James in Florida--thank you so much . these figures really help. I will use a radio receiver/motor controller chip with a ceiling of 550 milliamps. The battery will be 4.7 volts with energy storage of 350 milliamp hours. I am hoping to put these items inside a modified tender. Two further questions, if I may: Your measurements were on the track. In thinking about what the items in the tender and loco will "see", in which directions should I nudge your figures? Would the nudge be significant? Lastly, in the traditional model railroad, if I can cause just the loco and tender to go 28 scale mph by applying 4 volts to the track, won't I have to turn up the rheostat on the power source to make the loco, tender and 6 cars go 28 scale mph?  Thanks again, James.--sahansen

Hi James--I still have not made satisfactory readings on my belly up 0-6-0. The problem may be my multimeter. There are several contact points on the underside of the Loco and tender. Two copper strip leads from the tender coupler to the engine are visible, and the pick ups from the wheels on the tender are accessible. I think I did the amp. measurement properly. In spite of my poor technique and equipment, a consensus seems to be emerging! Your estimated stall value of about 250-300 milliamps [high side] is bourn out by my researching some old Modelrailroader magazine new- products- test columns. Incidentally, that magazine stopped giving amp draw figures about 2014, while still giving voltages. The good news is that the radio receiver/motor controller which will fit in the tender is rated 1 Amp-safe! The bad news is that its voltage ceiling is 4volts. Do you agree that the loco pulling 3-4 cars at speed can exceed 4 V? There is a Lipo battery [model airplanes] which is 7.4V and will fit in a modified tender. It will need recharging at 300 milliamp hours. Do you agree that would probably be several hours of running without engine stalling? My task now is to find a small receiver rated for at least 6-8 volts. Thanks for your interest.  sahansen

Hi James--My multimeter attempts showed a range, depending on speed of 3 to 6 volts. This was with the loco upside down on the bench. Any measurement while running on a track I thought might not be applicable because the voltage lost in the track and through the pick ups is not an issue with power-on-board. My multimeter didn't registure any amps; my smallest scale is 1-10 milleamps. If the amps are in the range of 0.1-0.2 milli amps I may not be able to register them--but will still need to know what they are. Thanks for your reply. sahansen

I am trying a dead rail approach to N gauge steam. I need some data which I can't seem to get. I need the figures for volts and milli-amps at the motor when the loco is creeping, at speed [scale 30mph], and when stalled [as in can't pull the cars up an incline or drivers spinning]. The very small radio receiving and motor controlling chips needed are delicate.
I have Bachmann 0-6-0 [with motor out the back of the cab] and Bachmann 2-6-0 with motor more recessed. I tried Bachmann repair department by phone and they didn't know; referred me to the forum. I hope you can help. Thanks, sahansen