your grandchildren will be thrilled either way (based on my own grandkids).

Speed is highly subjective. People who play with trains tend to want to run them at something approaching light speed but model railroaders run trains much, much more slowly. This is because 12-inches-to-the-foot railroads (real trains) typically operate at much less than all ahead flank emergency, running fast means our trains only need a couple of seconds to get from one station to the next, and fast model trains have an annoying habit of derailing, flying off of the railroad to the concrete basement floor below and breaking couplers, among other things.

Let me ask you a question: Does your locomotive slow down as you add cars or can it maintain its speed (whatever it is) whether it is pulling two, four or six cars? Your answer will help us help you with your problem.

The floor, and especially a carpeted floor, is the worst place to run model trains. They get kicked and stepped on. Tracks get broken, disconnected and reconnected incorrectly by little hands. Kids jostling gifts mess up or even break things. All kinds of dirt and fibers can get into the works and potentially gum things up real good. All of these greatly increase the likelihood of tears and disappointment for the little ones. So ... if you must run on the floor (which seems likely since you have a Christmas tree plan, at least put a sheet or a hard surface like plywood under the tree to protect the trains.

At the risk of sounding like the Grinch, I urge you to consider returning your train set and replacing it with a large scale Christmas train. These are much more durable, typically have at least some sound and lighting effects, are easier for small hands to manipulate and operate, and are far more noticeable under a tree than are small HO trains. I've been a model rail for nearly 60 years and do extensive HO modeling, but even I have a large scale train for under the tree. The youngest grandchildren (three years old this year) are delighted to see and hear the exciting train and the older ones reminisce about the times we ran trains or they sat under the tree watching the trains for hours at a time. And I sure have some wonderful memories of my own, probably the best of all of my holiday memories.
                                                                                              -- D

sb-

We can help you much better if you tell us the loco you are improving and the decoder you want to install. There is supposed to be a uniform color pattern for DCC wiring but it isn't honored all of the time, including by Bachmann. Rule of Thumb: Our ability to help you is directly proportional to how much information you give us. I understand you may feel uneasy about that if your loco is from another manufacturer.
                                                                                                                                                                            -- D