Trains.com

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Speed Matching BLI Locomotives

1930 views
4 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Mpls/St.Paul
  • 13,780 posts
Posted by wjstix on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 12:52 PM

Main thing with speed matching is you can use CVs to slow a fast engine down - that is, limit it's maximum speed - but you can't speed up a slow engine to go faster than it would go on DC. So, in your case, you'd want to find which of the three engines runs the slowest at full power, and reduce CV 5 in the other ones until they've slowed down to the same top speed as the slowest one. With the faster ones, I'd change CV 5 to say 240 and see how they run together. If it's still too fast, reduce it to 220 and try again. As noted, the engines probably run pretty close to the same speed already, so shouldn't be that hard to speed match.

Stix
  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Reading, PA
  • 30,002 posts
Posted by rrinker on Monday, November 27, 2017 4:57 PM

 They should all run fairly well together with no adjustments. They are pretty much all identical, same motors, same size drivers. Close is good enough. Depite the conniptions you see some DCC people going through to amke locos run in perfect lockstep across each speed step - you do NOT have to do that. There never was a way to do that with plain DC, and people ran multiple locos together all the time.

                          --Randy

 


Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's

 

Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.

  • Member since
    December 2012
  • 157 posts
Posted by Redvdub1 on Monday, November 27, 2017 4:39 PM

Just try it.  At "no load" (i.e. no train attached) the coupler bucking may be too much but, then again, maybe not.  With a heavy train attached coupler bucking will be reduced.  Since these are ostensibly identical engines their speed characteristics should be reasonably close and you should be ok.  The big thing with those engines is that they are prone to drop power unless weighted properly in both the engine and the tender.  With DC you can only hope that additional weight "helps"the power problem.  With DCC keep-alive decoders solve that problem.  Good luck.

 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Central Vermont
  • 4,557 posts
Posted by cowman on Saturday, November 25, 2017 7:57 PM

Tom,

Welcome to the forums.

As far as I know, you cannot speed match in DC, as the speed control is in the power pack.  When you switch over to DCC the  manual that came with your locos or decoders should have the information on speed matching.

Good luck,

Richard

  • Member since
    November 2013
  • 2 posts
Speed Matching BLI Locomotives
Posted by THOMAS J PEARCE on Thursday, November 23, 2017 2:26 PM

First off, I am sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere in the forums here. I currently own two Paragon 3 Unlettered C&O T-1 2-10-4's and one Unlettered Paragon 2, and am currently trying to adjust all three units to be able to run with the others. My layout is currently DC only with one of BLI's DC Master's to allow me to adjust CVs and control Blueline, Paragon 2 and Paragon 3 sounds, (although I am already planning out my future second layout which will have DCC installed.)

Thanks in advance for your help,

Thomas J Pearce

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Users Online

There are no community member online

Search the Community

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!