Locomotive Design Thought...


KB02

KB02

Well-Known Member
Before I ask this question, I should probably patent this if no one else has already, but...

Does anyone know if any model train manufacturer have even created a diesel electric locomotive designed to operate, mechanically, like the real ones? Which is to say: Using individual motors in the axles themselves? That would leave tons of space inside the cab itself for... well... whatever. (Weights, perhaps?)

I know there are motors out there small enough, so, why not?
 
A few manufacturers have come close: one motor per truck rather than per axle. But they usually abandon the design in favor of more cost effective manufacturing processes.
 
Wasn’t there a guy on here with a business doing exactly that, but he’d take deposits for stuff and then closed up the business and started again with a different name.

Rail flyer, I think it was.



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CN2117 said:
Wasn’t there a guy on here with a business doing exactly that, but he’d take deposits for stuff and then closed up the business and started again with a different name.

Rail flyer, I think it was.
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I think he came back again as layout-ioe or something, reputedly making electronics, just they were always almost ready for production, just needed a little more tweaking, but open for orders.
 
Sort of like a quad-copter drone where each propeller is powered by a single motor.

My Walther's Doodle Bug has a powered truck. Not real powerful, uses a rubber o-ring to connect the truck to the motor. Do not know about the power of a NWSL powered truck.

Greg
 
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Greg@mnrr said:
Do not know about the power of a NWSL powered truck.
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I tired the NSWL power trucks in the early 1980s just to be able to fit the PMP-112 decoders (the size of Ohio) into the locomotive and a monster speaker for sound in the 2nd unit. I still have that AB set of F units somewhere. There were issues with them. First it was hard to separate the power pick up from the motor for the decoder. One had to run 4 wires to each truck, so they didn't want to pivot nicely or they liked to tangle/snag wires with what ever else was inside. As I recall the biggest issue was performance. It always seemed like one truck was pulling while the other three were slipping. No way to mechanically make all the wheels go the same speed. I suppose these days one could put a DCC decoder on each truck and do speed matching. At the time, the bottom line was they didn't provide enough benefit to continue the project, especially when we (the club) switched to the Railcommand system where the decoders were much smaller (only the size of Rhode Island).
 
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I was looking through that list of the trucks, mainly because I had wondered what a Stanton Drive was, and was puzzled by one of them that said "No motor" but had wires attached and was DCC ready :confused:
 
A number of years ago, I picked up a Nickel Plate Products Pioneer Zephyr that had a power car (engine/U.S.Post Office) that was messed up. I finally got around to putting it back in operating condition, using a NWSL Stanton drive power truck. Works fine, albeit a bit underpowered when used singly. It will pull the three-car shovel nose train up a 3 percent grade. Which is pretty good for a brass model.
 
I saw the Rail flyer site and asked the owner some questions about their axle motors. I never ordered, the idea seemed impressive when I was trying to regear/remotor a North Shore 4 truck boxcab engine. I tried the PDT's but they just didnt fit right, so I poked-looked-researched while the project waited. Eventually I tried a stanton, it has a smaller footprint so it fit much better so now it has 4 stantons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imgE3ZePA7E have a look, it actually has 1 pdt in it because my LHS couldnt get all 4, but Now I have the 4th ready to install.

I still wonder about axle motors, still sounds practical if someone finally does it.
 
I recall the company Rail Flyer or whatever the names he used. He often threatened to sue me because I was posting my bad experiences with him. I can go on about that a$$ for hours.

Anyway, I think the problem with this idea was until now there was no way to get any amount of power from anything as small as you need to fit into a truck to power a train. I woud think even a motor that could fit on the trucks would still be low on power to pull a train.

Dave
 
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Yeah, I didn't think about the pulling power aspect when I first posted this. Makes total sense now, though.
 
Part of the problem with putting model traction motors in model railroad engines is that the torque generated by motors that small just doesn't scale down from the way the prototype motors' power is generated. Does tractive effort of a model scale directly or as the cube-root of the prototype? If so, a locomotive with a 98,000 lb T.E. would scale to 2.3 ounces or so. I think I've read that is about the pulling power of some HO scale diesels. Haven't checked steamers.
 
Iron Horseman said:
I tired the NSWL power trucks in the early 1980s just to be able to fit the PMP-112 decoders (the size of Ohio) into the locomotive and a monster speaker for sound in the 2nd unit. I still have that AB set of F units somewhere. There were issues with them. First it was hard to separate the power pick up from the motor for the decoder. One had to run 4 wires to each truck, so they didn't want to pivot nicely or they liked to tangle/snag wires with what ever else was inside. As I recall the biggest issue was performance. It always seemed like one truck was pulling while the other three were slipping. No way to mechanically make all the wheels go the same speed. I suppose these days one could put a DCC decoder on each truck and do speed matching. At the time, the bottom line was they didn't provide enough benefit to continue the project, especially when we (the club) switched to the Railcommand system where the decoders were much smaller (only the size of Rhode Island).
Click to expand...

http://nebula.wsimg.com/02d6e40c2d04190212ed400d3ccb2472?AccessKeyId=08BEE66B97B387F20C0D&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

The new one (Stanton Drive) is DCC ready. Never tried one myself. Considering getting one to re-power a Bachmann Spectrum Gas-Electric Doodlebug.

A side note: NWSL also has a single axle drive called the Magic Carpet for O scale, so it can be done.
 
tootnkumin said:
I was looking through that list of the trucks, mainly because I had wondered what a Stanton Drive was, and was puzzled by one of them that said "No motor" but had wires attached and was DCC ready :confused:
Click to expand...
They make a powered truck and a dummy truck. The dummy truck just picks up power, and is half the price.
 
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