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Post by atsda on Jun 10, 2024 18:14:27 GMT
While I have been waiting to get the lumber (for my new layout) cutting issue resolved with the vendor, I have been ‘exercising’ various engines on a test track on the floor. I ran my GE 44-ton Lehigh Valley (#627, Lionel, 1955-56) with a 4 box car consist. I have been experimenting to see how slowly I could run engines. The test loop measures 51 real feet (two half circles of O72 curves, each measuring 18.85 real ft and two sections of straight track measuring 6.67 real ft.) Using a Lionel 1033 transformer (1948-56), It took this engine 51 seconds to travel the loop at about 6 Volts. The real speed was 1 ft/s. The scale distance was 0.46 mi (in O scale, 110 in = 1 real mi.) The calculated scale speed was about 33 mi/hr. I was hoping to run down to about 20 mi/hr scale speed. This may be impractical – and painfully slow; however, I will try other engines and transformers – however, they may all have starting outputs at 6 Volts and no lower.
Alfred
How do you like to run your trains? Fast or Slow?
Do you care about scale speeds?
I enjoy running my trains at slow speed.
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Post by Country Joe on Jun 10, 2024 18:45:28 GMT
This is an interesting topic, Alfred.
On my recently dismantled O Gauge layout I ran my trains in the 25 to 35 scale miles per hour range. I liked running at those speeds because it was slow enough to see the details as the trains rolled by and fast enough to be interesting. Slower than 25 smph was too slow for me. I occasionally ran trains in the 40 to 50 smph range but that felt way too fast even though many prototype trains run at those speeds and even faster.
I run my N scale FEC trains at about 40 smph. That’s fast enough to make running trains fun and prototypical as well. I’ve clocked FEC trains when I’m driving on US1 and they run at 40 to 50 mph so 40 smph is just right for the layout.
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Post by atsda on Jun 10, 2024 18:58:47 GMT
Joe, I agree that running trains at slow speed is more interesting. I like the idea that you run your N scale trains at prototypical speeds. What is the difference in visual perspective when you run O scale and N scale at about 40 mph? Which appears to look like it's running faster? Alfred
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Post by seayakbill on Jun 10, 2024 19:07:56 GMT
I run the freights slow, between 20 and 30 MPH. Passenger a little faster between 30 and 40 MPH.
Bill
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Post by josef on Jun 10, 2024 19:49:38 GMT
I also enjoy running my trains at a slower speed.
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Post by atsda on Jun 10, 2024 20:29:59 GMT
After doing some quick research about slow speeds that real trains might operate under, I found that under heat orders, in general, freights would reduce speeds by 10 mph and not under 30 mph, and that passenger trains reduce speeds by 20 mph, but not under 40 mph.
Knowing these general guidelines, I am not as concerned about trying to run my trains at under 30 mph scale speed. (I am using post war equipment.) None the less, it would be interesting to run at yard and coupling speed; however, even if this were possible using available low transformer voltage , the real travel speed at O scale would be close to imperceptible, if not impossible. For example, to achieve 15 mph yard scale speed, the train would have to move 4”/s. At this point, I am confident that I would be able to run my freights at 60 mph and passenger trains at about 80 mph (which is the current general service track speed). Alfred
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Post by JDaddy on Jun 10, 2024 21:12:04 GMT
Love to run that fast passenger trains!!!
And sometimes slow too!
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Post by atsda on Jun 10, 2024 22:36:51 GMT
jdaddy, fast is fun. Alfred
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Post by dennym57 on Jun 11, 2024 0:32:31 GMT
My Lionel Legacy Great Northern GP35 lash up. This was at the old location of the club. It's sort of going slow. ![]() |
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bob
New Member
Posts: 49
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Post by bob on Jun 11, 2024 13:06:14 GMT
"Using a Lionel 1033 transformer (1948-56), It took this engine 51 seconds to travel the loop at about 6 Volts. The real speed was 1 ft/s. The scale distance was 0.46 mi (in O scale, 110 in = 1 real mi.) The calculated scale speed was about 33 mi/hr. I was hoping to run down to about 20 mi/hr scale speed. This may be impractical – and painfully slow; however, I will try other engines and transformers – however, they may all have starting outputs at 6 Volts and no lower."
Alfred, your 1033 transformer has an output of 5 to 16 volts using the A and U posts. If you move the wire that is connected to the A post to the B post instead, you will get an output of 0 to 11 volts. This is one of the cool features of the 1033 transformer. These voltage ranges are shown in small print on the face plate of the 1033.
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Post by dlagrua on Jun 11, 2024 13:54:11 GMT
We run the trains at around 12 volts. That was the same way Lionel did it when they had a showroom layout on 26th st in NYC. Lionel could have geared their traditional locos to run slow but because the market they served was geared to children they were built accordingly.While the the classic scale 5344 could run fast there was no consideration to scale speeds even towards the adult market.This leads me to believe that scale speeds only became an issue when the market shifted to the baby boomer generation.
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Post by Country Joe on Jun 11, 2024 14:53:04 GMT
Joe, I agree that running trains at slow speed is more interesting. I like the idea that you run your N scale trains at prototypical speeds. What is the difference in visual perspective when you run O scale and N scale at about 40 mph? Which appears to look like it's running faster? Alfred
Running N scale at forty to fifty scale miles per hour feels right to me. I have my locomotives programmed to run at a top speed of about seventy scale miles per hour. That feels fast but not excessively fast.
I don’t know if others would agree but I find that running O at higher scale speeds, even though prototypically correct, seems way too fast. I think the size of the trains makes a big difference in how the speed feels to the operator.
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Post by dennym57 on Jun 11, 2024 14:57:51 GMT
I'm surprised they aren't using a tiranium diode.🙃
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Post by Country Joe on Jun 11, 2024 15:04:10 GMT
I'm surprised they aren't using a tiranium diode.🙃
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Post by atsda on Jun 15, 2024 3:21:52 GMT
Post by bob on Jun 11, 2024 at 9:06am
"Using a Lionel 1033 transformer (1948-56), It took this engine 51 seconds to travel the loop at about 6 Volts. The real speed was 1 ft/s. The scale distance was 0.46 mi (in O scale, 110 in = 1 real mi.) The calculated scale speed was about 33 mi/hr. I was hoping to run down to about 20 mi/hr scale speed. This may be impractical – and painfully slow; however, I will try other engines and transformers – however, they may all have starting outputs at 6 Volts and no lower."
Alfred, your 1033 transformer has an output of 5 to 16 volts using the A and U posts. If you move the wire that is connected to the A post to the B post instead, you will get an output of 0 to 11 volts. This is one of the cool features of the 1033 transformer. These voltage ranges are shown in small print on the face plate of the 1033.
Bob, I did not know that. Thank you for the information. I will try this. Alfred
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