Subject: rec.models.railroad FAQ OPERATIONS
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 07:00:03 GMT

Date: 08 Jan 96 14:00:00 GMT
Subject: FAQ OPERATIONS, 01/10: Introduction

The FAQ consists of six parts, normally posted one day apart,
every month.

The rec.models.scale FAQ is also available through WWW on:
http://www.kuai.se/%7Egriffon/railways/modeljvg/


GENERAL
SOURCES
OPERATIONS
LAYOUT BUILDING, 2 parts
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

Every separate article has it's own date stamp which reflects 
when that text was last updated, but I'm also planning to post 
major changes to the FAQ separately.


All contributions and corrections are welcome and should be emailed
to Urban_Fredriksson@icl.se
Since I did write very little of the text, I'm probably not
the person to ask more detailed questions.

This file contains the following parts:

Introduction                 
Command control              
Cleaning track               
Card order operation         
Tab-on-car operation         
Fast clocks                  
Engines, break in and tuning 
Double heading               
Couplers, Kadee              
Couplers, screw-type         

All contributions and corrections are welcome and should be emailed to 
Urban_Fredriksson@icl.se

------------------------------

Date: 16 May 95 01:00:00 GMT
Subject: FAQ OPERATIONS, 02/10: Command control
        
What is Command Control?

Using modern electronics, it is possible to use the rails of
a model railroad to carry both power AND information at the 
same time. Using modern digital technology (Ones and Zeroes,
as in computers) a LOT of information can be sent over the
rails in a short period of time. Again using digital
technology, small units to pick out (recieve) and act upon 
particular messages can be made affordably. 

All together, systems which send power and messages over the
rails to recievers in locomotives or other trackside locations
are known as carrier control or command control systems.

Various individuals and companies have experimented with these
ideas to produce and/or sell command control systems for model
trains. However, none of the early developments really worked
together; there was no "common language" for the information
messages travelling on the rail.

The National Model Railroad Assn. recently adopted a standard
for putting power and information on the rail, providing the
"common language" which has been missing. This is called
the Digital Command Control (DCC) Standard.

The standard will allow different manufacturers to now produce
command control components which can work well together.
Company A's transmitter will correctly control company B,C,
and D's recievers in different locomotives.

In practice, one person's or several people's commands (speed,
direction, turnout position, etc.) are electronically combined,
and put on the rails all over the railroad.Recievers act only
upon the messages sent to them, using track power to do their
jobs. This allows much greater flexibility in the operation of 
model locomotives, as two or more locomotives can be right
next to each other, yet be controlled by different people, 
OR, combined together under the control of one person.

With command control, layout wiring can be greatly simplified,
since the need for blocks is greatly reduced or eliminated.

David_Gibbons <dgibbons@sr.hp.com>

...
COMMAND CONTROL
What is command control and how does it work?

  You really ought to check out the proposed NMRA standard for Digital 
  Command Control.  For a PC and about 30-50 dollars you have the guts
  of a CMRI.  Some freeware is on the way for the PC, you can program
  it yourself or you can purchase one of the excellent programs for
  $100-$300.

  The idea is that the PC can be programmed to send digital command
  packets out it's serial port. It's then sent through a simple
  amplifier, since most serial ports don't put out the amperage to power
  a layout.  A freeware program already exists for the Mac; a PC
  program is forthcoming.

  Obviously, the above scenario only allows keyboard control.  If you
  want control panels, walkaround throttles and all the other stuff most
  modelers use, you'll need to do something more.  But, if you're only
  interested in having a computer control your trains, the above will be
  more than sufficent.

  While most of us look at Digital Command Control as requiring a decoder
  in every locomotive (expensive) it is not necessary for some operating
  styles.  For instance a progressive block approach can be implemented
  using a decoder in front of a throttle.  The command station then
  controls the DC throtles and they control the trains.  Unlike the
  origional Chubb approach that required N (number of cabs) throttles
  per block, this technique only regueire one decoder-cab combination
  per block.

  Switches can be controlled digitally which provides a method to enter
  digital computer controlled operations gradually as you budget allows.

  Model Railroader recently publiched an article on using a parallel
  port to control switch machines.  I suspect that it would a cheaper
  way than having each switch machine equipped with it's own digitial
  controller, but it will require more wiring.

  Decoders are available for all scales (I have installed one in a
  Microtrain F7 complete with directional lighting)

  You can get digitial controllers for about $45.  Hopefully, this will
  drop.  You presumably have the computer sitting around, being used for
  other things, so it's practically "free".  The only other thing you
  need is the program, which will hopefully soon be freeware, and the
  amplifier, which is about $30.  When the price of the controllers drops
  some, hopefully to ~$20 [I can always hope], you'll be able to have
  computer control of 10 independent locomotives for under $250.   Used
  to be the interface to the track from the computer cost more than
  that....

...

For the PC end, I might recommend an older Atari 520 or 1040ST.  They
can be purchased new in Europe or used in the US for around $150.  You
can connect a tv to it or use a monochrome monitor (maybe better or
this useage.

The advantage of the Atari computer is:

Very compact single board computer with built in 720K floppy disk (no
HD).
Easy programmable GEM interface ( you would be able to point and shoot
with the mouse to get your trains moving and control turnouts).

Disadvantage is that there has to be someone out there with an Atari
computer who could write this software.. DOS software won't work on
it.

For the small space these things take up, I think it would be great.
Plus they are dirt cheap.  A hard disk wouldn't be required for
command control since your application could easily be kept under
700K.  Or a boot disk could be used.  This is a great alternative to
people who CAN program in BASIC, or C or Pascal and don't own a PC
(perhaps a costly alternative to an Atari.

------------------------------

Date: 18 Mar 94 01:00:00 GMT
Subject: FAQ OPERATIONS, 03/10: Cleaning track
        
CLEANING, TRACK
What is this black crud on the top of the rails? What causes it, and
how can it be eliminated?
        
  Probably an oily dirt residue that cakes up.  In the club I belonged to
  years ago, there was mandatory twice a week maintenance which consisted
  of manually cleaning all track by rubbing/burnishing it with with a
  piece of cork roadbed. Took about 3-4 members about 15 minutes to do
  it. Worked like a charm and had none of the deliterious effects that
  abrasive rubberized type of rail cleaners will eventually cause. Plain
  old cork would remove the oil, dirt excellently.
                                  ...
  Another way to clean it is to load a little product called Rail-Zip on
  a rag and rub the rails.  It doesn't take long and is perfectly safe
  and enhances electrical contact.
  
  To keep from having to clean the rails as often, clean the wheels of
  the rolling stock.  Chances are you will find a big clump of that
  black crud on them.  A light scraping with an Xacto knife gets it
  right off.
                                  ...
  If you want to get rid of the black crud, NOT using rail zip helps. The
  film of oil lift on the track is what the other stuff, mostly dust,
  sticks to.  The idea about the cork roadbed sounds good. The old trick
  with the Masonite (R) under the boxcar helps too.
  
  The best thing you can do is get rid of the plastic wheels.  Black Crud
  sticks to these much better than metal wheels.  This will get most of
  my fellow N-scalers mad at me because I'm telling them to throw away
  their Microtrains wheels.  Try NWSL, small flanges and they weigh twice
  as much as the MT wheels.
                                  ...
  I posted this info a couple of years ago.  It concerns a "magic potion"
  that almost eliminates track cleaning.  I use a variant of the CTC-16
  Command Control System (PMP-112) and it is very sensitive to dirty 
  wheels and track.  With the "magic potion", the system works perfectly,
  all the time.  I haven't cleaned track in two years execpt to wipe off
  dust before an operating session.  We operate twice a month, so this
  is qute a testimonial. 
  
  First, some background on my dirt problem.  I used to clean the track
  with a Bright Boy before operating and things would work OK for about
  1/2 hour, then engines would start acting up.  I tried cleaning the
  engine wheels halfway through an operating session by placing a thin
  cloth on the rails, wetting it with denatured alcohol and holding the
  engine on the wet spot with the power on.  This worked for about 10
  more minutes.  Another cleaning would reveal more crud.  What I
  figured out was that after 10 years of use, my car wheels had a lot of
  crud built up and were transferring the crud back to the track.
  
  Before I heard about LPS-1, I decided to bite the bullet and clean ALL
  my car wheels (that's 1200 axles worth!).  Since this was SOOO much
  fun, it took 9 months of tedious on and off work sessions with friends.
  Just before we finished, Mark Paris of TinyTronics told me about LPS-1,
  so I decided to try it.
  
  I went through a few steps before using it, the first being to test it
  on a test loop before I screwed up 1200' feet of track on my layout.
  Also, I wanted to do an experiment to verify my hypothesis about wheels
  transferring dirt to the track.
   
  I set up an oval with new Atlas FlexTrack to run a train on and cleaned
  the new track with alcohol (I didn't use a Bright Boy, because I now
  suspect that the binder used in them is what causes the wheel crud and
  because they cause scratches on the railhead that can collect dirt).
  I cleaned the wheels on my best running engine and ran it continuously
  for 1/2 hour with no problems.  After cleaning the track and engine
  wheels again, I got six cars with dirty wheels and pulled them around.
  Within ten minutes, the engine was stalling and bucking! Just to double
  check, I again cleaned the track and engine wheels (getting lots of
  black crud) and pulled some cars with clean wheels around for 1/2 hour
  with no problems.
  
  Next I applied LPS-1 to the track.  I used a 2" long piece of 1/2"
  square balsa wood to apply it to the track.  I just sprayed a little
  on the wood (which soaked it up) and wiped it on the track.  While the
  track was wet, I ran the engine over it to get some on the engine
  wheels, then took the engine off so the track and wheels could dry.
  After a half hour, I tried the test again with the dirty wheels. I
  pulled them around for an hour with no problems!  What surprised me
  was I could actually see black gunk on the track (I guess it was coming
  off the wheels somehow) and the engine still ran great!.  It seemed
  impervious to dirt!   
  
  Convinced, I applied it to my layout.  First I thoroughly cleaned the
  track with electrical contact cleaner, again spraying the cleaner on a
  piece of balsa and wiping the track with it.  The balsa works great,
  since it absorbs the cleaner and stays wet and it doesn't get caught
  on switch points and track joints like cloth does.  I'm not sure if
  this cleaning step was necessary, but after spending so much time
  cleaning wheels, I didn't want to skimp.  I used a track cleaning car
  (a piece of Masonite suspended below a box car) to clean tunnels and
  hard to reach areas by pushing it with an engine.  Needless to say,
  I used a lot of pieces of wood (the track was filthy!).  After cleaning
  it, I applied the LPS-1 using balsa and the track cleaning car. I also
  cleaned and coated all my engine wheels.
  
  The next operating session (August, 1989) went beautifully.  Every
  engine ran like clockwork.  I have been operating twice a month since
  then and have reapplied LPS-1 once (for no special reason).  Before a
  session I will push the track cleaning car over the layout to remove
  any dust that has settled.  I use a clean piece of balsa to wipe dust
  off sidings (dust still settles on the track, LPS-1 doesn't *repel*
  dust).  If I don't wipe the dust off, the engines will cough a little
  until the dust gets pushed out of the way.
  
  LPS-1 Greaseless Lubricant is a product made by Holt Lloyd Corp.
  (Tucker, GA and Los Angeles, CA) and is designed for use on electrical
  contacts.  They also make LPS-2 General Purpose Lubricant and LPS-3
  Heavy Duty Rust Inhibitor, neither of which are suitable for our
  purposes.  LPS-1 has a bizarre characteristic: it is normally
  non-conductive but in the presence of an electric field or with metal
  to metal contact, it becomes highly conductive.  Sounds sort of like
  what happens with locomotive wheels and the track, eh?  It's been
  described as "a long polymer kind of thing" (don't ask me what that
  means, ask a chemist).  It goes on wet and drys in about 30 minutes.
  It won't attract dust.  It smells a lot like WD-40.  It reduces
  traction a tad (I would guess-timate about 10%).  A friend who does
  N-scale, Bill Kepner, was having terrible contact problems after
  ballasting, tried LPS-1 and is now a true believer.
  
  If you read Model Railroader, there has been a product advertised
  recently (~ last 6 months) called Stabilant-22.  It sounds exactly
  like LPS-1, except they charge $30 for a few grams (or something like
  that).  LPS-1 comes in an 11 oz. spray can for $4.19.  Such a deal.
  One can will last 3 or 4 lifetimes.
  
  I have found LPS-1 at Ace Hardware Stores.  Most stores don't stock it,
  but can order it for you.  A nice store will order a case and sell you
  a can.  A nasty store will order a case Just-For-You (sell the rest to
  your friends).
                                  ...
  I saw this post [on LPS-1] several years ago and tried it.  I am a true
  believer.  It works.  It is also sold by a number of manufacturers in
  small quantities for $10 or more (it is exactly the same thing as LPS-1
  only repackaged).
  
  The only problem I have had was when I overapplied it to the rails. I
  thought that if a little would work fine a lot would work better.
  WRONG.  What happened is that it instantly cleaned the crud off all my
  wheels and when the LPS-1 dried out it reapplied it in large
  quantities to the locomotive.
  
  I now use it to clean wheels and a small amount on the rails with
  excellent results. I have found LPS-1 applied to a Q tip the best for
  cleaning wheels and spraying LPS-1 to the bottom of a masanite block
  on a track cleaning car the best method for applying it quickly to
  the entire layout.


------------------------------

Date: 18 Mar 94 01:00:00 GMT
Subject: FAQ OPERATIONS, 04/10: Card order operation

CARD ORDER OPERATION
What is card order operation, and how is it used?

  The usefulness of card order operation is that it allows you to give
  each freight car movement a sense of purpose, just like in the real
  world, in a way that does not take a lot of work. Put simply, you have
  a card for each freight car, which always accompanies it and lots of
  cards, each representing a load. It takes a certain amount of work to
  prepare all the cards needed, but when you have done that, you will
  not be needing any other papers nor a pen during operations.

  The car cards must have a pocket for the load cards. Some make the
  pocket from clear plastic, but you can also make the cards from a
  single piece of paper you fold and either tape or staple shut like
  this:
   _______________
  |               |
  |                \
  |                  \
  |                    \
  |_______________      |
                  |_____|
   _______________
  |               |
  |              /|
  |            /  |
  |          /    |
  |_________|_____|

  On the left side of the card, you write down all relevant car data,
  type of car, reporting marks, how much and what kind of loads it
  takes, distinguishing marks and other notes. For example:

  Ni        12.5 tons               Ommk(u)         20 tons
                                                       Coal
  Wurttemberg  22 235               K.Sachs.Sts.E.B  59 066
  Brown, two platforms              Light grey
  May go in passenger trains

  On the right side of the card, hidden when there is a load card there,
  you write down what is to happen to the car when it has become empty:
  "Return to nearest yard" or "Return to the coal mine".

  You should then make a number of load cards, common wisdom is to make
  at least three per car to avoid too repetitive movements. On the cards
  you write down destination, source, type and amount of load, what type
  of car it requires and any special remarks. Examples:

  To: Harbour        To: Coal mine         To: Freight station
  Fm: Coal mine      Fm: Harbour           Fm: Brewery
      20 tons coal       5 tons dynamite       10 tons beer
      Ommk(u)            G, N                  Private beer car
                     May not go in
                     passenger trains

  It is generally a good idea to let the cards reflect each other, a load
  of timber from the harbour to the sawmill can become a load of lumber
  to the furniture factory and from there a load of furniture.

  All sources and destinations need not be on the layout, if you have a
  hidden return loop or fiddle yard, that can be represented on the
  cards simply as "East" or something. This is very convenient, as there
  are practically no limits to the traffic to such a place, whereas the
  cards in general should reflect the track capacity at different
  locations.

  An operating round begins with you drawing a number of load cards
  from a stack. Then locate suitable empty cars and get them to where
  they are needed, and at the same move the empty cars since last round
  to where their cars say. When the empty cars are spotted where the
  loads are, insert the load cards into the car cards, assemble the
  trains and move them to their destination. When spotted, remove the
  load cards and return them to the stack; Whereupon the cycle can
  begin again.

------------------------------

Date: 16 May 94 14:00:00 GMT
Subject: FAQ OPERATIONS, 05/10: Tab-on-car operation


I've had experience with waybill/card systems, computer generated
switch lists and tab-on-car systems.  Since I am not fond of paperwork
and my tired old eyes have trouble reading the reporting marks on HO
cars, I much prefer the tab-on-car system.  The one I use is a variant
of the system pioneered by John Allen (I think) and used on the Model
Railroader employees layout (described in MR some years ago).  My
system works much like the classic card system but is much easier to
use.

I have been operating with this system for 10 years and have found it
to be very adaptable, flexible and easy to use by all but the most
stupid of operators.  The main drawback is the obvious unprototypical
tab or marker sitting on top of the car.  I feel that the benefits far
outweigh this.

The basic idea is to have a marker of some kind on the car that
indicates to the operator where the car goes.  I use 3/4" "fender"
washers for the tabs.  A fender washer has a smaller hole than a
normal washer so there is more room to put information on the tab.  I
use colored 3/4" round Avery labels (available at office supply
stores) to color code the tabs for each town.  Each tab has two sides,
one representing the shipper, the other representing the consignee.

To make the tab, I affix an appropriate color label on one side and
write the town code (two letters) at the top and the industry code (3
letters) at the bottom.  Even though the color shows the town, some
operators may be color blind or stupid and the two letters help out.
I use a sharp Xacto blade to cut the label out of the hole area.  The
other side gets a different color tab for the second industry or
location.

(Note: deciding on the traffic flow is another topic.  You need to
figure out who is shipping what in which kind of car to whom when).

The tabs allow a car to continuously shuttle between two layout
locations.  If you have a larger layout, operators never notice that
the same car is coming and going.  On my layout, each of 300 cars will
be moved by various trains to and from the tab locations.  Different
cars take different routes based on the particular duties of the
trains servicing the locations.  Cars may take from 2 to 7 operating
sessions to complete one round trip.  This has two beneficial results:

 1) The make-up of the trains varies continuously,
 2) There is a natural-feeling increase and decrease in traffic 
    density in any one town or yard at each operating session. 

I once operated on a layout with 4 locations per tab but found it
needlessly confusing.  Each side had two destinations and some
thinking is required to figure out which is currently in effect.
Having only 2 locations greatly simplifies things and doesn't detract
from the apparent randomness of the system.  Perhaps this would be a
problem on a smaller layout.
 
Each car has a 1/4" piece of piano wire sticking up in a convenient
place to act as a tab holder.  Box cars and such have the wire in the
middle of the roof; tank cards have it on the dome; etc.  If the wire
is painted the color of the car it is barely noticeable when the tab
is off.

The simplest usage to to have operators move the car to the
destination shown on the tab and then turn the tab over.  The next
operator will note the tab does not match the car's location and will
put that car in his train to be moved to the next location.  If
certain trains have specific responsibilities, instructions need to
generated for that train so that the proper cars are moved.

A refinement is to have the concept of a longer loading/unloading
time, like the "work" box in the classic card system.  I will have
operators place a plain tab marked "work" on the car after it is
spotted and the tab is turned over.  The next operator will then
remove the work tab but leave the car alone and the operator after
that will pick up the car.  This mimics moving cards from the "setout"
box to the "work" box then to the "pickup" box.

If you have work tabs marked with the code for each industry, the car
can easily be respotted properly if it needs to be moved in the course
of switching other cars.  This is a problem with other systems because
you are not sure where an existing car belongs if it needs to be moved
out of the way temporarily.
 
Another refinement is to indicate on the tab if the car is loaded or
empty.  When an "empty" car is spotted, it is obviously being loaded
and the tab will be turned over.  When a "loaded" car is spotted, it
is being unloaded and the tab can be removed entirely, indicating a
newly emptied car that needs to be moved to a yard or off-line staging
area.  When a car is required for a newly generated load, the car
assignment person finds an empty car and places the tab on it.

In this case, extra markings are required on the tab: "turn" or
"remove" (or "mt" and "ld") and the car type required for the load
("bx", ho", etc).

I did this some time ago but found it didn't serve much purpose other
than keeping another person busy.  It also made for more rules about
what to do with empty cars, etc.  I also found that, when there were
not enough empty cars in the yards, the assignment person would need
to locate tabless cars at industries not yet moved to a yard and would
reassign them.  So it ended up that there were never any "empty" cars
going to the yards anyway.

Another trick is to mark some cars as "through" cars which would
circulate between staging yards, kind of like a work tab.  Half of the
cars on a through freight would have the tabs covered with a black tab
indicated they stayed on that train for one cycle.  When it got back
to the staging yard, the black tabs were moved to the other half of
the cars, allowing the older "through" cars to be switched during the
next cycle.  This allows longer trains without the confusion of
arbitrarily not working some cars.

For cars going between on-line industries and off-line locations I
have tabs marked CS SOUTH and CS NORTH (Colorado & Southern southern
and northern locations).  Northbound trains pick up CS NORTH and vice
versa.  CS N/S tabs are white to indicate the special handling.  These
tabs are turned in the staging yards since that is their final
location.

My layout actually has two railroads, the C&S and the Great Western.
The C&S has 5 towns with the following color codes: Denver (red),
Longmont (orange), Berthoud (yellow), Loveland (blue), Ft. Collins
(green), C&S N/S (white), through (black), work (silver).  The GWR
uses the same colors for its 4 towns but has a white segment at the
top of the tab with GW in it to distinguish them from the C&S:
Loveland Yard (orange), Windsor (yellow), Johnstown (blue), Milliken
(green).

Once people get past the appearance of the colorful tabs on the cars,
they enjoy the "ease of use" features of the tab system:

 1) Yard work is a snap - just sort the cars by color.  This is 
    great when working against a fast clock.
 2) Switching is easy since a glance tells you where the car goes. 
 3) It is fault tolerant - if some dummy spots a car in the wrong
    place, the next operator will move it to the correct location. 
 4) No paperwork.
 5) No setup between sessions unless some "balancing" is needed 
    to compensate for the ebb and flow of traffic.
 6) Cheap - the washers and Avery labels are a lot cheaper than the 
    cards and envelopes and boxes associated with a card system (not
    as cheap as computer switch lists ... unless you count the computer).
 7) Easy to set up - it can take a loooong time to write all the 
    info on the cards or get a switch list program working.  

George L. Booth   booth@hplvec.lvld.hp.com           


------------------------------

Date: 18 Mar 94 01:00:00 GMT
Subject: FAQ OPERATIONS, 06/10: Fast clocks

FAST CLOCKS
What are fast clocks? How do I use them? 
        
  Fast clocks, as their name implies, are clocks that run faster than 
  the standard 12-hour clock. Typically, they run 6 or 12 times faster
  which translates into a "fast day" every 2 (6:1) or 1 (12:1) hours. 
                                  ...
  The purpose of a fast clock is to permit timetable operations within
  the constrained environment of a model railroad.  No more, no less.
  There are three principal factors that are accounted for in this
  manner.
  
  The first, of course, is distance.  If a real train were to travel an
  hour between stops, at, say, 50 mph, we'd need 50 scale miles of track
  -- over 3000 feet in HO -- to absorb that hour.  Most of us don't have
  quite that much room for our layouts...  By scaling time at, say, 10:1,
  we reduce that to 300 feet -- still a lot, for most people, but it's
  starting to approach something manageable.  Note, that an N-scaler
  would need ``only'' 1650 feet of track for the same situation, and
  hence could get away with a slower clock -- but your equations would
  have the clock run faster.
  
  The second major reason for scale time is to aborb the differences in
  how long certain operations take.  For example, when we couple or
  uncouple cars, we don't have to worry about air hoses, pumping up the
  brake line, having someone physically there to pull the pin, etc.  We
  also don't have to have our brakie walk the full length of the train
  to throw switches, put down fusees, etc.  All of these things are
  largely invariant with respect to scale, too.
  
  Finally, most of us don't have ``real time'' to devote to operations.
  (If nothing else, we need to do things like build cars, engines,
  factories, etc.)  If I run my clock at 10:1, I can reasonably expect
  to get a full day's operation into one operating session -- and thus
  I can have trains going out and back, meeting lots of other trains, etc.
                                  ...
  Fast time is not meant to try to scale down time, but to compensate for
  lack of distance on a layout and to fit operating sessions between a two
  and four hour time frame (some do go longer, depending on the ratio and
  if they're run on a weekend).
   
  Anyway, I've operated on layouts which have used a 12:1 ratio (one
  real hour equals 12 fast ones) and 6:1 (one real hour equals four fast
  ones). I've found the 6:1 sessions to more enjoyable as you have time
  to do things like switch at reasonable speeds and yes, even, think. At
  12:1 you sometimes feel that you are moving 87 times faster. 
   
  Should also note that fast time is used to schedule trains to
  different parts of a layout and that having a train depart a town and
  arrive at another one an hour later is more realistic than having it
  arrive 10 minutes later real time.


------------------------------

Date: 18 Mar 94 01:00:00 GMT
Subject: FAQ OPERATIONS, 07/10: Engines, break in and tuning

ENGINES, BREAK IN AND TUNING
How do I break in my new engine?

  If you are comfortable in opening and taking apart the engine, then I
  would suggest to disassemble the engine trucks, clean them from the
  manufacturing grease with water and soap. When throughly dry, check
  the gears for any flash from manufacturing, so that they are smooth,
  then reassemble the trucks lubricating the gears with plastic
  compatible oil or grease. I use Labelle oil (I forget the item number)
  which is plasic compatible. I then run the engines at half speed each
  way for 10 min. on the club layout. Nowadays I use this method only on
  Athearn and few other engines.
  
  I have found though that in the last years, manufacturing methods have
  improved. Engines from Kato, Proto2000, Stewart, Roco, the new Lima,
  run fine right out of the box, so I leave them alone and deal with
  them when I do maintenance (which is a few years away).
  
  As for your engine, if it is from the latest production, that is,
  center motor, one or two flywheels, both truck powered, I would leave
  it alone and just run it around by itself as stated above. I have the
  new Italian engine 656 Caimano from Lima and I did not have to
  lubricate it at all (I did open it anyway because I am thinking of
  putting constant lighting).


------------------------------

Date: 18 Mar 94 01:00:00 GMT
Subject: FAQ OPERATIONS, 08/10: Double heading

DOUBLE HEADING
How do I tune two engines for double-heading operation?

  One solution is to use a computer controlled command control system.
  This would allow the computer to control each locomotive in such a
  way that everything runs together smoothly regardless of the DC
  response of the individual engines, as long as you don't try to run
  the consist faster than the slowest loco will go. This should also
  improve reliability of pushers and mid train helpers.
  
  The cheap and dirty way:
  Run heavy trains with all the power at the front end and put the
  faster locos in front, so all the couplers will be in tension at all
  times.  This works OK if the differance between the engines is not
  too bad. If it is a gross mismatch, one or locos may not run at all.
                                  ...
  Obviously to make two engines run the same speed, they must be geared
  the same and the motor has to be the same make (generally speaking).
  If the speed difference is small (don't ask me the values, please),
  the consequences to the engines is minimal. But, if the difference is
  great, (eg. Athearn GP9 and Proto2000 FA1), then I would not run them
  together and just live with it.
  
  My personal rule of thumb is that in general not to run different
  makes engines.
  
  If the trains pulled are long, or the cars are weighted to NMRA
  standard, the speed difference should not count much, because both
  engines will work to pull the train.

  Example: 30 weighted cars going up a steep grade will require 2 or
  3 engines. A typical train like that at the club would have a Kato
  in front and 2 or 3 Athearns following.
  
  BTW, slower engines, where the differnce is small, are great for using
  as helpers.  Sometimes at the club we run trains with about 60 cars
  and mid-helper engines.  We try to put the slower ones as helpers so
  that the danger of derailments is minimized.
  
  Another note is that dirty wheels also contribute to difference in
  speed. So clean those wheels.


------------------------------

Date: 21 Mar 94 01:00:00 GMT
Subject: FAQ OPERATIONS, 09/10: Couplers, Kadee
        
COUPLERS, KADEE
What are Kadee couplers and why should I use them?

  Most locomotives and rolling stock come with an industry-standard
  coupler - for HO they are X2f (commonly called horn-hook) and for N
  they are Rapido.  These couplers are only suitable for those who don't
  plan to do much switching and coupling/uncoupling of the cars, their
  primary advantages being that they are free and require virtually no
  adjustment.
  
  Kadee makes a line of more prototypical looking couplers that are
  available in all common scales and which are used by most serious
  modelers.  They are magnetically operated, allowing you to uncouple
  cars without touching them.  Uncoupling ramps made of permanent
  magnets or electromagnets can be positioned at strategic places on
  your layout to perform this uncoupling.  Rix (another company) sells
  an inexpensive magnetic rod which can be held between the cars to
  uncouple them without removing them from the tracks.  Note that Kadee
  couplers are not compatible with the standard couplers, so once you
  switch you'll have to convert all of your equipment.  In HO the most
  common size (#5) costs $2.95 for a package of 4 (2 cars).
  

------------------------------

Date: 12 Sep 94 01:00:00 GMT
Subject: FAQ OPERATIONS, 10/10: Couplers, screw-type

COUPLERS, SCREW-TYPE
Does anyone have a source for "screw-type" couplers?

  I used 3-link and screw couplers in 4mm scale, although the screw
  couplers didn't actually screw. A variety of suppliers make them.
  They look good, but I found them too fiddley. They are one of the
  reasons I moved up to O-scale. My Eric Underhill 0-6-0ST has screw
  couplings that actually screw. I think you can get them separately
  from Slaters.
                                  ...
  I think that there is a working metal screw coupling in H0 built by
  Brawa.  For train compositions that are never separated, there is a
  screw coupling imitation by Maerklin (in H0).

  In `1' scale, there is a fully functional screw coupler by Maerklin.
  It can only be used with a curve radius larger than 210 cm.
                                  ...
  Marklin sells a box of 50 in HO scale. I orderd a box, but has not
  come in yet.  That means I have not seen them and do not know exactly
  how they work. They do go with the NEM pocket. I will use them with
  my Roco passenger cars, since the trains do not get switched that much.
  I am using the new Kadee couplers for the NEm pockets and they work
  great. Of course they look terrible on European cars.
                                  ...
  Symoba and Maerklin makes dummy screw coupling imitations for HO NEM
  362 coupler pockets. If you use them, the cars becomes permanently
  coupled, and has to be turned over if you want to uncouple them. It
  has been described in the literature how you modify the NEM 362
  pockets to let the couplers be retained by steel wire, enabling
  magnetic uncoupling, but everything of course will hang out from the
  other car.
                                  ...
  I can't help you with 3.5mm screwlink couplings, but the following
  company supplies working (and non-working) screwlinks for 4mm scale:
  
          Exactoscale Ltd, 29 Crouchmore Avenue, Esher, Surrey KT10 9AS.
  
  The last time I bought some they were #2 for the working pair and #1.50
  for a non-working pair. They look very good, and yes, by twisting the
  coupling on the working ones, the two links do get closer.
  
  I have to admit that I've only had a fifty percent rate of success with
  the working ones, as I tend to get solder into the screw thread, but
  maybe you're better with a soldering iron.
  
  Most of Exactoscale's items are concerned with 4mm, 18.83mm gauge,
  dead-scale locomotive construction: gearboxes, drive shafts, frame
  spacers, sprung hornblocks and so forth; so I don't imagine their
  24 page catalogue will hold a great deal of interest to most readers.
  
  Their advert in Model Railway Journal states that the catalogue is
  available on payment of #2.00, of which #1.50 is refunded on the first
  order over #15.
                                  ...
  Screw couplings are certainly very common on fine scale British layouts
  in both 7mm and and 4mm scales.  In 4mm, they are usually somewhat over
  scale to ensure that they are robust enough to be used, although for
  many years PC made (and may still make - I don't build models in 4mm
  any more) etched couplings which are very close to scale dimensions,
  but are a little to delicate for continuous use as train couplings. 
  The Jackson ones are much better for train coupling, but are a bit
  overscale.
  
  In 7mm, CCW make a very nice unit, which is very close to scale.
  
  Slaters make a set of lost wax brass castings which I have yet to 
  build totally satisfactorily (I now throw Slaters screw couplings away,
  and replace with CCW).  Slaters three link couplings in both 4mm and
  7mm although again slightly overscale work and look fine.
  

