Everyone says I run my PostWar Lionels too fast; "Not Prototypical" they say.
Well the attached video of a LIRR work train, on the passenger tracks in Farmingdale, NY, will prove them wrong. Imagine if the LIRR had Magne-traction!
'Nuff said
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John, it’s just a matter of what your Superintendent determines the safe track speed should be in that territory. Open up the throttle.
It is YOUR railroad!
@Tinplate Art posted:It is YOUR railroad!
And you run it your way!! There’s no right or wrong way to go about the hobby!
With the Long Island you even have the 3rd rail !
In the O gauge world if the train stays on the track it isn't going too fast. We don't have to worry about pesky things like passengers and freight getting damaged in transit.
Lionelski, Highball, Highball permission for your trains to proceed at full speed!!
Lionel speed! Go for it.
Who cares what "everybody" says? I sure don't. 
Not everyone agrees on speeds that is for sure. A sore point for me is I do run a little heavy handed......... and this is true for all layouts, regardless of scale ( sob). So the few times I do venture into an HO operating session, everyone, and I mean everyone, is looking out for me! Ready to mention "yard speed" when I'm anywhere near the yard. HA! We usually all have a good laugh. I know I do. 
Run 'em like you want to. It is your creation and layout.
Jim K
I have visited a few scale model railroads where the "scale speeds" were so slow that watching paint dry would have been more fun. I doubt prototype railroads could run trains that slow and stay in business. But that is the prerogative of their owners. And it is your prerogative to run your trains at the speeds you choose.
The track has three rails and the guy guarding the crossing is 15 feet tall, so I wouldn’t sweat the speed too much
John - Counter the 'not prototypical' comment by saying your practicing 'Precision Scheduled Railroading' . 
"Too fast" = flies off the track. Postwar was intended to run fast. It's fun to watch them barrel into a curve and barely hang on.
Assuming that the digital command speedometer is reasonably accurate, I rarely run much over 30mph - far less than typical mainline speeds - not because I want to be prototypical, but because the loco and cars stay on the track better and I can appreciate the detail as they pass. In other words, what viewers might think is prototypical is actually too slow in many cases.
The only things I'll ever question about someone's layout are things that are dangerous, which is exceedingly rare. Other than that, they put effort into building something for their own enjoyment; beyond that, it's none of anyone else's business.
@Tommy_F posted:The track has three rails and the guy guarding the crossing is 15 feet tall, so I wouldn’t sweat the speed too much
^^^ This is OGR's "Post of the Day"!
My transformers go to 11! 
John- that parking lot looks extremely familiar. I lived in a complex on the north side of the line, just east of the station after I got married. Any chance it's the same one?
Bob
One of the problems is that low speed operation of the old AC motors is often not very reliable or smooth.
John
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Who cares what "everybody" says? I sure don't.
Ditto! It's YOUR hobby, so enjoy it in whatever way you care to. What others think or say does not amount to a hill of beans. I really hate the current trend in our society that makes everyone feel that they must conform. That simply is not what a free society is all about. And nowhere is that more true than in one's hobby pursuits. Individual expression is what a hobby is all about, or certainly should be about.
With that off my chest, I must admit that I prefer to run my trains, including the tinplate trains on that small layout I'm building, at what most would regard as pretty darn slow speeds. Strictly a personal preference. However, all of my train are contemporary models with can motors and slow speed (digital control) capability, so that enters into the equation.
Most of the time I run at slower speeds, makes my layout seem larger. However, occasionally I get a wild hair and fire stuff up at warp speed. 
@Bill N posted:In the O gauge world if the train stays on the track it isn't going too fast. We don't have to worry about pesky things like passengers and freight getting damaged in transit.
We do have passengers but they are all superglued to their seats! 
Normally I run mine slow because my layout is 9 X 6and it takes more time to make a lap. It seems more relaxing at the end of the day.
@Tom47 posted:Normally I run mine slow because my layout is 9 X 6and it takes more time to make a lap. It seems more relaxing at the end of the day.
My folded mainline is 140 feet, if I run slow, it takes a few minutes to make the full lap, it does feed the illusion that I have a really large layout.
When I'm running them simply to have FUN, I run them fast.
When I'm running them to enjoy the layout more, I slow them down.
It's all how I feel at that time.
- walt
For sure it is your preference.
I too though like slow operation. It make my layout seem larger like Gunrunnerjohn said.
Also, I enjoy the synchronized chuffing smoke better with a slow heavy labor effect.
Fast trains are fun trains! I love to watch an engine creep through yard but it's max throttle on the mainline!
It's also your layout. Postwar Lionel has the biggest and baddest rumble when you get going fast. It's one of my favorite things!
I have a 24 foot long straight stretch along the back wall. Sometimes I push the throttle to full speed along the back wall stretch making sure I pull the throttle back before the end. Most of the time it is 30 scale MPH per DCS.
My two layouts are 12'-by-8' and 10'-by-5'. I mostly run at slow to medium speeds that look realistic on the curves - 25 to 30 scale-miles-per-hour on the smaller layout and 50 scale-miles-per-hour on the larger one. That gives the trains some time to complete a loop. However, the sound of a steam locomotive and its whistle at high speed is one of the things that makes model railroading worthwhile. So, after running slow to medium for a while, I have several steamers with great sounds that I throttle up for a minute or two before shutting them down...
MELGAR
I connected two of my branch line ends to one another so that when I am not operating the various branch line actions I can enjoy simple continuous loop running creating essentially a 190' linear loop with run three trains on it. I find that for safety and sanity sake that it is easier to run them at medium speeds.
A lot of trains run fast. I get the same hassle from some of our club members.
Run like you stole them....
Or at least like they are your trains running at the speed you enjoy.It's all about having fun!
It's hard to run PostWar trains slow......those AC motors start at 30-40 mph.
When you look at train videos from the 70s ,80s and early 90s, the 1st impression is "how fast they run their trains". Speed control changed all that. Nowadays, we have become accustomed to slow and more realistic speeds.
Peter
Interesting...I've never had anyone complain about that when looking at my permanent railroad empire....of course, for me, space is very limited so the entire railroad is about 2 feet long and 1 foot wide. It is a highly detailed model of an abandoned railroad complete with torn up track and a depot with a collapsed roof.
One cannot run postwar trains too fast. Period.
Love to see those side rods flying! LOL!
I think some like them running slower on a video to be able to see the cars better but other than for that run bunny run!
Wow! The LIRR runs their toy trains too fast, too!
Crank
@Eccentric Crank posted:Wow! The LIRR runs their toy trains too fast, too!
Crank
Yes- but I can personally attest that if you are late to an appointment, home to pick up the wife for 6:30 dinner reservations, they will find every reason in the book to go as slow as possible.
@RSJB18 posted:Yes- but I can personally attest that if you are late to an appointment, home to pick up the wife for 6:30 dinner reservations, they will find every reason in the book to go as slow as possible.
That's why some seasoned LI commuters refer to it as the Long Island snail road
When I rode the LIRR in the early sixties, those MU cars really hauled butt! LOL!
Peter nailed it. I still prefer to run diesels and electrics fast. But there's something about the running gear of a steamer that (for me) makes it better when I run it slower.
Gerry
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