I've seen these on Ebay. They only have one flywheel, which seems kind of odd to me. Are these good runners? Do they have space for DCC installation?
The shell isn't a shell but sides, top, and ends that have to be glued together.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I can't speak for the RS-3s, Henry, but the Stewart VO-660 & VO-1000 switchers come with only one flywheel and they are terrific runners. On those the cab, walkway, and hood are separate pieces and snap together. I would NOT glue them.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
The Stewart RS-3 is a sort of passable model, the hood radius is not correct and your dealing with a modified Blue Box Athearn drive from the 70's, not the Ajin drive that Stewart put in the switchers.
If price is a problem then go for it, or try to find one of the old Hobbytown Metal Bodied RS-3's the hood is the most correct of all the old models and the mechanism is superb, the new RS-3 from Bowser should be state of the art and the most correct RS-3 to come out in years.
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
The Hobbytown also came in plastic. 99 cents undecorated. $1.29 for New Haven.
I question why you would need any flywheel at all when you install the super-cool DCC with all the electronic motor control. Back-EMF, and all that. I'm building a Hobbytown drive for a switcher, and I decided to leave the flywheel out completely. I do admit that I have yet to run it. So it's all talk, for now.
But whether there's one flywheel or two doesn't matter. What matters is the diameter and length and material density. You will get exactly the same effect with one "big" flywheel as two "little" ones.
And I'm looking forward to the Bowser ones, too.
Ed
Stay away from the old Stewart RS-3 models. They are awful. I have four of these (2 powered, 2 dummy), and not only do they look horrible with their top hood radius, molded on details, and enourmous handrails, they run just as bad as they look. The Athearn drive is the same as ever (decent), but the metal chassis on these units is so small and thin that I can easily bend them with my bare hands. These units weigh less than some of my freight cars, so there's very little pulling power. Also, the lightweight nature of these means they don't track as well nor do they make electrical contact as well as normal Athearn drives.
In short, don't buy 'em.
Instead, get an Atlas. At least they run great. Or buy an MDC/Roundhouse (2 versions - 1 is geared low and the other uses a P2K drive with v-notch flywheels) or Athearn R-T-R (which runs well and looks great). Heck, even the Hobbytown RS-3 is better than these old Stewarts.
Hello all,
7j43kI question why you would need any flywheel at all when you install the super-cool DCC with all the electronic motor control. Back-EMF, and all that.
I posed the same question here: http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/239937.aspx
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
Interesting thoughts on flywheels.
I'll pass on the Stewart after Rick and Paul's comments. I did have an order for the Bowser RS-3 back when it was supposed to be delivered December 2017. Trainworld now lists it as expected December 2018. I decided I had better uses for $220.
jjdamnit Hello all, 7j43k I question why you would need any flywheel at all when you install the super-cool DCC with all the electronic motor control. Back-EMF, and all that. I posed the same question here: http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/239937.aspx Hope this helps.
7j43k I question why you would need any flywheel at all when you install the super-cool DCC with all the electronic motor control. Back-EMF, and all that.
Thanks. Seems I missed that one. I do think the "keep-alive" is a good replacement for a flywheel.
As I recall, someone here on the forum did an actual experiment. He built two locos, one with a flywheel and one with "keep-alive". The latter won big time.
When the engine loses track power, the motor stops. The flywheel can't really do much about that - it isn't meant to be like the old automobile toys we (oldsters) had as kids where you'd roll them on the floor and let go and the flywheel would make it race along until it hit the wall or the dog or whatever. It just helps the motor revs go a bit smoother. I don't know that one or two makes a huge difference.
BTW the 'flat kit' Stewart RS-3s with Athearn drives go back to the 1980's as I recall. I have a couple of fairly recent Stewart engines (2000 or later) that are all very nice runners.
The Stewart RS-3's were their first engine. It was a flat kit, available in powered or dummy versions and pre-painted or undec. It dates from the mid-1980's, and came out about the same time the Atlas/Kato and MDC/Roundhouse RS-3's.
Back then, the best RS-3 would have been the Atlas drive and cab with the MDC hood and handrails. If you wanted a Phase II or Phase III RS-3, you'd use the Stewart sides and replace the hood sides of the main unit with them.
Stewart's next model was the U25B, IIRC. It was a much better model, and is in fact still in production today as the Bowser U25B. You could get it powered by Athearn or Kato (the Kato was more money).
My criticism of Stewart is limited to just their RS-3 model. It's a dog, but the rest of Stewart's line are all good running units that are still worth picking up today.