Blazing Reading Hudson 8004

That has to smell like burnt coal!!   Your element is going on it...I think running it at 18v is cooking it.  Have it happen to me on my 2035...

 

Marty

At 18volts the engine should be flying off the track. Something is not working properly.

romiller

Looks like someone installed a 6 or 8 ohm smoke resistor.

 

Bill

I've thought about installing a red LED to shine up the stack.  Perhaps only the old wood-burners had a red glow through the stack, but it would look very cool even if not prototypical. 

"Captain, she's gonna blow! Ya canna' keep it up!"

 

Not typical, but gorgeous.  I'm not sure how long it will work like that, but  . . . . 

I've had a couple do that just before the nichrome wire broke/melted.

I was lucky in that I had my phone handy to take the video. It is a cool effect. I noticed over the weekend someone started a thread about upgrading the puffer smoke unit. I think this Reading Hudson and my MPC era Southern Crescent are now candidates for an upgrade.

My PE did the same thing at Christmas and like everyone said.... smoked the smoker. Mine actualy had little momentary puffs of flame. At Cassandra
Pa. I watched a diesel blowing flames out of the stack.

It wouldn't be a cool effect if the smoke fluid flared up (I've seen it happen) and ignited the cotton batting or whatever it is you're using for snow on your layout. Definitely time to change out the smoke element.