Enjoying my trains

[thor]

I finally figured out how to run two trains off one controller! I have an oval plus a long outside siding, so I can run one engine back and forth on the siding whilst the other on the oval is safe to leave alone.

Anyway, so what, right?

Well what's interesting is that because all the engines run differently by careful experiment and observation I found that it was possible to use their idiosyncracies to my advantage.

I have three Atlantics, an old 60's Pullmore black one with E-unit , a late 70's blue Pullmor with smoke and an E unit that only has fwd/rev and a new can motored one with everything.

The oldest one runs like a rocket and holds the rails incredibly well! It will pull three coaches and two wagons at unreal speeds, great fun to watch, the rolling stock leans heavily to one side as it corners but doesnt come unstuck, the loco hardly leans at all. Its E-unit is dead solid, doesnt trigger unless the button is pushed. The old one doesnt run well at a crawl, it runs but its really noisy!

The blue one only has fwd/rev and its E unit has a hair trigger. It has the least adhesion and will fly off easily but it runs quietly and well slowly and also its smoke unit hardly works unless at full power.

The new one smokes well on a whisper of power, runs well at a crawl and also at high speed but doesnt hold down like the oldest even though its metal.

All I have is a small transformer and controller so I have to be careful, if I run the oldest loco plus the lighted coaches plus try and operate the switch, the transformer cuts out.

The blue loco uses the least power so if I want to use lighted coaches and the switch, thats the one to run on the oval.

The new one has an electronic reverser so its pretty solid especially in neutral. So I can park it on the siding in neutral at near full power and have a smoking engine plus use the blue one on the oval and watch its antics because it changes direction at the slightest opportunity (you can just rap the table) whilst the new one slumbers peacefully!

Its huge fun to swap the locos around between tracks and consists and juggle the controller to give the illusion of two seperately controlled tracks. Its the locos individuality and different responses that make it possible.

Sometimes less IS more!

[cnw1995]

I know what you mean Thor. I like to jockey the throttle up and down ("more power, Scotty") as I go up and down grades or around curves. I've connected two transformers "In phase" in the same huge loop of track so I can also adjust them both.

[thor]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cnw1995

I know what you mean Thor. I like to jockey the throttle up and down ("more power, Scotty") as I go up and down grades or around curves. I've connected two transformers "In phase" in the same huge loop of track so I can also adjust them both.

Yeah its a geat hobby innit? I am having more fun than I ever had with a huge complex HO layout with full bells and whistles. About that less is more though, there's definitely something to it. Some of my best photos were taken with the worst cameras. Back in the 60's all I had was a Brownie 127 and I took a lot of railyard shots of our local station and because of the cameras limitations I had to be very careful how I composed my shots and to get the most out of the film I developed it myself and pushed and fiddled it to compensate for the cameras lack of controls. Those shots were far better than later ones I just fired off with an SLR on full auto.

Similarly some of my best artwork has been done with a travelling watercolor set and a quick rendition whereas some of the stuff I've labored long and hard on in the studio just doesnt have the spontaneity. Same with models, the more you work at them, the greater the chance they'll end up being technically 'better' but actually somehow less rewarding.

It might just be a peculiarity of my own but I find that limiting my resources has a tendency to increase my creativity!

My wife, God bless her, was willing to splurge on a doubletrack mainline with switching sidings and double crossovers in FasTrack PLUS a decent transformer/controller (would have been a few hundred bucks at best) but she said "You know, you're having more fun devising workarounds, despite all the grumping so why not hold off for a while and see what you can do with what you have? I'm sure we'll find some more cheap second hand stuff if we both keep our eyes open for it but I'll buy it if you really want it."

She's right. I am having more fun doing what I can with what I have as y'all will soon see when I get it done....

[waltrapp]

Off course just for one small moment, OK?

thor, your comment "It might just be a peculiarity of my own but I find that limiting my resources has a tendency to increase my creativity" - I've always felt that way too. I think that's why today's kids feel so bored - they have TOO MUCH. Too many toys. Too many computer games and internet options. Etc. I found that I even enjoyed computer games more when I had fewer.

OK, back to your regularly scheduled show....

- walt

[pbjwilson]

Way to go thor. I have a hodge podge of small transformers that I match to the engines I'm running. Little can motored jobs get a dinky trans. Big pulmors get more juice. It's alot of fun to get things going with a minimum amount of equipment and funds. Probably learn more about electicity, trains, maintenence, etc.

Keep the trains a rollin.

[FJ and G]

Paul writes: "It's alot of fun to get things going with a minimum amount of equipment and funds. Probably learn more about electicity, trains, maintenence, etc."

=====

Well said.

[BobbyDing]

Thor, Your quite rite about the lack of funds increasing the creativity. Oh what a feeling it is when you get a whacky idea to work !!! I think that a great part of the original Lionel charm too, is (was) how they got things to work without a lot of technology. Puffing smoke, air whistles, vibrating motors. All physical and hands on. Not a fantasy trapped behind a computer screen. I too am having more fun tinkering with these trains than I ever did with my HO layout.

Viva la Fun!

Bobby

[jimhaleyscomet]

There is alot of wisdom in keeping your layout small enough and simple enough so you can handle it. I once did a huge layout but never wired in blocks because it would have taken too much effort. Then I did a double door layout with dual loops and two trains per loop (using insulated track sections to keep the trains apart) and it was great fun.

I like to do a little bit of effort at a time (like wire just one loop, or add a switch to just one spur), then play a while, then maybe do another loop.

I run command engines but combine them with conventional so I can still do the fun stuff!

Jim H