There's a battery manufacturer in Iowa called Cordless Renovations that can build you a custom battery-pack for every application. Take a look at their website www.cordlessrenovations.com
I'M LOOKING ALSO. Ii'M NEW TO GARDEN railroading and I can't find any advertised manufatures selling battery power locos. CONVERSIONS ARE $800+
What I have found was a cheap bATERY POWER, REMOTE CONTROL SET SOLD BY SCIENTIFIC TOY AND PURCHASED AT KB TOY STORE IN A LOCAL MALL AROUND XMAS TIME .
THE SET SOLD FOR LESS THAN $50 . ALTHOUGH NOT ACCURATE TO PROTOYPES. IT WAS A 2-6-0 WITH 3 CARS. AND PLASTIC TRACK. IT RUNS PRETTY WELL, IS FAIRLY RELIABLE AND DIDN'T COST $800 (OR MORE)
I ACTUALLY PREFER IT TO MY ELECTRIC BACHMAN AND ACCUCRAFT LOCO'S AS MY GRANDKIDS PLAY WITH THEM( SCIENTIFIC) AND I'M NOT CONCERNED IF ANYTHING IS DAMAGED
west nile wrote:I've been away from the forum working thru our spring rush.....sorry to not post a 'thank you' for these responses.My family operates a feed 'n seed, hardware, and garden center in northern New York. I'm having to remove a display pond/waterfall from the nursery yard and I want to put the railway in its place. Not to be a dealer, but to increase customer traffic in the garden center. (And have a lot of fun.) Getting power to the track is no problem, so electrified stainless rails I guess is the way to go. And since it would run for the public all day, it sounds like battery power wouldn't get the job done. I'm awfully impatient to get started, but my summer is disappearing fast and I gotta get the pond out of the way first. Then I plan to go to a large-scale store in Burlington, ON and see what they can sell me. Any other bits of advice would be greatly appreciated.-West Nile
I've been away from the forum working thru our spring rush.....sorry to not post a 'thank you' for these responses.
My family operates a feed 'n seed, hardware, and garden center in northern New York. I'm having to remove a display pond/waterfall from the nursery yard and I want to put the railway in its place. Not to be a dealer, but to increase customer traffic in the garden center. (And have a lot of fun.) Getting power to the track is no problem, so electrified stainless rails I guess is the way to go. And since it would run for the public all day, it sounds like battery power wouldn't get the job done.
I'm awfully impatient to get started, but my summer is disappearing fast and I gotta get the pond out of the way first. Then I plan to go to a large-scale store in Burlington, ON and see what they can sell me. Any other bits of advice would be greatly appreciated.
-West Nile
My opinion on best low maintenance system -
Aristo stainless steel track with 8 foot diameter or better.
Split Jaw SS rail clamps on all the joints.
No switches as even the best can cause problems.
Maximum grade of 2%.
A simple power supply - Aristo Ultima and 10 amp controller or a Bridgewerks unit.
Aristo four axle diesels like the FA-1 or RS-3 run very well with few problems.
Metal wheels on all your rolling stock. Also, standardize your rolling stock to one brand or type of coupler.
An Aristo track cleaning car run for 10 minutes every few days will be all the track cleaning you'll need to do.
-Brian
I just got the battery a few weeks ago (one I bought in March was defective) and I have never run it longer than 1/2 hour since. But I have put it away and come back a few days later, run it for another 1/2 hour or so, put it away again, and done this like 3 times. The battery still has a charge and I haven't detected any loss in voltage (as "measured" by train speed and brightness of lights. Bottom line is - I really don't yet know how long it takes to run it down!
I should note that I use either an Aristo RS-3 diesel or a GP40 diesel - both have two motors.
However, comments from various veterans of Aristo battery setups (similar to mine) that I have read on other forums indicate that 4 hours should not be a problem at all provided you start with a fresh charge, you aren't trying to pull too many cars, you don't have steep grades, and the loco does not have it's smoke unit turned on. As always - your results may vary depending on the locomotive specs and all the other factors above.
AL
100% plug and play sounds sweet ***ducks the trash talk hurled by the electrical engineers***
How long does your train run on a 4-hour charge, gbbari?
West Nile - I'd have to go along with what altterain (Brian) posted. I just started with battery RC this year. I bought the following:
Yes this setup will cost you several hundred $$. The advantage - you do not require any tools or installation of any kind. This is 100% Plug and Play.
Al
hoofe116 wrote: Funny,Welcome to the board! Excellent English, are you using a translator program? Where in Germany are you located?Les
Funny,
Welcome to the board! Excellent English, are you using a translator program? Where in Germany are you located?
Les
I just knew I shoulda read all the way through the posts. First.
Track vs battery is a just a huge debate. Both have advatages
My layout is not too big, has a steep grade in it and my wife and I like to run long passenger trains lit up at night. That's a good argument for track power. A smaller track is easy to clean, and steep grades and lights draw more power from your batteries. If I had a bigger layout with less grades and didn't run at nght, battery would maybe look more attractive.
I wish I'd started with stainles steel track--just less cleaning required. Track cleaning with brass track isn't that big a deal, but I have to do it pretty much every time I run using an aristo track cleaning car or a drywall pole sander. It's not that big a deal but it would be nice not to have to do it.
W. N.
Long trains--US proto-types--Lighted passenger cars--consume lots of power=use track power=use stainless steel track=alot less cleaning=A Happy Railroading Experience......Yes it has been considered before....Ask Marty C.
BTW. I use Loco-Linc RC.....Works for me so far....
Byron C.
Dave Goodson RCS will hook you up. RCS is a good product, just try a system! Very Simple.
http://dnkgoods.home.mindspring.com/index.html
Toad
People often seem to assume that "remote control" means "battery power." But you can run remote control with track power--I do it all the time, running four different locos at once. I've been using Aristocraft's 75 mhz onboard system. With most Aristo locos, you just plug the onboard receiver unit into a socket on the loco's circuit board, sync it up, and off you go. It takes more time to get the loco shell of than it does to install the board.
It works extremely well for me but I have a small-medium size layout. for larger layouts there may be range issues
Aristo is going to abandon the 75 mhz system, though, and is supposedly coming out wth a new system.
You can also do track power and remote control with QSI's new bpard, which has the great advantage of having sound built in. In that case you need to use the Airwire throttle system. But the QSI onboard receiver plugs directly into the aristo circuit board
The Home of Articulated Ugliness
funny wrote: Hi, west nile,I'm brandnew at the forum and I'm writing from Germany, so my recommendation may base on other circumstances than large US-trains require. But as I understand american model railroads I assume you operate long and heavy trains. In this case a rechargebable battery powered locomotive equipment is disadvantage compared to rail powered systems. Locomotives loaded with long trains may not remain long on their battery power. On the contrary I would recommend a DCC system with an appropriate booster, for example 10 or 20 Amps. Operating such a system requires clean wheel sets and also clean rail heads but will bring you satisfying play sessions. By the way: The best option for outside rails are stainless steel ones. Even nickel-silver rails will work much better than brass ones.
Hi, west nile,
I'm brandnew at the forum and I'm writing from Germany, so my recommendation may base on other circumstances than large US-trains require. But as I understand american model railroads I assume you operate long and heavy trains. In this case a rechargebable battery powered locomotive equipment is disadvantage compared to rail powered systems. Locomotives loaded with long trains may not remain long on their battery power. On the contrary I would recommend a DCC system with an appropriate booster, for example 10 or 20 Amps. Operating such a system requires clean wheel sets and also clean rail heads but will bring you satisfying play sessions.
By the way: The best option for outside rails are stainless steel ones. Even nickel-silver rails will work much better than brass ones.
Ok, did we not have this discussion before? Shame. Rene is Funny from Germany????
Hey Funny, welcome to the forum!!
....Marty Cozad might argue with you about long trains and battery ops?
Martys
Dave Goodson RCS will hook you up.
Sup Cale!!!!
since you asked...here is another post, just above that may be of some help for you?
LINK!
cale
AristoCraft. Most of their new locos are equipped with a track/battery power switch.
They just came out with ready to run trailer RC (Train Engineer) car.
too new to find a pic but saw it at ECLSTS!
They also sell Li Ion batteries and chargers to go with it.
I've wanted to jump in to garden railroading since '98 when I saw the EPCOT layout! I'm finally gonna do it....
From what I've read here, I think I want a rechargeable battery-powered R/C locomotive. Does any manufacturer make a good start-up kit, or do I have to convert a traditional 'power-via-rails' system? What do you guys recommend?
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