I had no idea that something like this existed, but Faller of Germany has developed a revolutionary system for automating vehicles in HO scale. It's the first time I've seen the trains take a back seat to the vehicles on a layout. My German is a little rusty, so if anyone out there can translate some of the finer points, feel free. It's a shame they have no models of US prototypes.
Faller Car System
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
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Gary M. Collins gmcrailgNOSPAM@gmail.com
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"Common Sense, Ain't!" -- G. M. Collins
http://fhn.site90.net
If I remember right, it's a magnet system that goes under the layout and the cars have little magnets under their noses that pull them along. That HUGE German layout that everybody bashes all the time has it installed. (Wunderland or something like that??) They show it on their web site.
Edit http://www.miniatur-wunderland.de/data/cms/en/000/
I'm surprised more American modellers haven't picked up on the Faller Car System. The HO scale stuff has been around since at least the late 90s, in the last 4 years or so they have started introducing N scale vehicles as well (busses and trucks only in N). Both the HO and N Car System is available through Walthers in the US. I have seen several exhibition orientated British 4mm scale (OO) and European HO / HOm layouts in the UK using the system to good effect.
To date Faller have only produced modern European vehicles, although fitting the plastic chassis in a US style car or truck body can't be too difficult (I have seen examples of British modellers subsituting 30s or 50s era British truck bodies for example). The vehicles are quite expensive for what you get - probably not helped by the current Euro exchange rates.
I am installing the system on my German themed N scale layout. The system works by installing a soft iron guide wire in the pavement, which the vehicles follow by having a magnet attached to a steering arm under the front wheels. Vehicles are self powered by a small rechargeable battery on board, there is a 3 pin charger socket and an on/off switch located underneath. All vehicles are fitted with a reed switch under one side so can be stopped remotely by strategically placed electro-magnets under the pavement.
Faller sell manual and electronic "turnout" kits for the guide wire system, so vehicles don't have to follow the same route all the time, as well as kits for bus stops, grade crossings and intermodal ramps.
I find that the speed of all the vehicles I have come acoss is a little too fast for my liking, and will probably try and find room for some sort of voltage regulator circuit as a speed controller, if I do it right this will also cure the jack-rabbit start syndrome!
The Faller car system has been around for a number of years.
I've often wondered why Faller hasn't introduced U.S models car, truck and bus models. This system does add an extra dimension of realism to a layout. Would be neat to have a "Faller equipped" GMC transit bus, a few cars, or even a UPS truck running through a town while the railroad goes on about its business.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Just about every Volkswagen ever made is available, naturally.
Volkswagen Beetle w/Oval Rear Window
Volkswagen T1 B Camper w/Telescoping Roof
Porsche Cayenne with Caravan
It might be possible to retrofit some Malibu bodies on these chassis, as long as the wheelbase is the same.
boxcar_jim wrote:I am installing the system on my German themed N scale layout.
I am installing the system on my German themed N scale layout.
Jim, what is available in N scale? Can they make them that small?
In N scale they don't do a huge range yet: a couple of different busses, two semis and a smaller rigid truck with a "box" type body in several paint schemes. Apart from one of the buses its all 1990s European - the other bus is 1970s era West German.
I have both buses and one of the semis. The semi runs best. The 70s era bus comes in the start set with the "wall wart" charger and is really the wrong era for my ultra modern layout. I am thinking of replacing the body with something more appropriate, so I have had a good look at what this would entail.
Surprisingly I don't think that length of wheelbase is the main problem - it would be relatively simple to shorten or lengthen the chassis. The problem with a bus chassis is that busess generally are quite low to the ground - it would be difficult to fit it into a truck because trucks tend to be much higher off the ground and quite open. I guess I'm either going to go smaller and try a van (eg: Ford Transit or Mercedes Sprinter) which would be a challenge or find another more modern bus body.
For anyone thinking of converting one of the cars or trucks in HO I guess the key is you need to have a look at a donor chassis alongside some possible bodyshells. As far as I'm aware the smallest vehicles they do in HO are a Porsche Cayenne (thats an SUV), a Mercedes Jeep and a late 70s era VW estate car. There may be others or new ones, and there are several trucks and buses which would be easier to convert.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
SteamFreak wrote: I had no idea that something like this existed, but Faller of Germany has developed a revolutionary system for automating vehicles in HO scale. It's the first time I've seen the trains take a back seat to the vehicles on a layout. My German is a little rusty, so if anyone out there can translate some of the finer points, feel free. It's a shame they have no models of US prototypes.Faller Car System
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
R. T. POTEET wrote:DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO That's bells and whistles for those of you who may have missed it!!! Somebody wants sound! Somebody else wants smoke! Next week somebody is going to want to be able to walk passengers from the coach to the observation car! Then somebody is going to want those passengers to disembark from the train at stations! Then somebody is going to want the fireman and engineer to climb down from the cab with an oil can in hand and lubricated the side rods - unless, of course, the loco has automatic oilers! DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO That's bells and whistles for those of you who may have missed it!!!
DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO That's bells and whistles for those of you who may have missed it!!! Somebody wants sound! Somebody else wants smoke! Next week somebody is going to want to be able to walk passengers from the coach to the observation car! Then somebody is going to want those passengers to disembark from the train at stations! Then somebody is going to want the fireman and engineer to climb down from the cab with an oil can in hand and lubricated the side rods - unless, of course, the loco has automatic oilers! DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO That's bells and whistles for those of you who may have missed it!!!
Okay....
Try switching to decaf.
R. T. POTEET wrote: SteamFreak wrote: I had no idea that something like this existed, but Faller of Germany has developed a revolutionary system for automating vehicles in HO scale. It's the first time I've seen the trains take a back seat to the vehicles on a layout. My German is a little rusty, so if anyone out there can translate some of the finer points, feel free. It's a shame they have no models of US prototypes.Faller Car SystemDING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO That's bells and whistles for those of you who may have missed it!!! Somebody wants sound! Somebody else wants smoke! Next week somebody is going to want to be able to walk passengers from the coach to the observation car! Then somebody is going to want those passengers to disembark from the train at stations! Then somebody is going to want the fireman and engineer to climb down from the cab with an oil can in hand and lubricated the side rods - unless, of course, the loco has automatic oilers! DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO That's bells and whistles for those of you who may have missed it!!!
And your precise objection to that is?
G Paine wrote:At the big train show in Springfield MA last January, one of the HO modular layout displays had a Faller Car system on it. As I recall, it even had a reversing loop with detection so busses would make a U-turn at a terminal and pass back on the route. Very impressive, but expensive. It's been in Walthers for years with a cost of around $100 per vehicle. Much better than the Model Motoring slot car set I had in the 60s.
$100 per vehicle will make many of us say "Ouch!". With German engineering's reputation for quality, it's likely justifiable. Hopefully as time progresses, the technology to produce these Faller type of systems will become cheaper.
I wonder now if perhaps Faller is hesitiant to produce North American vehicles because of the potential "sticker shock" many of us here may react with.
boxcar_jim wrote: R. T. POTEET wrote: SteamFreak wrote: I had no idea that something like this existed, but Faller of Germany has developed a revolutionary system for automating vehicles in HO scale. It's the first time I've seen the trains take a back seat to the vehicles on a layout. My German is a little rusty, so if anyone out there can translate some of the finer points, feel free. It's a shame they have no models of US prototypes.Faller Car SystemDING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO That's bells and whistles for those of you who may have missed it!!! Somebody wants sound! Somebody else wants smoke! Next week somebody is going to want to be able to walk passengers from the coach to the observation car! Then somebody is going to want those passengers to disembark from the train at stations! Then somebody is going to want the fireman and engineer to climb down from the cab with an oil can in hand and lubricated the side rods - unless, of course, the loco has automatic oilers! DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO DING DING DING DING WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO That's bells and whistles for those of you who may have missed it!!! And your precise objection to that is?
What was THAT about??
Didn't they make people and cattle that would enter and exit cars in S scale about 50 years ago? Don't know if any of em went DING DING or WHOO WHOO?
AntonioFP45 wrote:$100 per vehicle will make many of us say "Ouch!". With German engineering's reputation for quality, it's likely justifiable. Hopefully as time progresses, the technology to produce these Faller type of systems will become cheaper. I wonder now if perhaps Faller is hesitiant to produce North American vehicles because of the potential "sticker shock" many of us here may react with.
For that kind of money, I'd expect the vehicles to be capable of gradual starts and stops, not the toy-like performance in the video. It wouldn't be hard for Faller to modify the circuit so it ramps the motor voltage up and down like DCC does.
bb4884 wrote:The cars are nice, but look at the lighting towards the end
Ah,yes....those are bright! Hard to beat LEDs for vehicle lights in any small scale.
Looking at the Walthers Catalog,
They offer a starter set with a 1997 Ford Explorer.
So there is at least one US prototype. I didn't see any other types mentioned though. Though we can definatly make use of the various VWs.
As for making the system automated. My dad says by removing the negative battery feed. and then placing the negative feed into a contact on the bottom of the car. And then hooking up a negative polarity to embedded steel wire in the system. You could probably generate movement of the vehicle by means of Induction. And then since your feeding the negative pole through the steel wire, it can be broken up into blocks and voltage regulated for added control.
I don't have the time or money at the moment to experiment wit this at this time though.
On top of building me a new model railroad, writing two novels. and doing some actual honest to goodness railroading. Im also designing a house that I hope that I will get to build in the near future.
James
SteamFreak wrote: Just about every Volkswagen ever made is available, naturally.Volkswagen Beetle w/Oval Rear WindowVolkswagen T1 B Camper w/Telescoping RoofVolkswagen Golf IV Porsche Cayenne with CaravanIt might be possible to retrofit some Malibu bodies on these chassis, as long as the wheelbase is the same. boxcar_jim wrote:I am installing the system on my German themed N scale layout. Jim, what is available in N scale? Can they make them that small?
Three of your links don't seem to work.
There is a Mercedes C Class as well but they are very pricey.
Still, I plan on installing Car Sytem on my layout once I get around to building the city bit.
Craig
DMW
I can see people building "car layouts" where the emphasis is on "car operations" or "car-fanning." Trains would be secondary, and probably just part of the static scenery, just a few dummy freight cars, and maybe a dummy engine approaching a grade crossing where the cars have the right-of-way.
The Model Car Forums would have questions like "How do you make track?" and "Are there any animated trains for my car layout?"
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Dear readers,
I'm currently installing the system on a small layout and have found that it works very well. I've also found that visitors are far more fascinated with the cars than with the trains. Most people have seen a model train before, and it's pretty clear how the trains work. Model cars that are self-guiding (or appear to be) are pretty uncommon. Adding starts, stops, and turns only increases the fascination. It's already clear that the system will be one of the highlights of the layout. I'll try to get some video on the site one of these days.
Also, one of you wrote:
"For that kind of money, I'd expect the vehicles to be capable of gradual starts and stops, not the toy-like performance in the video. It wouldn't be hard for Faller to modify the circuit so it ramps the motor voltage up and down like DCC does. "
Yes, and no. It would be possible to have a gradual start with some additional circuitry. I don't know how you avoid stops being abrupt, however, unless you add more controls in the street. To make the cars stop, you basically embed a magnet or electromagnet in the road. When the car passes over the magnet, a reed switch opens and cuts the power to the motor. (The motors in the Faller cars are very good, by the way.) If you had a circuit in the car that made it slow gradually, it would coast past the magnet, the switch would close again, and the car would resume normal operation. I suppose you could get past this limitation somehow, but it wouldn't be simple. I'd rather have the simplicity.
It's also pretty simple to use accessory decoders to control the Faller stop sections and turnouts, which opens some interesting possibilities.
I've seen photos of a few "car layouts," but not many. I'm a little surprised that there aren't more, actually.
Thanks for reading MR,
Terry
I've seen Faller CS truck in action on friends layout, and it is very nice to see - as a bonus movement along trains.
I also do not like abrupt stops/starts, and I think speed of the FCS vehicles in general is to fast - see turning of the trucks in Hamburg MiWuLa video.
As my layout is very small L shape, I do not plan any car system on it, but, OTOH, one bus or a van running in cleverly disguised circle would be very effective.
MRTerry wrote:Dear readers,I'm currently installing the system on a small layout and have found that it works very well. I've also found that visitors are far more fascinated with the cars than with the trains. Most people have seen a model train before, and it's pretty clear how the trains work. Model cars that are self-guiding (or appear to be) are pretty uncommon. Adding starts, stops, and turns only increases the fascination. It's already clear that the system will be one of the highlights of the layout. I'll try to get some video on the site one of these days.Also, one of you wrote:"For that kind of money, I'd expect the vehicles to be capable of gradual starts and stops, not the toy-like performance in the video. It wouldn't be hard for Faller to modify the circuit so it ramps the motor voltage up and down like DCC does. "Yes, and no. It would be possible to have a gradual start with some additional circuitry. I don't know how you avoid stops being abrupt, however, unless you add more controls in the street. To make the cars stop, you basically embed a magnet or electromagnet in the road. When the car passes over the magnet, a reed switch opens and cuts the power to the motor. (The motors in the Faller cars are very good, by the way.) If you had a circuit in the car that made it slow gradually, it would coast past the magnet, the switch would close again, and the car would resume normal operation. I suppose you could get past this limitation somehow, but it wouldn't be simple. I'd rather have the simplicity.It's also pretty simple to use accessory decoders to control the Faller stop sections and turnouts, which opens some interesting possibilities. I've seen photos of a few "car layouts," but not many. I'm a little surprised that there aren't more, actually. Thanks for reading MR,Terry
Thanks very much for that information Terry.
Couple of notes on FCS:
We have a 111-member Yahoo!Group for FCS at:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Faller_Car_System/
The Group is somewhat short on experience (many questions) but we have attracted several English-speaking Germans and other Europeans who have a lot of experience with FCS and related aftermarket products (there's even a DCC-compatible system for HO that includes onboard decoders and much more control over the cars than can be had with the stock system).
I was an early adopter in N scale (the HO system has been around for more than a decade!) - a few short video clips of my installation can be found at:http://www.youtube.com/user/blbachman
A few how-to articles of my work are available for download at:http://www.blainestrains.org/Enter the site then click 'My Modeling' on the left hand navigation pane and scroll down to the 'Faller Car System Projects' section.
I had FCS running the last two times I displayed my semi-portable layout and, as you might imagine, the vehicles attracted more attention than the trains!
The down side of the FCS (at this moment in time) is that with the Dollar-to-Euro exchange rate in the crapper, all this stuff becomes very expensive.
-Blaine
Sounds like someone rolled out of bed on the wrong side this morning and smacked his head on the wall.
R.T., I do agree with you. It seems that the more bells that the manufacturers give us, the more whistles we want. My own personal want is for someone to come out with a way of predicting the correct numbers for one of these nice big lotteries. But I'm first on the mailing list.
Blue Flamer.
MRTerry wrote:Also, one of you wrote:"For that kind of money, I'd expect the vehicles to be capable of gradual starts and stops, not the toy-like performance in the video. It wouldn't be hard for Faller to modify the circuit so it ramps the motor voltage up and down like DCC does. "Yes, and no. It would be possible to have a gradual start with some additional circuitry. I don't know how you avoid stops being abrupt, however, unless you add more controls in the street. To make the cars stop, you basically embed a magnet or electromagnet in the road. When the car passes over the magnet, a reed switch opens and cuts the power to the motor. (The motors in the Faller cars are very good, by the way.) If you had a circuit in the car that made it slow gradually, it would coast past the magnet, the switch would close again, and the car would resume normal operation. I suppose you could get past this limitation somehow, but it wouldn't be simple. I'd rather have the simplicity.
If the reed switch is simply an off switch for the motor, then it would get complicated. I suppose you could build a circuit to gradually reduce the voltage to the motor after it passed over the magnet, which would require placing the magnets a preset distance before the desired stop, but I don't know how you would tell it to start again.
Thanks for the info on your setup, Tony. Moving vehicles without any apparent means of guidance or propulsion are going to steal the show from the more common sight of model trains. Let us know when you get a video posted.
Craig, those links were posted in June of last year, and Walthers has changed their catalog. They're carrying more FCS items now: http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?quick=faller+car+system
I think I would find an American vehicle with a plastic body, instead of trying to load the system down with a diecast body. The thinner plastic body would also help when it comes to fitting the mechanism inside.
If you want more control than the Faller system, Wiking was showing R/C vehicles in HO at the Nuremberg Toy Fair this year. There was a little German fire truck going through its paces and it was amazing to watch. I believe it's coming to market next year.
blainestrains wrote: I was an early adopter in N scale (the HO system has been around for more than a decade!) - a few short video clips of my installation can be found at:http://www.youtube.com/user/blbachman
Wow. That is really cool! I wouldn't mind doing something like that: a simple, animated stretch of highway where you could run a few trucks and a handful of cars that end up double-backing to give the illusion of constant traffic.
Seems like "K.I.S.S." is the way to go with this system.
~ Jason