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In the early days of Amtrak (should I say early "daze"?) they ran the United Aircraft Turbo Trains around quite a bit of the system.  I had the privilege of being invited to ride between Milwaukee and Chicago.  This was in late 1971 or so. 

 

The net result of the trial was that Amtrak bought a number of French, double ended Turbo Trains that held down regular service between the two cities and later even extended the service to St.Louis.  During those days you could, if you were glib enough, talk your way up into the cab on many trains.  I took some great photos from the cab of those trains crossing the bridge and coming into St. Louis.  From what I understand, the French built turbo trains were not rugged enough for our tracks and service conditions.  They ran them for a few years and then retired them when maintenance became too costly.

 

I don't don't recall just what happened to the United Aircraft turbos, that MTH's model represents.  Maybe they're in existence in storage somewhere.

 

Paul Fischer

Originally Posted by Spence:

These are pictures of my mountain. I have 2 access panels but the train is hitting the supports for the chicken wire & plaster which I cannot remove or I'll have major problemns

 

Could you provide a sketch--or better yet a photo--of the inside of your tunnel so we can perhaps come up with a few suggestions for a fix.

 

Seems to me that if you have the chicken wire and plaster already in place, the structure should be strong enough by itself, with perhaps some minor relocation of supports.

 

Glad to hear that the O72 curves are not the problem.

Looks really great, thanks for the VID. Thanks to yours and other posts this train went from" That train looks okay" to " I MUST HAVE IT" Just ordered the Penn Central version with the extra car this morning from Jason's train shop. Should be shipped out by the end of the week.

 

 

 

 

 

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Last edited by jimcap

I also received my Turbo train from Mercer Junction. Great service! It's a beautifully detailed model and there are several small and fragile parts on the undercarriage.  My biggest problem has been the elecrical plugs loosening up after a few trips around the layout. I've used a pair of needle nose pliers to really push them into the sockets and tonight I am going to give the consist another try. I really don't want this train to become a "shelf queen".

Well; my apologies. When I took the access panels off & watched the train go thru it was not nhitting the supports like I thought. This 72" curve is just ba little to tight & the engine & passenger car are hitting each nother on the curve & knocking them off the track. I checked all of my other curves more closely & the train barely makes it be. I would now say that it needs a little more than a 72" radius for proper running. I"m posting a couple of pictures with the panels removed,

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They are all 72" radius Ross track.

That track does NOT look like 72" radius. It's probably 36" radius [072]. O gauge track is measured in Diameter and not radius.


Sorry in being "technical" but its for the greater good and to avoid confusion. That train REALLY looks Cool. I am surprised that one of the PDC cars has the single reverse red marker light [11sec in video] and the other appears to have all white lights[51 seconds in video].


Last edited by prrhorseshoecurve

Well I just talked to Dave from Mercer Junction, & he told me to ship it back to

him & he will credit my account. Talk about great customer service. That's one of the many reasons I like dealing with him.I've bought several engines from him along with my DCS system & Z-4000. Who says that customer service is dead!!

Thank nyou Dave

Don't the various manufacturers measure curve diameter (radius) to different locations on the track? So O72 is not necessarily O72.

 

Spence, here are two things to try. 

 

(1) First loosen as much of the tunnel curve as you can.  At the point where the cars touch push the track in toward the center of the curve to where the cars no longer touch.

 

(2)  Superelevate the curve through the tunnel by sliding a shim under the outside rail,  Superelevation has the secondary effect of increasing the curve radius.  An 1/8" might be enough.

 

Fasten down the track and try it again.

 

Jan

Post

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Ste 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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