2-4-4 Forney questions

[Mark Oles]

Hi guys,

Anyone out there with a new Bachman 2-4-4?  I am contemplating getting one for running around my bar, see pic below:



And the boys were only there for the trains!! They are German, so I had to run my German train for them.

Back to the topic... 

I am thinking a 2-4-4 with sound, of course, and a couple of Dogfish Head Reefers, a low sided gon or two (for shot glasses) and a combine might be all the On30 I need (besides the Hershey Trolley I've already got!)  I'm not worried about trying to run two On30 trains at once since the inner loop is dedicated live steam (Hornby Mallard). Track spacing is about 1.5" center to center.

So, my question about the new 2-4-4 is how well does it track? Is it picky about vertical changes? Would it be able to handle 4-7 cars, possibly hauling a few glasses with 1.5 oz of Tequilla, Vodka, or possibly some low grade whiskey?

Thanks,

Mark

[amdaylight]

My three Forney’s track quite well but they are a little sensitive to vertical changes in the track due to the length from the drivers to the rear coupler. Your track spacing center to center is too tight, should be about 2.5 to 3"" due to the over hang of the On30 equipment On30 rolling stock is about 1.5 to 1.75" wide, so from the center line to the outside of the rolling stock is between .75 to 1" wide only leaving you with a .5" from the other tracks center line. I hope this is of some help.

Andre

[wade]

Mark,
I believe the forney will pull the load just fine. Just be sure your curves are no tighter than 22 degrees or the car behind the engine will likely be pulled off the rail due to the wide swing of the tender.
Wade

[Mark Oles]

Thanks guys!

The trackwork is OK, not great.  There's a bit of an issue with the way the curve meets the straight.  Its easy enough to fix it, I just haven't yet.

As for the curves, the inner was set at 31.5" ; the outer at 33".   Well, I guess that means I'll just have to stop the outer train on the straight if I am running the Mallard.  I haven't had a problem when running the trolley, but it doesn't have much overhang anyway. 

I sure do like the look of that Forney. 

Thanks again for your comments!

Mark

[Mark Oles]

Ok,

Another question for you guys with the sound equipped versions.  I watched a few Youtube videos last night, and noticed  that the speed of the locomotive does not seem to match up well with the sound of the exhaust.  Several times, it seemed like the loco was moving, but the chuff would indicate that it was going a lot slower.  Then, the loco would slow down and stop, but the chuff rate would stay the same, then sort of catch up.  Is that how all of yours operate or is that straight DC vs DCC issues.  Is the sound activated by reed switches or by track voltage?

Thanks,

Mark

[scottychaos]

Ok,

Another question for you guys with the sound equipped versions.  I watched a few Youtube videos last night, and noticed  that the speed of the locomotive does not seem to match up well with the sound of the exhaust.  Several times, it seemed like the loco was moving, but the chuff would indicate that it was going a lot slower.  Then, the loco would slow down and stop, but the chuff rate would stay the same, then sort of catch up.  Is that how all of yours operate or is that straight DC vs DCC issues.  Is the sound activated by reed switches or by track voltage?

Thanks,

Mark

the sound on my forney seems to be very well matched to the speed.
the sound slows down and stops with the loco..chuff stops when the loco stops..then chuff starts slowly as the loco starts slowly.

im running mine on DCC..never tried it with DC.

its also possible that you-tube videos have bad synch with video to sound..might not actually represent reality.

but from the one forney I have seen in person (my own)
the sound syncs great with the movement..no complaints at all.

Scot

[Mark Oles]

Scot,

Thanks!  Now I know what locomotive to get!  The one video I saw seemed to show the Forney going around what looked like 18" radius curves.  The coupler on the tender was hovering right over the outside rail.  Now I am glad that I laid the curves I did!

Mark

[max (uk)]

Could i firstly ask which video did you see on youtube?

I run my sound Forney on DC the sinc on the sound is fine But it seems that its somthing to do with the controler.

When i first go it i ran it with a Flishmann controler with a train set and the sound was brill. Now i am runnig it on my new layout with a gaugemaster controler and the chuff starts before the loco starts moving 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdDuuSYimHI is were you can see my layout so far with my sound forney. You cant tell the problem because once the locos moving theres no problem.

Hope this Helps

[Tomcat]

Mark,

no problem, you can even adjust the Chuff rate on the Tsunamis and I bet one can do this on the Bachmann-Sound equipped too. The Forney sounds great, has (just for an example) a nice brake-squealing etc.

They need wide curves and should operate well on your tracks, no question. I´m sure you will be happy with a Forney, both types are really beauties and have a definite "Must Have" appeal.

Over here in Germany, I´m running a Logging Layout in our Guest Room, plus a O/On30 Layout DRGW/RGS Style, but since I got hooked by the Maine Style Rolling Stock that much, maybe there will be another Coastal Design Layout additionally...

Keep em rolling.
Take care, Tom

[C.P.R.R. Manager]

I've noticed that the chuff rate for my Forney is too low, on both DC and DCC.  There should be 4 chuffs per revolution, but the Forney is about 1/3 that rate, out of the box.  All of this can be adjusted, and I need to take the time to reprogram that setting.  But the sound quality is great.

Also, in terms of radius, I find 22 inches radius to be pretty minimal for the Forney.  26 inches is better.  18 inch radius barely works.  I've thought about buying a short tender from Wiseman Model Works.  Some folks have chopped off the back end of the Forney, and replaced it with the Wiseman tender, which allows it to take tight curves much better, and gives it a real small, funky look.  But I've got too much on my workbench already.