Just curious.
I’ve been enjoying vids of live steam and wonder why they have to go so fast.
You can’t revel in the detail of the loco or rolling stock. It goes by in a blur. 
Even some shays.
There was a Berkshire posted by SVRR on You-tube, and I couldn’t even see it.
Can you make these things go slow, or is warp 5 the norm?
Just curious…
TOG
JB
I have seen some LiveSteam run really slowly, but they seem to be the exceptions.
To me when things run that fast it is always an indication that the mechanical “stuff” isn’t finely tuned. Crank up the speed and it will fly instead of jerk.
Kind of like with the electric stuff!
BTW if those video enthusiasts would read a few tips on how to shoot video, perhaps the results wouldn’t be that extreme.
I have wondered why myself also . Why so fast ?
In my limited experience , the two , 2 cyl Accucraft shays that I had , would operate really , really very slowly , I wish that I had video taped them .
The Roundhouse Forney was a slow operating rod loco , and was so nice that it could be used as a switcher , a really nice loco .
And the 3 Cheddar locos , had to be carefully , so lightly fired , and with only about 10 pounds pressure , then they would trundle along , and operate so very nicely , BUT , at full pressure , the fastest things that I ever saw . The self regulator gas valve that Cheddar later made , was a real help making slow speed operation routine .
They can be operated very slowly , I enjoyed them operating slowly myself .
Sort of like a train show , and all the Lionels are ran so very fast on the display layouts ?
Dennis,
You said - “They can be operated very slowly , I enjoyed them operating slowly myself .
Sort of like a train show , and all the Lionels are ran so very fast on the display layouts ?”
I think the “Lionel Syndrome” could very well be the answer. Lots of the live steamers, like to make them go fast and usually just in circles.
Your old shay still runs slow and a lot of switching is tried with it.
Dennis,
Your reply sounds past-tense.
No more Live steam on your layout?
BTW, I finally found a shay on you-tube operating at “scale speed.”
jb
The sedate and prototypical speed of modelengines : A topic with lots of discussion power ! I have to admit that I like my geared locos for running at a sedate speed as I have very tight curves on my temporary track and letting my locos “fly” will cause they are thrown off the rail by gravity! That´s the reason why I nearly get furios about the question of mostly young Non live steamers /Locomotive owners at shows : How fast will that loco go?" The question might be: “How slow must an engine go to avoid beeing thrown off the rails by gravity?” That´s a point we shall speak about at modelengineering shows!
cheers Joe
Ditto what Dennis said. I have seen Accu Shays run at a nice slow speed but without the gearing physics is physics and rod engines need to run at a minimum speed to keep it going no matter 1:1 or smaller scale.
-Brian
@ Brian
That is a point where a serious discussion can begin : The next question would be HOW slow is slow than?
cheers Joe
I hafta say that I like to see my couple of G1 pacifics moving as sedately as possible - prolly around a scale 40-50mph where the rods are not a blur. My Garratt moves at around 15smph, and my Shays at 8-10. The new ‘Countess’ beebles around at about 18-20 smph, just like the real thing.
Sure there are folks who like to see how fast the things can go, but the only high-speed train I’d be happy with is the Zephyr…
tac
When you all, like me, want to watch a train moving along the track, hury it up is an absolutely no-go! But how to slow down the vintage gauge 1 locos I own (see my thread “Who is willing to help me upload Pictures from Photobucket”) as they have no regulator and I want to keep them as original as possible ! the only way is to hang heavy rolling stock behind them. I know repiping the steamline and fit a regulator in between would be a technical solution but what will happen to their originality? This year the old girls have their 90th birthday ! cheers Joe
Here is a video of my Schools Class Loco which can run fast, but as you can see, can also run slowly on start up, and when coming to a stop.
Hi,Tom,
your loco is fast but not too fast in my opinion ! A mainline loco in passenger service has to go a bit faster than a freight hauler! Exellently shown in your video ! The black freight loco with the brown roof was chugging along as freight locos are used too and the express passenger service has to hurry up a bit but not too much! You gave us a fine example of it !
cheers Joe
John Bouck said:
Just curious. I've been enjoying vids of live steam and wonder why they have to go so fast. You can't revel in the detail of the loco or rolling stock. It goes by in a blur. :) :) Even some shays. There was a Berkshire posted by SVRR on You-tube, and I couldn't even see it.Can you make these things go slow, or is warp 5 the norm?
Just curious…
TOG
The old saying, time is money was true on the railroad. Along with competition the companies needed to meet schedule.
Practically speaking watch the startup on a few video, the answer to the question posed is: YES
Here is slow and up the grade:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv0aZvNla70
Here is fast freight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1_gusQ0GeU
Another example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mg7m9uMTAc
This should lay to rest the perception that running fast is a “cover up” for mechanical or timing issues…
Sorry, but when we “play” with our trains most of the people will see and show what they´ve got as the prices of live steam models ar too high than not to show them to others in operation! I like to see and enjoy what fellow live steam owners bring to a steam up and want to see it oprating and not only fly by!
cheers Joe
When ever did a streamlined passenger express loco like the GS4 run as freight engine ???
cheers Joe
Johannes Buring said:
When ever did a streamlined passenger express loco like the GS4 run as freight engine ??????cheers Joe
Seems you missed the point of prototypical running from freight to passenger as we represent when we “play with our trains!”
That was new to me but an interesting fact as in Germany they had special freight and special passenger locos and did only mix up with it at the end of the steam era here in the 1970ies ! I learn something new every day and if i could learn something new about railroading it´s even better !
cheers Joe