I was planning on buying Spectrum's Nor'Easter set, but had a few questions.
1. Is the engine included a good runner?
2. Do these cars have the lighted interior?
3. I did the math, and noticed buying an HHP-8 and 3 Amfleets all sperate not in a set was more money than the set. Shouldn't the set cost more because if track and power pack. I wanted to buy it from modeltrainstuff.com (this is where I'm getting the prices). The set is on sale for 179.99, but all of them separate is about 190. Still, then the track + power pack is only 10 dollars. Should I get the set for track, and a lower price (I won't use the power pack), or does buying all of them separate mean they'll run better?
Thanks,
Jake
3. Whether it is the set, or separate pieces, it's the same equipment. The sets are always less expensive than the separate pieces. Attract new hobbyists. It's good business, along with a few other reasons.
1. Engine runs well.
2. Cars are lighted.
What you didn't ask was how the passenger cars run. The trucks have a large amount of drag due to the inside bolster. The engine can barely pull the three cars due to drag. I have seen on another forum where modelers have added a second locomotive to pull a complete consist.
I have the same problem with my Amfleet cars. I need two locomotives to pull a 6-8 car passenger train.
Don't want to sound biased, but I feel spoiled due to the great running characteristics of the Acela Express Set.
Regards,
Jonathan
Jonathan,
I knew the cars were just absolute terrible rollers. The reason I didn't ask about those is because I figured you could take out the bolster (is that what makes the cars lighted?), and if you can't, please let me know.
So final question, is it worth the extra 10 bucks to buy them separate i.e. will they run better than those included in the set.
I have this set . the bolsters can be removed from the pass cars,but you wont have lights.all you need is a screwdriver and needle nose pliers. after you remove them the cars will roll smoothly. youll have to use a different electrical pickups on the wheels
Quote from: hobo1 on July 24, 2010, 09:12:29 PM
I have this set . the bolsters can be removed from the pass cars,but you wont have lights.all you need is a screwdriver and needle nose pliers. after you remove them the cars will roll smoothly. youll have to use a different electrical pickups on the wheels
I don't care about lights. Honestly, there's 2 things good about not having lights.
1. They will reduce drag (like you said)
2. The lights drain juice from a power pack, so with no lights means the train will go faster (most likely).
Thanks alot, hobo! Sounds like it's pretty easy to take off.
You are better off with the E60CP. I have the HHP and the E60 and the E60 for a standard line product is a heavy hauler. I honestly think it would take 2 HHPs to haul an 8-car set of Walthers Heritage Fleet cars, yet 1 E60 hauled that same consist on my imperfect track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXcMOtrh4_Y (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXcMOtrh4_Y)
Ken,
I was thinking about one of those, but I've wanted an HHP for a while now. I don't know why but I don't really find those engines very appealing for passenger pulling.
One more question. Would taking the electrical things for the lights out cause any sort of electrical shorts? Just curious.
Usually you create a short by adding something to the circuit or by something touching something it is not supposed to touch. Although anything is possible especially since bad things always happen to you when it comes to your trains; it is highly improbable.
Quote from: ABC on July 24, 2010, 11:50:44 PM
Usually you create a short by adding something to the circuit or by something touching something it is not supposed to touch. Although anything is possible especially since bad things always happen to you when it comes to your trains; it is highly improbable.
Haha. That's funny, but very true. Maybe i'm just careless, but I usually take good care of my trains. The ones I don't give as much care to are the really cheap ones.
Blink-
Two things: First, I don't understand why you asked about lights in your first post if you don't care about them
Second, ABC is only partially right. You can also cause a short if you remove something but aren't careful about any loose wires or live surfaces you leave. If they touch one another or another live part of the train you will have a short. This won't happen with these cars but it's good to keep this in mind for future reference.
-- D
Doneldon, I asked about lights so that I could know if I would face alot of drag with these cars. So since they do, I'm just going to take off the pickups so my power pack gets more juice and there's almost no drag.
Quote from: Doneldon on July 25, 2010, 12:14:29 AMYou can also cause a short if you remove something but aren't careful about any loose wires or live surfaces you leave. If they touch one another or another live part of the train you will have a short.
I stated:
Quote from: ABC on July 24, 2010, 11:50:44 PM
"something touching something it is not supposed to touch."
so I think that covers the loose wires or live surfaces...
Thanks guys.
So one last question. How well does the engine run? Is it noisy at all? And how easy would it be to take out the decoder. Just wondering because I run DC, and I've heard that running a DCC equipped engine on DC slows it down. Is this true?
Quote from: Blink_182_Fan on July 25, 2010, 11:18:58 AM
... And how easy would it be to take out the decoder. Just wondering because I run DC, and I've heard that running a DCC equipped engine on DC slows it down. Is this true?
Try it with your DC setup first. I've got quite a few Bachmann DCC locos that I run on DC and they operate just fine, smooth and quiet. As a matter of fact, I got a new GP7 a couple of days ago and ran it for the first time yesterday. Absolutely perfect!! :D Most of my locos show about 5 volts and negligible amps on the pack's meter. The new GP7 shows about 3 volts and neg amps, so it must be very efficient. I have two E60CP DCC locos and they also run perfectly on DC.
Robert
Quote from: pipefitter on July 25, 2010, 01:18:59 PMI have two E60CP DCC locos and they also run perfectly on DC.
Robert
I run DC and the E60 gives me no grief as the video I linked to shows.
Pipefitter,
I guess I don't have to worry about taking out a decoder, because the engine included in the set is just DCC ready. Another bonus. Not to mention there's still 5 left in stock on modeltrainstuff.com. It's on sale for 180 dollars, which means I'm saving 145 dollars off of list price. I hope I can order it soon.
I removed the lighting pickups from an extra coach I have. I bought IVB coaches to go with the V cafe and then found the V coaches. It seems to be moving ok and no sparks were sent up.
Quote from: Ken S. on July 25, 2010, 02:57:36 PM
I removed the lighting pickups from an extra coach I have. I bought IVB coaches to go with the V cafe and then found the V coaches. It seems to be moving ok and no sparks were sent up.
Cool. Removing the pickups will definitly reduce drag down to almost nothing, right? Upon watching videos on YouTube, I realized the lighting is kinda cheesy looking. It's uneven and you can easily tell where the lights are. Maybe putting the caps like on fluorescent lights in buildings below the lights if they are on the roof so they're covering the lights would make the light more evenly spread out. Just a suggestion.
Well, I just ordered my Nor'Easter from modeltrainstuff.com. You'll notice that both the set and the coach on separate sale went from 5 to 4. I bought an extra coach just so i would have another to make my train longer. The grand total: 210 dollars. Pretty good deal. I'm gonna make some videos once it arrives and put them on YouTube.
Sorry for triple posting but...
My set just arrived today, which is fast since it shipped on Friday. The weird thing is, is that after running the engine in both directions for about 10-15 minutes, it's even louder now than it was when I first ran it. Anyway, I took the plate off the bottom of an Amfleet, and I don't know what to take out, and how to. So, can anyone tell me how to? The only downside I see coming from taking out the lights is that I won't have the rear marker lights when running it in reverse.
I realize I'm quadruple posting but I got 2 videos up on YouTube of the Nor'Easter set.
Here's a video of running it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQBiQQ4vLG8
And a review of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtJ0yut5nmk&feature=fvw
So, I have two questions. Can anyone tell me how to take out the light pickups on the trucks? I took the cover off one and I don't know what and how to take it out. The second question is does anyone know if any company makes Acela scheme cab cars. It would be cool to have one but I don't think anyone makes any. I think Bachmann should look into that.
Quote from: Blink_182_Fan on August 07, 2010, 03:25:49 PM
I realize I'm quadruple posting but I got 2 videos up on YouTube of the Nor'Easter set.
Here's a video of running it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQBiQQ4vLG8
And a review of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtJ0yut5nmk&feature=fvw
So, I have two questions. Can anyone tell me how to take out the light pickups on the trucks? I took the cover off one and I don't know what and how to take it out. The second question is does anyone know if any company makes Acela scheme cab cars. It would be cool to have one but I don't think anyone makes any. I think Bachmann should look into that.
The first one you need a small slot screwdriver and a pair of needlenose pliers. You have to use the screwdriver to pry the metal pickup away from the plastic and use the pliers to yank it out.
As for the second one. The Metroliner Cab cars never wore the Acela Regional paint scheme.
Thanks for tips on the pickups. I'll try it tomorrow.
As for the cab cars, do Amtrak trains never use cab cars then? Or do they just use Metroliner ones? Just curious. Thanks again.
Quote from: Blink_182_Fan on August 07, 2010, 11:54:36 PM
Thanks for tips on the pickups. I'll try it tomorrow.
As for the cab cars, do Amtrak trains never use cab cars then? Or do they just use Metroliner ones? Just curious. Thanks again.
There's the Metroliner Cabs, the California Cabs, and the NPCUs.
The Metroliner Cabs run in the Northeast.
The California cabs run in California of course.
The NPCUs run on the Downeaster, Midwest services, and Cascades.