Large Scale Central

Working MU Connection

Modeling Motive Power
#21

Here’s my idea Devon that I have thought of.

  1. Use a small standard computer plug (3 or 4 pin) and mount the male end into the end plate of the locomotives

  2. Take the female ends and wire them to the brass glad hands ( soldered together). Female pin ->glad hands> female ends.

  3. Make a set of dummy plugs

Female plus to glad hands.

When you want to run two units together, you plug the computer pins in to the male connections. Loos right with glad hands, etc. When you need to disconnect the two locomotives, you still can.

Here’s the problem… The glad hands for the MU lines are about O scale. You need 2 o scale sized glad hands, 1 1/32 sized glad hand for the Main Res. Line and then 1 1/29 glad hand for the brake pipe. Plus the MU electrical hose.

#22

The route I went with my MU stand Devon (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

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#23

First David that is about the most clever I have seen. i really like that.

BUT!!! I have scrapped this plan. After an email to Revo because I had a concern with the power draw burning up the board I was told a single ESC will not run two locomotives. Now he did not say that the reason was to much power draw or he misunderstood what I wanted to do and thought I was nuts (or did understand what I wanted to do and still thought I was nuts). But the more I pondered the complexity of what I was trying to do and why I was trying to do it, which was really no more than saving a few bucks on the receiver and ESC and having one loco hold batteries and the other hold the electronic I have decided that I am just going to use REVOs ability to MU locos on the handset and put receivers in each loco. I always had this nagging thought that I would regret not being able to run them individually and so All of this combined has made me decide to just make them independent locos.

But I do appreciate the ideas and advice. That’s why I love this place is the collective think tank and the way we all entertain each others crazy whims.

And remember the rule I before E except when you can’t spell and are trying to type the word “receiver”.

#24

Devon, i fear that the brass glad hands may touch eachother…hose one to hose two and create a short cucuit…and be very fiddly to hook up each time you set up the locos. Wire cable connectors will work fine if they are easy to make up and will safely disconnect in a wreck.

I am a steam guy and you would think i would be about exact realism in all things, but keeping things simple and clean is very important if you want to have fun with the model.

I guess if it (they) were mine i would try to power and control each locomotive independently with your prefered battery and control systems in each locomotive. Wire them so operation is opposite in each…one goes forward when instructed to go ahead, the other backwards. Bind them both to the same transmitter. Couple them together and run.

Oops, i didnt read your last post untill after typing all this…but i think we think alike. Have fun and keep us aprised of hour progress!

#25

Eric Schade said:

Devon, i fear that the brass glad hands may touch eachother…hose one to hose two and create a short cucuit…and be very fiddly to hook up each time you set up the locos. Wire cable connectors will work fine if they are easy to make up and will safely disconnect in a wreck.

I am a steam guy and you would think i would be about exact realism in all things, but keeping things simple and clean is very important if you want to have fun with the model.

I guess if it (they) were mine i would try to power and control each locomotive independently with your prefered battery and control systems in each locomotive. Wire them so operation is opposite in each…one goes forward when instructed to go ahead, the other backwards. Bind them both to the same transmitter. Couple them together and run.

Oops, i didnt read your last post untill after typing all this…but i think we think alike. Have fun and keep us aprised of hour progress!

Yeah, after all of the discussion I really had to ask myself why am I trying to do this. At the end of the day for really no other reason than to save $150 bucks on a second ESC. Since I am making the switch, at least in part to Revo, there is simply no reason to do it since Revo allows multiple engines to be run MUed together at the handset. So I am done with this I have enough else going on. Back to reality. From what i understand of the way the Revo MUing works the handset takes care of knowing which loco is facing which direction. So when running long hood to long hood it will treat one as going forward and the other in reverse and then vis versa when you switch direction for the pair and it is all seamless. you set it up and then just run forward and backward and its handled. Like I said I was trying to way over complicate something for really no reason other than to say I did it. And for all of the reasons you mention I would end up regretting it. Better to not reinvent the wheel. And then at the end of the day each loco can be used independently.

#26

Oh come on, you need to at least try to engineer it for several months, destroy a receiver it something, you just cant give up so quickly and move on!!!

#27

In case this thread on “MU’ing” is open to a bit of realism, and prototype practices…

Steam engines were not MU’d…both locomotives required an engineer, and a fireman. This leaves the door wide open for REALISTIC railroad operations, where a double headed model train, would require an operator for each locomotive, and a conductor for the train. This allows more interested people being involved in an operation on an OPERATING Model Railroad.

When it comes to Diesel Electric locomotives, where MU’ing of up to 6 locomotives is quite the norm these days, with the locomotives spread throughout the train. On a modern type of OPERATING model railroad, the train only requires two people, the engineer, and a conductor.

The idea I’m trying to help promote, is to INVOLVE more interested people in the hobby…some who would really enjoy being involved, but without the funds need to purchase their own equipment, or the space for a pike of their own. So many would be great assets to a group, with their willingness to share their talents, and find how they can be involved.

Fred Mills

#28

DELETED

#29

Devon,

I’m glad you have finally come to see the folly of this latest endeavor of yours and now see the easy way to do this already exists! (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

#31

Jon I was looking up some info on the glad hands Geoff Ringle made years ago and this old thread popped up. Do you still have some of those and would you have any interest in selling if so? I bought some rolling stock recently that had these on them and I like the look so trying to round up a few more.

#32

I’m sure I have some, but not wanting to part with them, sorry :frowning:

#33

Devon, if you were willing, I have been using RailPro with great success, you could put a module in each locomotive to run them without frying a board, then just run a battery wires from one loco to the other, disguised as your MU cables. splitting the battery wires into 2 common and 2 hot wires on opposite sides should give you sufficent wire size without getting reall bulky and by running 2 or 3 wires on each the wires will have more than enough current capability to carry the power. Plus the RailPro sound is really great. And MU’ ing them is a simple process and very fast to do on the controller. I have not tried it but I think they will stay linked even if they are shut off for days… I think

#34

The new RC system I am going to go with already addresses my issue. But only if I even decide to go this route. Since I am a steam guy and likely will never run more than one steam loco at a time that’s not much of an issue. And since the only diesels I intend to own and operate together are the two STMA GP9s which are always run in tandem on the 1:1, and a SW1200. I may go back to my original plan and make one a battery car and the other an operating locomotive. This is likely what I am going to do. I don’t see myself EVER doing any sort of operation with these particular locomotives. Its one off train to go roundy round with.

If I want to do ops I’ll use a steamer or if I really feel the need to do it with a diesel I will do it witht he SW1200.