I like the Bachmann Davenport suggestion but it is a small engine and short on space for your electronics. I think the better suggestion is the MACK. You can buy one for as little as $50 and there is lots of room under the frame for adding weights and you could rearrange the cab and motor covers to make something really unique.
A 8% grade is pretty tall. Is it all straight track? If so maybe you could build some type of cable system to haul the cars up?
It is not my railroad. We regularly operate Lgb moguls hauling about 5 cars up the grade, which gently curves. As stated earlier, I like the mack, but it has no room for my receiver. And while I do like kit bashing, I am trying to make the installation as simple as possible.
I have put a 14.8v battery and the Revolution in a MACK. It runs very well with a lot of pulling power. It will run for over 5 hours on a single charge of the battery. The only down side is you can see the battery and Revolution board through the windows.
Please see the third to last post.
Joe Loll, a 2 axle loco with unsprung axles will not track any better than the 44 tonner with the articulating trucks and lots of weight and batteries… it’s bigger than you requested, and probably a bit hard to find, but will definitely do the job for space and pulling power and you can outfit all wheels with traction tires from factory parts. Do not consider the Piko unit, way too small, no room for your electronics and weight… go over to G scale Central if you want to see more about it, they got theirs first and there’s pictures of it pulled apart…
Greg
Speaking of the new Piko 25tonner, I’m of the opinion that a lot of people don’t fully realize how tiny the GE 25tonners are in real life, for example, this coupled to a tank car;
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1680515
Greg, you are absolutely right. I misspoke when I said that full size diesels were more prone to derailing. It just depends on the situation. I am sure that a full size diesel would track just as well if not better than a four wheel one. What it really comes down to for me is ease of rerailing and taking on and off the track. When steam locos and full size diesels derail, which can happen often on this particular railroad, it becomes monotonous and frustrating to rerail them several times during the course of an operating session. A four wheel loco makes it easy and fun to rerail no matter how many times it derails. I believe that the Piko track cleaner is probably the best choice for a four wheel loco, and full r/c could be fitted if it were made into a boxcab, which I could do if I really wanted to modify something.
Since you are willing to modify the (in my opinion) too small Piko, why not a Mack which you already have and could test on that layout?
One review of the 25 toners said it could barely pull itself…
I own a HLW 4-4-0 and I suspect it has a 12v motor and you can use a smaller battery pack in the Mack… Joe’s 8 pack of 1.2v cells =12v minus voltage drop through the R/C backs that thought.
The Mack’s inboard wheels should make the transition curves ok.
Good Luck
Hmm. The Mack I have now is being kitbashed into a railtruck. So, I will have buy a loco regardless. John, where did you see the review of the Piko? I admit, a mack is probably the better choice. I wonder if there would be a way to make traction tires for it. I will choose the Mack over Piko. At the moment I am looking at getting the new Eggliner, only because it has room under the body to cram all of the r/c. If that doesn’t prove to be successful, I will go with a mack. Maybe I could get a mack, and get two cabs to make a larger cab that would fit the board. Or I could just make it a boxcab. I don’t want to modify an engine, but if the Eggliner does not work out, the mack it will be.
Hi Joe, It was on a thread here, I just remember that I wasn’t very impressed, other than it was a new product which always gives us hope.
Perhaps you could make the Mack into a reasonable Whitcomb 50 tonner. The rectangular hoods could be big enough …
Everyone, Joe is using a G3 because he has one. It’s bigger than the revolution.
Forrest Scott Wood said:
Speaking of the new Piko 25tonner, I’m of the opinion that a lot of people don’t fully realize how tiny the GE 25tonners are in real life, for example, this coupled to a tank car;
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1680515
Joe, the 44-tonner will run just fine. Recall that the NW-2 and center cab are very reliable on the tracks, and the 44-tonner has a shorter wheelbase on the trucks. It would definitely have no trouble on the 8%.
On the 44-tonner, you can put the batteries under the frame, leaving the hoods open for the electronics. I did an article years ago for GR (2002?) on installing R/C into the 44-tonner. Without having one in front of me, I don’t know for certain if the hoods are long enough to hold the G3, or if it might stick into the cab. I think I used RCS for the article.
Later,
K
Also, if you go that way, check my web site page for the part number for the 44 tonner axles with traction tires… with them on all 4 axles, you should really have good traction.
Greg
If I ever stumble across a 44 tonner, I will make sure to get it. Thank you Kevin. I have the article you speak of, so that would be a great resource. While I am planning to use a four wheel loco at the moment, I also hope to have something larger as well. My biggest gripe towards putting r/c in diesels or critters is not being able to remove the battery. I realize that most of you leave the batteries in the loco, and charge the batteries in the loco. I prefer taking them out to charge so that I can swap dead batteries for fresh ones (which could potentially happen while I am running), and also in the event that there was something wrong with the batteries. I wouldn’t have to “rip” the loco open to access them. I would hate for the batteries to run out while I was running a loco without removable batteries, as I would have to take the loco off and wait for it to charge.
Joe Loll said:
… I realize that most of you leave the batteries in the loco, and charge the batteries in the loco. I prefer taking them out to charge so that I can swap dead batteries for fresh ones…
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I’ve done batteries in fuel tanks, cabs, and hoods which are removable. The challenge–especially with removable hoods–is to remember NOT to pick the loco up by that hood. Doesn’t work so well…
Later,
K
Hi Guys,
Haven’t piped in for a while but saw this thread.
Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to the holidays.
I love the USAT 20 ton “Mighty Moe” as a small but capable switcher. Mine easily pulls 3 open hoppers full of rusty beer caps around our layout with a 3% grade at one point with no problem. I have installed a Rev 2 board, speaker and 3400mah battery inside with ease. It’s a great puller and can handle any radii or switch I have. It’s bullet proof IMO.
Battery I use is from WGRR if Guelph Ontario. (https://wgrr.ca/148-Volt-3400-mah-_p_364.html)
Charging port (2.1mm jack) is on the bottom
We call her "Sir-junk-a-lot"and is a favourite with everyone. They still pop up on ebay and I believe it’s the same truck as the NW2
(https://www.largescalecentral.com/albums/photo/view/album_id/12669/photo_id/113082)(https://www.largescalecentral.com/albums/photo/view/album_id/12669/photo_id/113082)(https://www.largescalecentral.com/public/album_photo/fc/50/02/24cae_f2f6.jpg?c=fb7a)
BTW, mine is fairly "bashed"and weathered as you can tell. Anyone guess as to the original livery?
Mike,
I’m guessing that used to be a conrail loco.
yup - you can just see the blue and white under a few coats of paint
