I am thinking of ordering a Beep, Beef A&B units a buddy peeps and a caboose all in B&O.
may get a beep in the following roads later on L&N, N&W NS and Rock island
I think the Rock Island Beep would go good with my K-line golden state passenger cars.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
CSXect, I don't think anyone here will fault you for choosing RMT products or Williams either. You are amoungst friends with those two companies.
While some are holding their breath in anticipation on how this new improved "Cherry Vanilla" flavored TMCC Legacy is going to just revolutionize the hobby, I think the BEEP, the Buddy, these new BEEFs and the other RMT products go much further in advancing the so called revolution. I mean, a train engine that runs well and is priced under $70 and is available in the road name you want? Now there's the revolution that Lionel will never understand. Or just figures their name on the box is worth another $60, which is about the price for a Lionel dual can motored diesel.
Just for you info, CTT reviewed the BEEP last year with a big thumbs up and the BUDDY was reviewed more recently. As to be expected with the truck mounted motors, the BUDDY has a little more "growl" noise when running (like all the other locos with truck mounted can motors) as compared to the BEEP. You may be able to reduce some of the growl noise by removing one traction tire from each motorized truck. If you run your BUDDY alone, you could probably remove 3 of the 4 traction tired and this may help with some of the typical growl noise.
Two DC can motors never run at the exact smae speed. Combine this with the traction tires, and while the 2 motors improve pulling power, they also work against eachother somewhat, creating some of this "growl" noise, epecially on tight 027 curves. The motors also being in the truck tend to amplify the noise. This is not only true of the BUDDY, but another similar type Lionel or K-Line locomotive. The BEEP which has the motors directly mounted to the frame runs very quietly. Williams uses a horizontally mounted motored in the body and their gearing also seems to be better than the others in this price range.
brianel, Agent 027
"Praise the Lord. I may not have everything I desire, but the Lord has come through for what I need."
I am a big fan of everything that RMT makes so please don't take my suggestion the wrong way. Rather than buy everything at once, I would suggest that you buy either a BEEP or BUDDY first and run it around your layout in all directions and through every switch from all directions. Because of the short wheelbase and low set for the pickup rollers you may find that you have some "rough" spots that may need some work or that the unit loses power going through switches or across diamonds. All of these "issues" can be fixed but better to work them out when your investment is small rather than later on.
Poppyl
Hey, here's another one of the fixes I have figured out. Now I don't know about the BEEP because my money's been tight so I don't as of yet own one. But I do have several modern LTI-era Lionel Industrial Switchers. Like the BEEP, these have even a shorter wheelbase and a short space between pickups.
I now run my layout all DC power so I have no problems with the stalling I once had. But I had noticed before when the Industrial Switchers went over switches and some uncoupling tracks, they would trip into neutral. I noticed the space separating the roller pickup from the wheel axles is very tight. Meaing if there was contact, like over rough track, the roller pickup could strike the axle, therefore causing a momentary short and therefore causing the circuit board e-unit to funtion.
My fix was to make a separator out of thin drafting mylar. Thin styrene or coated shirtboard cardboard can also be used. I cut the piece just tight enough to wedge in the space in the plastic frame to fix over the axle, so that if the roller pickup bounced up against it, there would be no electrical contact. Lo and behold, this ended the problem of the e-unit direction change.
Like the BEEP the Industrial Switcher's short wheel base can also cause problems with electrical conductivity between the wheels and switches. My solution here was to remove the single traction tire and to add some additional weight to the engine. I double checked with Lionel engineering (which I suspected I was right) and the Ind. Switcher motor is the same one used in all lower end Lionel locos. Pick up the basic Columbia type Lionel 4-4-2 starter loco steamer and you'll see how much heavier it is over the Ind. Switcher. So I didn't worry about adding some real heft in weight to the Ind. Switcher. I packed the inner shell and frame of the switcher with as much weight as would fit. Making this change also solved the momentary stalling over switches. It also pulls like a champ now. The traction tire loss hasn't really affected operation... the additonal weight compensates for this loss.
I'm sure these fixes could be applied to the BEEP also to some degree.
It is good to see such success with the operating of these type units.
I wass planning to use Gargraves track on the layout and may be some Ross custom switches for passing sidings.
RMT products work very well with GG and Ross switches. You may get some momentary hesitations going through the switches due to the short wheel bases. In addition to the advice already given for dealing with that, make sure that your voltage is at least 14 volts. This should give your unit enough momentum across the switch to avoid the E unit kicking in. You can also switch off the E unit underneath the frame but this will limit you to going in one direction with no reverse.
If you are creative enough you can wire two locomotives together with a common wire to hook up the center rail or put an extra wire in a frieght car behind the locomotive. I did this with an SD45 that gave me trouble going thru Lionel switch # 6-23011. Needless to say I have removed the Lionel switches since that time as they kept giving me more problems than I was willing to put up with. I have an RMT Rail Diesel car and like it very well, very realistic looking for the price.
Lee
When i recived my Beep form RMT a couple of months ago they included a order form for 3 uncataloged beeps. Chesie, Conrail and Santa Fe (blue and yellow) Best part is they were 10 bucks less than the beeps listed on the RMT's site.
kevingol wrote: Best part is they were 10 bucks less than the beeps listed on the RMT's site.
Best part is they were 10 bucks less than the beeps listed on the RMT's site.
At that price how can you not get one
I just mailed in the order for a CHESSIE and CONRAIL Beeps, with a coupon for $10 off each..
Will order the rest later as money comes available.
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
That is an interesting way to sell the Limited Edition Beeps.
This sounds like the unoffical Ready-Made-Toys Collector's Club.
I am waiting for one MTH Chessie System GP40, but this sounds interesting.
Andrew
cnw1995 wrote:They are very nice units. Go for it and show us photos.
I have posted photos of my beeps that I got today on MTJ and OGRR forums.
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