The North Carolina State Arboretum is constructing an outdoor railroad exhibit generally modeling railroading in western North Carolina around the turn of the century. This is about the time the Biltmore Mansion was built in Asheville, NC. The locomotives will be battery powered. When the RR is operational, it will be operated by a mix of volunteers, some with model RR experience and others with no model RR experience. Will you share your thoughts about the best, in your opinion, or at least good, battery power solutions. The goals for the systems include long running times, ease of recharging or battery swapping, ease of use, ease of installation and long-term maintenance. and best/good battery locations that facilitate these goals. Any and all comments are appreciated.
Bill:
I am an extremely satisfied user of the http://www.gscalegraphics.net/store/c6/RailBoss_4.html.
My trains, all Bachmann 1:20.3, are indoors. Ease of operation and simplicity were my main goals. This system has proven to be everything that I wanted. Though I have not needed much support, Del (the owner) has provided timely and accurate responses.
The only potential downside for this system is that it is proprietary and tied to a single manufacturer. DCC was the only other option that I considered, but its cost and complexity is more than I am willing to “endure”.
Hope this helps in your decision process.
Bill,
It sounds like you will be using steam locomotives. I’ve gone through lots of options with batteries and have now settled on Lithium Ion loosely mounted in the tender.
I started with “permanently” mounted batteries, but have since switched to removable batteries.
The key is to make sure that you use a common connector that is easily obtainable and always use the same polarity.
My batteries slide into the tender so I can easily switch the battery for one that is fully charged. It’s all covered by an easily removable coal load.
Obviously you need to leave room for the battery to fit into the tender. Things like the receiver and speaker can easily get in the way.
Battery life will depend on the locomotive as well as what you are pulling. I really don’t know how long my batteries last as my ops sessions are typically less than 3 hours but I have never run out of power, even with a 2200 mAh pack.
The Litihium Ion batteries come in many different sizes as well as voltage. I’ve found that 14.8 V is more than adequate for my layout.
The other thing to consider is a smart charger; many types are available. The Lithium Ion batteries will hold their charge for a long time.
I agree in the li-ion packs, their compact size will allow you to put greater amp hour capacity in the locos, giving you the longest run time.
In a public display, the ability to swap out packs is critical, most volunteer organizations are just that, volunteers who may or may not be experts or have the same attention to detail as someone would for their own property.
So the backup for people forgetting to charge batteries, or improperly charged, etc. is the ability to swap out packs.
Also, I strongly recommend trying to use only one type of pack. By standardizing on that pack, all the packs can be the same, all the chargers the same, and most importantly the PROCEDURES to run and operate them are the same.
You might have to do a bit of “creative surgery” to make covers or lids that open easily to get the batteries out.
Another issue is weatherproofing. Be sure to consider what will happen if it starts to rain. I learned that speakers pointing up to the sky collect water nicely and destruct quickly.
Regards, Greg
Mark Hadler said:
Bill:
I am an extremely satisfied user of the http://www.gscalegraphics.net/store/c6/RailBoss_4.html.
My trains, all Bachmann 1:20.3, are indoors. Ease of operation and simplicity were my main goals. This system has proven to be everything that I wanted. Though I have not needed much support, Del (the owner) has provided timely and accurate responses.
The only potential downside for this system is that it is proprietary and tied to a single manufacturer. DCC was the only other option that I considered, but its cost and complexity is more than I am willing to “endure”.
Hope this helps in your decision process.
I am also a satisfied user of Del’s RailBoss system. One advantage of the RailBoss in your situation is it’s “cruise control”. You can set the throttle to thee desired speed, then turn off the transmitter. The locomotive will continue at the speed you set until the transmitter is turned back on and the speed changed. This saves transmitter batteries when running on a loop.
I’ll also vote for LiIon batteries; an appropriate charger and agree with Bruce to make them removable. I have two stand-alone battery r/c locos that have permanently installed batteries and I wish I either had a way to connect a trail car or a way to swap batteries because when LiIons get low, they shut off and loco stops. Del’s system can be programmed to give you some warning if you prefer.
The RailBoss I use requires a 2.4gHz radio system, but Del also has systems with very small and simple key-fob style controllers.
The information you all have provided is exactly what I needed. Thanks to everyone
Our club, the Northern Colorado Garden Railroaders, helped a local public garden display build a garden railroad in the kid’s section. I designed a custom control system based on the RailBoss 4 system I currently sell. Two trains run on two separate loops. Operation is all automated, and the kid’s interact with a huge push-button they can bang on.
While waiting for a new visitor, the trains are inside a train shed disguised as a mountain. The kid pushes the button, and the train leaves the mountain and starts circumnavigating the layout (only about 11’X15") making random station stops at the station. More button presses result in blowing the whistle (if running) or making the train leave the station (if stopped). When no more button presses are detected (the kid left, finally 
), the train returns to the cover of the train shed. Batteries (Lithium-Ion) last all day. The staff simply plugs in the charger at the end of the day. They also have a “staff transmitter” for manual operation in the event of a catastrophe.
They do have a staff member present during operation, but that has nothing to do with train operation. They (not us) chose to put up a plexi-glass wall around the layout (instead of a fence set back from the track). Both kid’s and adults climb or reach over the wall and get hands on the layout.
The layout has been in operation for one year now, with no control or battery issues. A volunteer club member helps them out with the minor problems: squeaking wheels, couplers, etc.