why not smoke

[Christie]

I was wondering why not put smoke in the On30.  It is in about all the Ho models.  We switched from large scale to On30 which we like very much, but love to have smoke.

[Joe323]

I was wondering why not put smoke in the On30.  It is in about all the Ho models.  We switched from large scale to On30 which we like very much, but love to have smoke.

Actually most serious HO modelers I have seen here do not want the smoke.  It does not look protypical and tends to leave an oily mess on the track.

[NarrowMinded]

If you really want it Buy a smoke generator ( tube style and install it...

Smoke can be messy and not very good to breathe..

NM-Jeff

[railtwister]

Several reasons:

1.) It smells bad and can be a problem for someone with allergies.
2.) It's messy, and it leaves an oily film on anything the smoke settles on.
3.) It requires more maintenance, you need to constantly refill the reservoir, or the element will burn out.
4.) It adds to the price of the locomotive, especially for those who really don't want it.
5.) It's another thing to go wrong, and for a manufacturer, it's a additional item to warranty.
6.) It draws additional current, which for a DCC loco, can be critical.

Bill in FL

[Stevelewis]

The  use of  smoke  units,  in indoor situations  is  questionable some  years  back there was  a lot of discussion started by a model entusuast in the  medical profession which warned against the inhalation of model smoke, it was said to be  more potent  than cigarette smoke,  indeed  several exhibition managers in the UK  banned the  use of  smoke units at  their  exhibitions.

As stated   above  smoke units  do not really give  a correct impression of 'smoke'  and  it  does leave a messy deposit on track and rolling  stock etc.

Interesting to note also  that  Hornby  & Bachmann's UK  ranges of  steam locomotives  ( around 100 different  types) do not include any with smoke generators  fitted!

[Jim Banner]

If you really want smoke after all that has been said, it is possible to add a smoke generator to most models.  Often it involves cutting away metal from the locomotives' frames which reduces the weight of our little narrow gauge locomotives and reduces the number of cars that they can pull.  On a flat layout, this may not matter.  But if you like hills and tunnels and grades, you may not be happy with this reduction.

Seuthe is one well known manufacturer of smoke units.  Bachmann also manufactures smoke units.  Whoever makes them, you will usually find that you have to run the locomotive at close to full speed to get the smoke unit working on dc.  Running on DCC creates the opposite problem - the smoke unit will still be working at full blast even when the locomotive is stopped.  But there are solutions.

With dc, you can keep the speed down but still use high enough track voltage to work the smoke unit by adding resistors or pairs of back-to-back diodes in series with the motors.  With DCC, you can reduce the voltage to the smoke units by installing voltage regulators as is done in large scale or by adding resistors or back-to-back diode pairs in series with the smoke generator.  A more elegant solution (suggested by Mark Gurries) is to run the smoke generator off the motor output of its own decoder.  By setting the smoke generator's decoder to the same address as the motor's decoder, you can then use its speed table to control smoke output at different throttle settings.

I hope you don't mind, but after you have your smoke generators all set up and working, please do not invite me over to see it.  I like to see the smoke but am one of those who have problems breathing it.

Jim

[darryl1936]

Many many folks have indoor layouts and don't wish to stink up the house. Then the mess on the tracks is not desirable. 
Say, small scale live steam might be of interest as you can get real nice plumes of smoke at times and of course you will need a layout outside due to the size.  TOF