there is a show on PBS here about toy( Lionel) trains and like Wendell said they almost always run at warp Factor 9, never on the show do they show any switching or operational aspect, although the Lionel my dad had , had the magnetic uncouplerand we had one switch to make a siding with. On this show they show some really nice layouts, HUGE collections and maybe there is no speed control, you just plup it into the wall and watch them fly around. I see the same thing at some open houses, a freight train inG scale 100mph around a layout,
Devon Sinsley said:
I think his curves are much too tight, not realistic at all (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
Ah, ok Devon, “The But Modeler”. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Oh, and how tight are the curves on your railroad? (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)
Oh yea, that’s right, you don’t have one. So you haven’t had to compromise on curves that will fit, instead of the curves you really wanted. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
Pete Lassen said:
there is a show on PBS here about toy( Lionel) trains and like Wendell said they almost always run at warp Factor 9, never on the show do they show any switching or operational aspect, although the Lionel my dad had , had the magnetic uncouplerand we had one switch to make a siding with. On this show they show some really nice layouts, HUGE collections and maybe there is no speed control, you just plup it into the wall and watch them fly around. I see the same thing at some open houses, a freight train inG scale 100mph around a layout,
Pete, yes, we had some of that going on, on the HO set up, until Dave Bodner made and set up a scale speedometer. I thought I was running my HO train at scale speed, and I was, but at a faster scale speed then I thought I was. I was going a bit over 50 SMPH when I was shooting for more like 35 SMPH. And kids often ask me if the train can go any faster. I tell them it can, but it won’t. Then the kid shoots me a look, like I upset them, and they (usually) walk away.
Wendell, I hear what you’re saying and I think there’s something about the toy-like nature of Lionel, especially the three-rail stuff, that inspires speed. I doubt it’s built in by the manufacturer though. It’s toy-like speed for toy trains.
I’m no get-off-my-lawn John Allen, but I’m with you on high speeds. They drive me crazy to see (and stress out my trackwork).
However, TIGHT curves and BREAKNECK speeds can be seen all over the place in g-scale. "How fast can it go is what ever non-modeller who drops by wants to know, especially those under, say, eighteen. It’s disappointing to see some otherwise well-crafted layout running too fast.
I solved this problem on my layout by having Kevin, when he converted my locomotives to onboard power, set the maximum allowable speed for any given locomotive right in the controller. That way I don’t have to be the bad guy limiting everybody’s racing fun. And when they as why this train goes 79 mph and that one 100 mph, I tell 'em: “Those aren’t really speeds on the controller; they’re actually speeds expressed as a percentage of available power.” That really confuses them. It may even be true.
Now, having said that, if you really want to see some non-scale, absurd, warp speed (and I don’t see how this could possibly be any fun at all for these guys) check out the slot car racers. Bear in mind the video shows actually speeds in actually time.
David Maynard said:
Devon Sinsley said:
I think his curves are much too tight, not realistic at all (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
Ah, ok Devon, “The But Modeler”. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Oh, and how tight are the curves on your railroad? (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)
Oh yea, that’s right, you don’t have one. So you haven’t had to compromise on curves that will fit, instead of the curves you really wanted. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
The curves on my current railroad are 48"diameter I believe. I do have a portable RR remember the Bachmann loop. I have run trains on track at my house so poo on you.
Yup, 4 foot diameter. And I have been pooed on before.
David Maynard said:
Yup, 4 foot diameter. And I have been pooed on before.
Oookay that’s an aspect of your private life I really didn’t need to know.
All I have is R1s all I’ll ever have given my space constraints.
Vic, I know. But when you are raising small animals, it happens.
When I participated in a Holiday Train Show, I would try to see how SLOW the engines could run. I can get my diesels to barely creep. The Lionel guys had them going FAST. Their excuse was that if they left them at slow speed, they would stall.
Too slow and they would stall, ok. But that still doesn’t mean that they have to run at sonic speeds.
Great job guys, you really know how to draw attention to us! You know Lionel has spies everywhere and they are always monitoring social media. I am sure we will soon here the black helicopters heralding the arrival of Lionel’s Death squads. They will come for BD first as the site owner. probably to late for him already. They got him in the white room by now. You should all prepare to defend yourselves as best you can. I for one am putting on my aluminum hat. The one made from heavy duty cooking foil and lined with bubble-wrap.
Wendell, John is that enough paranoid conspiracy theory for you? I can ratchet it up a couple more notches but I will need some untraceable human remains and permission from MUFON.
Boomer we believe you, you New Mexico people have been hiding UFOs and Aliens for a long time, I bet the Black helicopters are all from Roswell too! But since I have seen them on 70 at White Sands and in 347, the UFO highway near Area 51 they know I can keep a secret and not tellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Devon Sinsley said: -snip-
so poo on you.
Oh how I long for the good ol’ days when a simple pox would do …
Simple pox? I thought modern medicine had eradicated Simple pox. It was either Simple pox, or Small pox, I forget. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Boomer K. Founder I.A.R.R.R. said:
I for one am putting on my aluminum hat. The one made from heavy duty cooking foil and lined with bubble-wrap.
I prefer the ones made from Armadillo hide.
I’m with Boomer…
Put on a Happy Hat!
I grew up with Lionel trains, still have them, and I do not run them at super sonic speeds. Even as a child I ran them at resonable speeds. If I didn’t my grandfather, who was the caretaker of the very first Lionel’s I was exposed to and ran, would correct me for operating to fast. This carried over to my own Lionel trains at home and once I proved I could properly care for them, I was allowed to take my father’s vintage set home from my grandparent’s. house. Maybe some of that is due to my Asperger’s Syndrome, there is no calm and order to massive train derailment, and my trains were my calming tool both then and now. In my teens I got exposed to the LGB bug by my aunt and uncle with a starter set. My LGB has all tight radius curves, necessary by my small garden that I run them in, and very small living room overhead loop. So I am and always will be a member of the “roundy round” club, and proud of it. Watching that train, be it my Lionels, or my LGB/Kalamazoo large scale just travel round and around is very soothing and calming to me. What always drove me nuts was the loudness to running Lionel. The quiet operation of my G scale is so much more enjoyable. I have gone back to plastic wheels and no sound to keep noise to a bare minimum. I hear the sounds in my imagination! Now, back to watching a train go round and round the loop! Mike
Yall are just plain ““Loopy””… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Andy, oh yea we is. I spent over an hour watching a local freight go from one reverse loop, to the other, and back, and forth, and back, and forth, and…
Gee, I feel a bit…dizzy now.
Edit to add picture, because it didn’t happen without pictures.
I like that picture Maynard!!!