Does locomotive smoke smell bad?

[Anonymous]

I just bought a 0-6-0 switcher at a train show and it has a smoke gen. and it came with fluid. I want to put some smoke in it but my parents say it'll smell. Does it?[?]

[Anonymous]

if it is ho maybe if it is g scale yes or o gauge yes

[AltonFan]

It's been a long time since I had a locomotive with a [working] smoke generator, but I do recall that there was an odor. I would not characterize it as unpleasant or overpowering, but it was a "chemical" odor that some people might not like. The odor wasn't all that different from the ozone odor from electric motors.

Actually, I never cared for smoke generators because they do not put out anything like a realistic plume of smoke. (At best, it looked like steam coming off of warm food.) Moreover, on the prototype, huge billows of black smoke meant inefficient operation and wasted fuel. (Some steam engineers resented railfan photographers because they feared that pictures of a smoke-belching locomotive would be seen by railroad officers and result in disciplinary action. OTOH, I heard Mexican engineers gladly accepted bribes to make lots of smoke.)

[Anonymous]

In a confined area you may find that after a while it will agravate your eyes and hurt your throat. I would recommend that if you wi***o run the smoke generator then make sure your area is well ventilated, after all you are burning a petroleum distilate.

Another thing to consider is that some smoking units should be shut off if you do not have oil in it. this should be contained in the instructions. I have an IHC camelback with generator and the instructions clearly state that if you do not have oil in the generator then make sure the generator switch is in the off position. I have an old Life Like 0-6-0 switcher with generator that has no switch and runs with or without oil.

[Anonymous]

I've got a Mehano Mountain that I believe has a smoke generator. I won it in an ebay auction but I'm not sure how to use the smoke generator. Is it just a couple of drops in the smoke stack? There were no instructions but the auction came with a bottle of the liquid.

[Anonymous]

If it's a O scale engine I would say no, in fact even though I model HO I love the smell of O scale smoke. If the engine is older though maybe it would smell bad. If its HO, or G I don't no because I model modern railroading and only have one steamer (Spectrum PRR K4).

[fec153]

Depends upon what you can tolerate.
My instruction sheet said not to run it more than 30 minutes without fluid or it would
burn out the generator.
F.E.C. 153

[Anonymous]

Even in HO, the smell can offend.
Years ago, Walthers used to offer scented smoke oils, I honestly don't know if they still do, but I remember burning the pine scented stiff in the living room under the X-mas tree, and it smelled good!!!!

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys! So, if I don't put smoke in it, should I turn off the gen.? If that's the case, I don't know how to. In the instructions Bachmann doesn't say anything about turning it off. Anyone out there who has a Bachmann 0-6-0 (not to be confused with the Spectrum 0-6-0 saddle tank) want to help me out here?

[Anonymous]

I've got one of those, which is about 8 years old. Mine doesn't have an on/off switch. What you will have to look out for, if yours is of the same construction as mine, is the "centr post" which is where the element is located doesn't became dislodged and falling over, This happened to me which resulted in the shell having a hole burned through it. As long as you don't drop the unit, have any nasty derailments or touch the centre pin/post while topping up the reservoir you shouldn't have to worry about this occuring. Again if you have the same model you should be able to sight the pin through the smoke stack without difficulty.