Battery powered radio control Alco RS-11 by GRJ

Hopefully, either you, Tom Tee or GRJ, can fill us in with more details regarding this, i.e.,

How long does a battery charge last - is running time based on the weight of and/or the number or calls pulled? How does running speed affect how long a charge lasts? How long does it take to recharge battery(ies)? Are you running conventional only, or do you have some or all functions of either DCC, DCS. TMCC, or Legacy? What's the smoothest slow running speed you get without stalling out?Was the r/c unit created by GRJ or store bought and if store bought, who's the manufacturer and model number? How many batteries and are they easily replaced when the need arises?

As you can can probably tell, I'm very interested in all aspects of this conversion and would love seeing a video of this engine running.

Thanks! 

Your comprehensive questions can best be answered by the Dead Rail Society on MTJ.  Spend some time on Dead Rails group site to acquaint yourself with the operation of R/C battery. 

Generally speaking you will get 2 - 3 hours of operation.  Different types of batteries will yield different lengths of operation.  I usually just left the battery on charge for a few hours. This is one of several systems available on the open market. 

The late Ed Rutling used model airplane R/C hardware with great success.

I have LiPo batteries and their charger as a back up should I car to use them but having been burned out years ago I am overly sensitive to fire, so they are not in use at this time.

My RR is already wired for dual power DC/AC running with some areas yet to be finished as mentioned above.  You can have all the bells and whistles just like the full  featured MTH/Lionel locos but is can affect battery run time. 

I can creep a China drive diesel better on battery than on DC.  

Battery power makes all the relays required for special turnouts obsolete.

There are others on OGR who are much better equipped to answer your questions than me.

I keep thinking about doing this (battery powered engine), but for a different reason. I'm doing it likely on a totally different angle- layout wreck clearing. While personally I built my home track to be fairly accessible should something derail, it's good old Murphy's Law that says a train will derail in the least accessible space on a layout. Since the derail shorts the track- you cannot use another engine on the track powered by the rails to assist in clearing the wreckage, however, a battery powered heavy loco with good traction and a modified coupler or gripper that can connect to the wrecked train and yank it to an accessible spot would be infinitely handy. It doesn't have to be pretty, it doesn't have to be scale, it just has to fit, be heavy and good traction, enough power to pull a wreck, a coupler system or other gripper that can couple to a car or engine even in less than ideal positions (curve or whatever alignment). Lights and camera are a bonus if you are in a tunnel or some visually blocked section of the layout. And big and heavy ensure it doesn't derail itself.

For Tom's locomotive, the control was an aging RC system from Remote Control Systems, the TX-24 transmitter and a matching receiver, I don't recall the exact receiver model, similar but not exactly the one I illustrate below.  He had them from an old trolley from years ago, and we decided to try to combine them into his RS-11.  For a 15 year old system, it works surprisingly well.  When I contacted the maker, they were amused that I was trying to resurrect that system.

Jetguy posted:

I keep thinking about doing this (battery powered engine), but for a different reason. I'm doing it likely on a totally different angle- layout wreck clearing. While personally I built my home track to be fairly accessible should something derail, it's good old Murphy's Law that says a train will derail in the least accessible space on a layout. Since the derail shorts the track- you cannot use another engine on the track powered by the rails to assist in clearing the wreckage, however, a battery powered heavy loco with good traction and a modified coupler or gripper that can connect to the wrecked train and yank it to an accessible spot would be infinitely handy. It doesn't have to be pretty, it doesn't have to be scale, it just has to fit, be heavy and good traction, enough power to pull a wreck, a coupler system or other gripper that can couple to a car or engine even in less than ideal positions (curve or whatever alignment). Lights and camera are a bonus if you are in a tunnel or some visually blocked section of the layout. And big and heavy ensure it doesn't derail itself.

Our first layout (age 5-6) was a 4x7 a few inches off the floor but in the corner of the room, against the wall.  It was covered with Plasticville and manger houses, so we were strictly forbidden from walking on the platform!  When we had a derailment on the far side that shorted the track, a Marx wind-up was employed to plow the derailed cars out of the way and clear the main line for continued service.  Not kidding!! 

Tom Tee posted:

Your comprehensive questions can best be answered by the Dead Rail Society on MTJ.  Spend some time on Dead Rails group site to acquaint yourself with the operation of R/C battery.

Can you please throw me a link or two?  I went to MTJ, their search engine does not appear to parse phrases such as "dead rail" so it returns a lot of results with the words "dead" and "rail."  Thanks!!

Ted S posted:

Tom Tee posted:

Your comprehensive questions can best be answered by the Dead Rail Society on MTJ.  Spend some time on Dead Rails group site to acquaint yourself with the operation of R/C battery.

Can you please throw me a link or two?  I went to MTJ, their search engine does not appear to parse phrases such as "dead rail" so it returns a lot of results with the words "dead" and "rail."  Thanks!!

deadrailsociety  

Those guys seem to be pretty hard over on DCC compatibility, I'd like to find a system that has a dedicated remote and doesn't depend on me using a smartphone to control the trains.

Welcome to the battery power fan club. I've done a number of battery power conversions with several different RC systems using hand held remotes and smart device apps. When done correctly, battery powered locos will provide exactly the same operating features as their original factory setup provided. Battery power can be really great, but I have not given up my conventional or TMCC modes. Dead Rail Society has useful info.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I'd like to find a system that has a dedicated remote and doesn't depend on me using a smartphone to control the trains.

Isn't that called Lion Chief?

Nope, it's not called LionChief.  At least not until they release a full upgrade kit.

It isn't MTJ - it is OST forum.  And I am waiting for something simple and inexpensive.  I expect MTH to produce an entry level train set, but have no inside info - just guessing.  The technology is mature - Radio Shack produced model autos for $35 including transmitter and batteries, and they had speed and directional controls.

For those of us not as well versed in acronyms, what is MTJ?  Also for those of use interested, what did this project cost?

necrails posted:

For those of us not as well versed in acronyms, what is MTJ?  Also for those of use interested, what did this project cost?

Model Train Journal.  I think.

My local model airplane hobby shop can give me F-N-R and throttle battery r/c using an airplane controller for $125 - $175  installed depending on fit difficulty.  The basic parts are inexpensive.  Sound, rule 17 lights & smoke can require a train unit which currently is well above this figure.

RC control is an intriguing idea and this isn't the first time the topic has been discussed here -- probably not something I'm gonna jump on, at least right away (I already have a buncha new tricks this old dog wants to learn).  However, I was trying to think through what the list of comparisons and requirements might look like, without wandering too far into the tall grass.  At the risk of displaying a lot of ignorance about RC control capability, here's my list:

1.  energy requirements for an RC powered (dead rail) locomotive.  Some of us have gotten used to having all the bells and whistles (literally), including smoke, LED lighting 'everywhere' (markers, running, ditch, headlights, cab, etc.) and sound, in addition to powering the motor.  All this has to come from an on-board battery (Li-polymer or ?) along with some sort of control system.  I'd guess that a smoke unit must be a pretty close second to the motor in terms of energy consumption -- maybe even first (ok, I'm being lazy by not digging out the numbers). 

2.  energy requirements for the rest of the train - e.g., caboose or passenger car lighting.  Presumably this means having a separate battery and some sort of RC-triggered on/off switch for each car - or a tethered consist.  In this case, I suppose using LED's isn't a big power draw.  Action cars, like side dump cars, would need to have a dedicated battery and control system.

3.  block control - It's not clear to me how a block control system works without having the ability to turn off/on power to the rails.  I guess the block signal system would need some sort of RC or bluetooth connection to the locomotive or back to the main controller, or...??

4.  Does one RC system have multiplexing capability - e.g. operating more than one locomotive and controlling on-off switches for some of the above mentioned features?  I may have read past some of what John and others are saying above - is the control system a combination of RC and bluetooth/wifi

ok, so now I'll go look at the dead rail website

bob2 posted:

Radio Shack produced model autos for $35 including transmitter and batteries, and they had speed and directional controls.

Yes XMODS, I loved those!!  And they promoted customizability, unlike some of our beloved trains with their gearboxes cast into the chassis, worm gears pressed onto the motor shaft, no parts sold without exchange, etc.  Walthers PolyDrive, anyone?  Hobbytown of Boston??  Bueller?  Bueller?? 

richs09 posted:

1.  energy requirements for an RC powered (dead rail) locomotive.  Some of us have gotten used to having all the bells and whistles (literally), including smoke, LED lighting 'everywhere' (markers, running, ditch, headlights, cab, etc.) and sound, in addition to powering the motor.  All this has to come from an on-board battery (Li-polymer or ?) along with some sort of control system.  I'd guess that a smoke unit must be a pretty close second to the motor in terms of energy consumption -- maybe even first (ok, I'm being lazy by not digging out the numbers). 

2.  energy requirements for the rest of the train - e.g., caboose or passenger car lighting.  Presumably this means having a separate battery and some sort of RC-triggered on/off switch for each car - or a tethered consist.  In this case, I suppose using LED's isn't a big power draw.  Action cars, like side dump cars, would need to have a dedicated battery and control system.

The smoke would likely be the #1 power consuming item, unless you were running a very small and low volume smoke unit.

1. Smoke
2. Motor
3. Sound
4. Lighting

Passenger cars with LED's would be a minor draw, I light my passenger cars with around 25-30 milliamps for a car.