Everyone says I run my PostWar Lionels too fast

Thanks for ALL of these great responses Guys!

My motto has been "Run 'em as fast as you can without flying off the tracks".

Magne-traction and tried/tested trackage helps!

I do run slower when I run 5 trains by myself especially since I have a cross track on one elevated level that could result in a nasty broadside collision between two trains if I'm not careful

@Lionelski posted:

Thanks for ALL of these great responses Guys!

My motto has been "Run 'em as fast as you can without flying off the tracks".

I prefer slower speed with my modern stuff. However, when I think of postwar, I think of blurred rods on steamers.

Theres a protyotype for everything, as they say.

( NOT MY VIDEO)

@RickO posted:

I prefer slower speed with my modern stuff. However, when I think of postwar, I think of blurred rods on steamers.

Theres a protyotype for everything, as they say.

( NOT MY VIDEO)

... awesome... 👍

Mark in Oregon

Ricko, thanks for the great video. It’s truly amazing how fast a steamer can go. You’d think the side rods and wheels would destroy themselves.

@Putnam Division posted:

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

I can get slow speeds with my Right of Way transformer.  They run from 0 to 24Vac. Or so I've been told by the designer.  LOL.  Sometimes I will get a nuisance e unit trip but for the most part I can run below warp speed.

Regards,

Lou N

@Lou N posted:

I can get slow speeds with my Right of Way transformer.  They run from 0 to 24Vac. Or so I've been told by the designer.  LOL.  Sometimes I will get a nuisance e unit trip but for the most part I can run below warp speed.

Regards,

Lou N

Lou......when was the ROW transformer 1st built? Late 80s? Early 90s?  I know that all who are lucky to have one, absolutely love them. Since most are still in use, ROW built them very well. Being able to start at 0 volts is a big plus.....

My "fast speed phase" stems from the fact that I was weaned on a ZW....starting voltage 6 volts.......my PostWar New Haven F3 didn't start......it took off!

From a Lionel instruction manual.....

This is a great discussion!

Full of nostalgia!

I can smell the ozone!!!!!!  

Peter

@Putnam Division posted:

Lou......when was the ROW transformer 1st built? Late 80s? Early 90s?  I know that all who are lucky to have one, absolutely love them. Since most are still in use, ROW built them very well. Being able to start at 0 volts is a big plus.....

My "fast speed phase" stems from the fact that I was weaned on a ZW....starting voltage 6 volts.......my PostWar New Haven F3 didn't start......it took off!

From a Lionel instruction manual.....

This is a great discussion!

Full of nostalgia!

I can smell the ozone!!!!!!  

Peter

Hi Peter,

The transformer is from the early 90's.  All of the components were top shelf.

I remember having a big discussion in the Yellow Hall with Myron Bigger (for the newer folks, Myron was the prior owner of OGR magazine).  Myron was taking me to task for not including a direction button.  I told him that our models are miniature versions of heavy machinery; the stress/strain curves look the same.  Sudden stops and reversals do not make the mechanism happy, especially with the power available.

No one else ever complained about the lack of a direction button.

Besides, this is the one transformer available at the time that could run pre-war standard gauge with ease.

And it is a sine wave device; no phase fired chopped waves.

Regards,

Lou n

Here's proof that Pulmore motor equipped locomotives don't have to run fast to have good control.  This is the Lionel Phantom I upgraded years ago to add a second motor and a better control board.  The only control adjustments needed were when it started up the grade (not on the video), I added a little throttle, at the top of the grade I backed it back off.  Truthfully, it's about as good as I've ever seen a Pulmore motored locomotive run at low speeds.

I have found my 681 Turbine is probably the best locomotive I have for faster running.

@Lou N posted:

Hi Peter,

The transformer is from the early 90's.  All of the components were top shelf.

I remember having a big discussion in the Yellow Hall with Myron Bigger (for the newer folks, Myron was the prior owner of OGR magazine).  Myron was taking me to task for not including a direction button.  I told him that our models are miniature versions of heavy machinery; the stress/strain curves look the same.  Sudden stops and reversals do not make the mechanism happy, especially with the power available.

No one else ever complained about the lack of a direction button.

Besides, this is the one transformer available at the time that could run pre-war standard gauge with ease.

And it is a sine wave device; no phase fired chopped waves.

Regards,

Lou n

I never use the direction button on my ZW's, preferring to keep my hand on the "throttle".

No jackrabbit starts in forward or reverse this way too

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Here's proof that Pulmore motor equipped locomotives don't have to run fast to have good control.  This is the Lionel Phantom I upgraded years ago to add a second motor and a better control board.  The only control adjustments needed were when it started up the grade (not on the video), I added a little throttle, at the top of the grade I backed it back off.  Truthfully, it's about as good as I've ever seen a Pulmore motored locomotive run at low speeds.

The ERR AC commander works wonders with AC motor locomotives under TMCC with 100 speed steps. Postwar 2343 I upgraded slowly starting a train.

I may be one of the few people who actually run scale stuff at speeds they really ran (i.e. 75-80 mph on passenger trains). Looks great from track level.

Passenger trains have a top speed of 75-80 mph on my layout, freight 50-55. In my opinion most people run their stuff too slowly .

If you like to run fast, you have TONS of choices going back over 80 years.  If you like trains that run slow, especially on sharp radius curves, your choices are few.

One of the things that was instructive to me, was seeing the video feed from a video camera car pushed ahead of the locomotive.  At anything faster than 15-20 mph, it looked like I was riding a roller coaster!  Talk about barf-bonnets!  Sure, some prototype trains went 75-80 mph (and most 3-rail locos are geared to exceed that by a lot!)  But NOT lurching into sharp un-eased curves, 22-degree crossovers between mains, and short straightaways.  I won't even talk about the 5% grades because I didn't have any.

They're your trains, so run them at the speed that makes you happy.  MTH's departure will leave room for another competitor in the marketplace.  If that company builds slower-running versions of the locos I like, I'll buy them, and sell you the ones I have now at a discount  ;-P