Thought I'd open a thread on this subject as discussion in another thread sounds as though several of us would like to see this. (battery powered trains)
As an avid R/C model airplane, boat and car guy I do know that many advances in battery technology have drastically improved the performance and ease of use for battery powered toys. Namely Lithium based cell technology which has allowed much more power from less weight. However, to me, the thought of adding all that headache about how and when to charge and pamper your batteries to the toy train hobby is a buzzkill.
On the plus side, I think big ole heavy lead acid or maybe NiMH batteries would be desirable for the loco motive traction required to pull trains. But having to interupt an operating session right in the middle of some neat switching evolution to recharge would be so "Unprototypical" I don't think I'd want to finish the session!
Since DC Can motor technology wasn't what it is today a 100 years ago, when toy trains were first being powered by electricity we got an AC system and there were some damn fine ac motors the were made to give very nice operating performance. Now, I think the the DC motors have probably surpassed those old AC motors in their reduced cost of manufacture as well as their performance. So battery power it would seem is soon a very logical next step.
Another issue would be backwards compatability with ac powered trains...I supposed that would be easy since the battery powered train could be made with insulated wheels and not care in the least what voltages were present on the tracks. But could a battery powered train be designed to pick up TMCC commands broadcast through trackage? That would be neat I guess.
In the end, I still don't think battery technology is good enough yet for me. I don't want to burn the house down charging Lithium Polymer cells and even the best NiCd's and even NiMH batteries develop "Memories" and/or capacity reductions relatively quickly. Plus they are not very tolerant at all of inactivity, so the battery powered Christmas train might be a flop on the second Christmas.
What does everyone think?
Roland
1st I'm a die hard electric transformer controll altho I'm get the itch for command controll haven't bit yet.
2nd most I have seen so far in O gauge that is battery power looks to toyish. I'm sure if they really looked into it they would improve on the appearence and all.
3rd I'm not big on recharging batteries I like to go plug my trains in and run them .
I'm sure were going to be heading that way sooner or later but personally i hope later.
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Batteries I don't know. I'm the kind of guy that thinks "if it ain't broke don't fix it" I still run my trains "conventional". I use TMCC on some of the newer trains I have but I noticed some trains run good on it and some do not. My Lionel Camelback gives me trouble on it but then my K-Line Trainmaster and Alleganey run nice.
It would depend on how long the batteries would last and take to recharge. Possibly have a track section that you would park on and it would recharge it. Like a siding and you could run another engine while the other charges , make it look like a coaling or fueling station.
Then agian it would depend on the person preference. Me I'll stick with my big old ZW.
If you have seen Dave Verguns set up for outdoor railroading I think you would be surprised in that technology. Having been in R/C planes & helis & cars too for more than 30 years, I always loved the battery charging & chargers I used over the years & cycling them !! At least for me, an outdoor RR, run on batteries like Daves would really fascinate me & then I could use it at CHRISTmas time under the tree !! For now though, I just love the setup I have with TMCC & my new TPC 300 for conventional running engines & MTH engines !!
RT : hurry up & get the TMCC !! Or look into getting it just for running your Postwar stuff !!
Thanks John
I am more in favor of getting voltage from track power rather than having a battery powered train, sounds too toy like to me, also how would you control the speed? I like the three rail appearance and won't trade up to battery power because it would cost me serious money to do so as I have more than 15 A.C. powered locomotives in O gauge. Another reason is how do retreive a locomotive that ran out of battery power on the far side of the layout without having to climb up to get it?
Batteries have their place but not in a model locomotive to power it!!
Have used rechargeable radios at work recently and they need to be run all the way down before recharging but it never happens so the batteries don't get a full recharge because of the new technology.
Lee F.
Battery powered trains aren't coming. They are already here. Even Lionel is making them in G-scale. It's only a matter of time before that technology trickles down to the smaller scales. And there are a lot of advantages to battery powered trains. The biggest one I can think of is that layouts will no longer have to be wired. I'll bet that wiring is the biggest, most intimidating obstacle facing any beginner. Imagine how many more people would stay enthused if they only had to snap track together and not have to worry about wiring it, or trouble shooting it.
Hand held controllers are already common place in all scales, so getting used to one that controls a batt op train would be a breeze.
I don't think batt op trains will ever replace electic trains as we know them today. But who knows? I'd bet they would certainly be popular.
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
Bob Nelson
Six years ago there was a large debate on film. Most people were still using film and everybody could give a host of reason why digital would never succeed even though it had been around for several years. Today digital rules the photography world.
Will batteries make it into the 3 rail world that we know? I don't see any reason why it would not. Though I would like to know where they will place the battery inside of the current engines. There is hardly any room for the stuff that is in there now.
I may not want it but then again I didn't want digital. I just wonder what you all are going to do when the transformer go the way of the enlarger.
csxt30 wrote: RT : hurry up & get the TMCC !! Or look into getting it just for running your Postwar stuff !! Thanks John
Its a money thing right now but theres a atlas engine that really has my attention and then theres the rest of the equipment to do it so in time it will probally come right now don't really have room for a layout so guess when I do get a bigger place and have room I'll go that route till then I'll probally slowly buy the engines and may even look into get the stuff for tmccIII
I think the outdoor application is perfect for battery power. I have seen pictures of Dave's G layout. The fact that you don't need wires running all over the layout, or any electrical contactors on the track make the battery powered train the perfect outdoor solution. The track doesn't have to be electrically conductive, so when corrosion has it's way it wouldn't matter.
I think since most (Indoor O guage) layouts have so many electrified accessories, the handy availability of various voltages from your transformer makes for significant convenience. If Trains were battery powered, you'd still need transformers for the accessories unless you converted them too...and since you have transformer power why run batteries?
I think the HO scale would be a good scale to prove out battery powered trains' viability...I do believe even the HO folks are still using transformers mostly (exclusively?) I think the HO trains will be all battery powered before you see it creeping into O guage trains with any seriousness. I don't believe Garden Scale use of Battery power portends the use of batteries in O guage like their use in HO would.
I have bought 7 new engines since Christmas. Do you know what they all need to operate? Yeap they all need a battery. As a matter of fact I even bought a charger for all my MTH diesels.
BTW when you live in the country and you are without power for days an outhouse is extremly important since when we have no power we also do not have any water.
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