Large Scale Central

New Guy with coupler question

General Discussion
#21

Roger,

On the subject of couplers. I too have standardized on the B’mann couplers simply for cost. I do have some issues with them staying coupled, but I find if I compress the two couplers together and put pressure down on the lift bar they stay coupled much better. B’mann and Aristo do not play nice together (as much as some say they do). I have replaces all my Aristo couplers with B’mann.

I too will be ordering an R & K drive for my K. As Mark has stated above, opinions vary on the K’s performance. Mathematically, the K as geared by Bachmann, is too high. Prototypically she should only run about 30 miles an hour. The 464 (in Flint Michigan) has a placard on the backhead stating not to exceed that. The speed difference on flat vs inclined track does occur. I personally don’t find it offensive since if the engineer on the prototype set the throttle and sat back with a cold drink, the prototype would do exactly as the model does - drag down on the up and run on the down.

Bob C.

#22

As an addendum to what I wrote earlier, while I have standardized on Kadee G scale, I have also successfully experimented with using USA, Bachmann and Aristo couplers body mounted at the Kadee height. Granted, they won’t “nudge” together, but that is a small price to pay.

Once together, they seem to stay together nicely, and uncouple on command.

If I had an indoor layout, I might be interested in the lift bar system that Accucraft uses, but outdoors, that just seems like an invitation to frustration.

As usual, you mileage ma vary…

#23

There’s a lot of “discussion” about the gearing on the B’mann K; what was “prototypical,” what was a “maximum” speed, what was their “typical” operating speed, etc. Quite frankly, it doesn’t matter. The loco runs (stock) at the speed it runs, given a certain voltage. If you’re running track power, you’re typically going to have a higher voltage than you’d have if you’re running battery power. My suggestion–buy the loco and run it. It’s a darned good running loco straight out of the box. I’ve got 2% grades on my railroad, and never noticed it speeding up or slowing down any more than any of my other locos. When switching, it’s very controllable. If it runs well enough for you, you’re all set. If you’d like to see smoother operation, then you can get the gearhead replacement drive mentioned above for it. It does improve the slow-speed operation even more, and also smooths out the operation on steep grades for those who are of the “set it and forget it” crowd when it comes to throttles. The trade-off is that the gearhead drive is a bit noisier. You do hear gear whine as the loco rolls past. Whether you find that objectionable is going to be subjective. With a sound system, it blends in fairly well.

If you’re a subscriber to Garden Railways, you can go to their “Product Videos” section and see a video I shot of my K-27 with the gearhead drive installed:

http://grw.trains.com/en/Product%20and%20Hobby%20News/Product%20Videos/2011/10/Re%20gear%20kit%20for%20Bachmanns%20K27%20video.aspx

Later,

K

#24

That was a good post, Kevin, thanks for the info… 'Course, I guess that replacement mech. motor whine you mention could pass for the generator noise as well, maybe… That’s what I’d say to myself, anyway! :cool:

#25

Not to be the Kevin Strong cheerleader, but I second (again!!) that he says about the K. I have a K also, I run it stock and have no problems. I have an unusally steep grade of 4.5% and I have no problems. Granted I dont pull long trains.

#26
Jake Smith said:
Not to be the Kevin Strong cheerleader
What color pom poms ? :)
#27

Green and Gold! Go Colorado State Rams!!!

Later,

K

#28

I hope my comments were not interpreted as a detraction of the K’s performance. In threads past I have strongly defended the K’s ‘out of the box’ performance, including the ‘drag up and fly down’ on grades. Personally I don’t mind the throttle ‘fiddling’ to keep things on target, but others do. My main reason for the ‘upgrade’ is both slow speed performance, and the ability to possibly allow ‘visitors’ at shows and open houses to operate the train. Cutting ‘warp speed’ down to size goes a long way toward that goal. Combine that with a quantum leap to install a new PB11 sound card, Airwire R/C and battery power, the addition of the gear box makes for a one time ‘rip into it’ event.

Bob C.

#29

One other consideration–if you’re using Airwire or QSI (or certain flavors of DCC throttle), then you have the option of engaging the “cruise control” function on those throttles. That feature uses motor feedback to maintain a constant speed, and will do that with a great deal of stability regardless of gearing and grade. Just another option, either independent of upgrading the gears or in conjunction with it, for those who are operating in that environment.

Later,

K

#30
Bob Cope said:
...My main reason for the 'upgrade' is both slow speed performance, and the ability to possibly allow 'visitors' at shows and open houses to operate the train. Cutting 'warp speed' down to size goes a long way toward that goal...
Not a plug for Aristo's new 2.4 Ghz Revo system but that is one of the things I like about it too; the ability to set the start and endpoint on a throttle curve. I can let kids play with the engine without worry of derailment or broken gears as they "slam it" into reverse or fly it off the rails.