I now this is a stupid question but I have $300 from mowing the neighbors yard and shoveling snow from the winter and I was wondering which is stronger 4-6-0 or 2-8-0 or 2-10-0. These are all the Bachmann Spectrum line. Or the 4-8-4 southern pacific daylight in MTH HO
The Daylight painted GS4 was not meant for freight. Out of the 4-6-0, 2-8-0, and 2-10-0, the 2-8-0 is slightly more powerfult han the 2-10-0, with the 4-6-0 coming in third. How large is your layout, how many cars will you be running, and what grades will you be using?
my layout is 17ft by 20ft with 4 main lines and 2 branch lines. 3 main line tracks go up a 1% grade. The branch lines are both 2% grades. I wanted to pull up to 10 bachmann medal wheel cars. Thanks
The 4-6-0 may have a problem with 10 cars on a 2% grade, but the 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 should be fine.
thanks but what about the 1% grade?
If a locomotive can get up a 2% grade then it is common sense that it can make it up a 1%...
Quote from: Guilford Guy on June 06, 2009, 01:45:19 AM
If a locomotive can get up a 2% grade then it is common sense that it can make it up a 1%...
and pull a few more cars up it as well...
Also unless you run DCC or Mikes DCS systems, most of the reasons for buying the MTH are lost. Sure they are pretty, and run quiet well. There are better priced DC units for a Southern Pacific GS loco.
I have the dynanamis system, so I cant run DC
Quote from: James The Brave on June 06, 2009, 12:01:31 PM
I have the dynanamis system, so I cant run DC
You can on address 00.
I does NOT work on the dynamis >:( >:(
Quote from: Guilford Guy on June 06, 2009, 01:29:45 PM
Quote from: James The Brave on June 06, 2009, 12:01:31 PM
I have the dynanamis system, so I cant run DC
You can on address 00.
I thought that you were unable to run any DC engines on the new Dynanamis control unit, and that only the E-Z unit would run one DC engine on #10?
Quote from: Pacific Northern on June 06, 2009, 03:17:28 PM
Quote from: Guilford Guy on June 06, 2009, 01:29:45 PM
Quote from: James The Brave on June 06, 2009, 12:01:31 PM
I have the dynanamis system, so I cant run DC
You can on address 00.
I thought that you were unable to run any DC engines on the new Dynanamis control unit, and that only the E-Z unit would run one DC engine on #10?
That's odd, on Lenz, NCE, MRC, and Digitraxx you can run DC locos on address 00.
Seems odd, but it is true. This may well become more common as the price of decoders continues to drop. When DCC first came out, decoders cost several times as much as locomotives and we might run a locomotive for months before we could afford a decoder for it. Now that decoders are a fraction of the price of a locomotive, and locomotives are available with decoders pre-installed, it has become more a matter of whether we want the decoder rather than when can we afford it.
Jim
P.S. to James - not such a stupid question - at least one other person (me) was interested in the answer. A year or two back, we had a young fellow who wanted to know why Bachmann track wore out so quickly. It seems he had replaced all his track because it did not work any more. Turned out he never knew about cleaning it. Was he stupid? No, just uneducated about track cleaning. Was his question stupid? No, because he did not know the answer. If he had not asked about it, now THAT would have been stupid.
Jim
Hm, I'm wondering how much extra money and time they would've had to invested to be able to run DC units. Bachmann Standard makes DCC equipped GS4s. BTW, any pix of your layout?
Quote from: Guilford Guy on June 06, 2009, 03:43:19 PM
Quote from: Pacific Northern on June 06, 2009, 03:17:28 PM
Quote from: Guilford Guy on June 06, 2009, 01:29:45 PM
Quote from: James The Brave on June 06, 2009, 12:01:31 PM
I have the dynanamis system, so I cant run DC
You can on address 00.
I thought that you were unable to run any DC engines on the new Dynanamis control unit, and that only the E-Z unit would run one DC engine on #10?
That's odd, on Lenz, NCE, MRC, and Digitraxx you can run DC locos on address 00
I checked wihttp://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/ez_content/dynamis_manual.pdfth the on-line manual and the Dynamis DOES NOT allow a DC engine to be controled.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/ez_content/dynamis_manual.pdf
The same holds with MRC, only the original Prodigy allowed a DC engine to run on the layout. I will upgrade my DCC system soon and still want to be able to run a DC engine at times. I have a rather large roster of engines and have not added DCC to all of the engines.
Actually, the original MRC system, their Command 2000, also allowed you to run a dc locomotive.
All three Digitrax systems allow you to run a dc locomotive and all three systems can operate alone or with any other Digitrax system.
Jim
Quote from: Guilford Guy on June 06, 2009, 05:46:25 PM
Hm, I'm wondering how much extra money and time they would've had to invested to be able to run DC units. Bachmann Standard makes DCC equipped GS4s. BTW, any pix of your layout?
I wanted to get the sound and smoke part of the engine.
P.S. I will take pictures in the morning. Good Night :)
Pacific Northern said:
The same holds with MRC, only the original Prodigy allowed a DC engine to run on the layout. I will upgrade my DCC system soon and still want to be able to run a DC engine at times. I have a rather large roster of engines and have not added DCC to all of the engines."
I also have a lot of DC locomotives, too many to be converted to DCC (and some not good candidates). I hope to have room to have a DC track or two located somewhere along side or inside the DCC layout. I'm still trying to get the bottom layer of 1 inch foam cut before I glue it down. I have lots of time to think about what I'd like to add after I get done with the first 4x8.
Rick
it is simple to use a dpdt switch to allow you the option of running either dc or dcc.
Quote from: Jim Banner on June 06, 2009, 10:56:06 PM
Actually, the original MRC system, their Command 2000, also allowed you to run a dc locomotive.
All three Digitrax systems allow you to run a dc locomotive and all three systems can operate alone or with any other Digitrax system.
Jim
Jim, thanks for the information.
I want to upgrade, I should say need to upgrade from my E-Z DCC unit. I have reached the point where I need to add a booster to my E-Z unit in order to run more engines, but besides more power I want to be able to read and right CV's and I still want to be able to run DC engines, should I want to. So, Digitrax is the way I willl go. Now to hunt for the cheapest prices..
Pacific Northern
I believe Litchfield Station Has the best price and free shipping.
http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/product.php?productid=2450095&cat=23&page=1
Tim Anders
Souderton, PA
Northern Pacific, I see you want to read CVs as well as write them. The Digitrax Zephyr and the Digitrax Super Chief will do both. Their Super Empire Builder will write CVs but not read them. Write only is just fine as long as things go right but if anything goes wrong, being able to read CVs is a valuable diagnostic tool.
Jim