Suggestions for reliable engine for work Christmas Train Display

I Really like the idea of an engine locked in forward, and the power controlled through a motion sensor. Someone walks by, trains runs 6 minutes, shuts off.

I agree with your estimations about williams  they are solid and run forever I have had no real problems our of my williams steamers any time i have used them on the Christmas layout.  this also includes running them for up to 12 hours at a time with no break

Being as this will be in a work enviroment  I would make sure that the Track and engine noise is as low as possible 

with this being said i have always had good luck with a 1/2 inch OSB base with Dollar store carpeting glued to the base and then Un-soaked cork roadbed under the track and I also used Atlas Three rail track  which was also screwed  into place with track screws all the way into the plywood.

IN all the years i have done displays in public places the Christmas music that was played through a computer to speakers mounted on the layout always had no competitiion with the running of the Trains

the Cork Roadbed can be found at Train-land for 35.00 per case of 25 pieces

I hope this helps

At the Railroad Museum of Long Island we run engines for 6 hours and we have found that Williams holds up the best.

Roger, Bobby and Lenny - thank you for your input. This will be in our reception area. No workers in this area but a large window for those who pass by our space.

I'm thinking about two small loops. One with a (Williams?) Engine, two cars and caboose and one with either a K-Line Porter or perhaps the K-Line Polar Bear "speeder". The noise is not a problem as no one sits in that area.

Security is not an issue and I just want to have some fun this Christmas season at work. Once again thanks for the input.

Paul

your welcome 

I will point out the small motors used in the K-Line stuff you mention likely will not stand up to near as much steady running as the Williams locomotive.  I have the K-Line Porter that I converted to TMCC, I don't think I'd consider running it continuously for hours.  I've seen a number of similar small K-line motorized units that needed new motors.

Railrunnin,

   Paul pickup a original PRR Brunswick Green Williams GG-1 and use it as your primary running engine on your Christmas layout, they run for as long as you like every day, all day long.  I also have an original Silver EC44 Williams of the same quality, I would use that on your other track.  Use your PE only when you are around to watch it, in reality they are not a high quality run all day engine.

These old Williams GG-1's and EC44's are simply high quality run all day and night engines.

PCRR/Dave  

Out of my (Williams Free) collection my "Go To" engine for what you want to do would be my Lionel Mikado Jr. I have the Union Pacific version, and they are Great Looking, SMooooth Running and Strong pulling locomotives. I would have no concerns running a Mikado Jr. for extended periods, and you would need a MUCH larger area than that to come close to the length of train that they can handle.

This would be my choice, but the Lionel 0-6-0T Docksider would also be another Great choice in my opinion.

Doug

Hi John,

      I had to install a new motor in my Porter, and it is not an easy job!  I discovered that the Porter uses the same motor as the Lionel handcars, just that this motor has an extended rear shaft with a second worm gear.  But it is a very light-duty motor, in my opinion.  I hardly ran the Porter over the years, but perhaps running it on O24 curves put too much stress on the motor and hastened its demise.  Considering the weight of the Porter, I am surprised motor failure isn't a bigger issue.  Sorry I missed out on the Lionel 50% off parts sale; would have picked up a few Porter motors.  I was so disappointed to see how small that motor is, and now I feel like I am killing the thing anytime I run it for even a few minutes.

Take care, Joe.

Anything that is going to run for an extended period should probably have at least the larger Mabuchi 3xx motors.  Those seem to stand up much better than the small flat-sided Mabuchi starter set motors.  I've had very few of them die, but lots of the starter set motors get replaced.

Is there a substitute for the original Porter motor (that fits inside the Porter)?

Thanks!

None that I know of, it's a pretty specific configuration.

Thanks!

For some reason I forgot about the small motor in the Porter and Plymouth K-Line switchers. I had a couple of Plymouths become static displays

I appreciate everyone's input.

I have no experience with Williams Engines. Dave - thanks for the suggestion on a GG1. Any suggestion for a smaller engine?

Thanks again,

Paul

Paul,

Don't fight it, Williams is your way to go here.

Have a friend that just bought some F-3's, runs them non-stop for hours at a time.

The Williams Alco FAs and Geeps are near clones of the quality early Lionel models with the updated running gear.

I would also vote for a Williams engine, but you might consider some of the Lionel post-war locomotives.  They were tanks and many of them are still running some 50-60 years later.  I know that the Carnegie Science Center layout in Pittsburgh was running a number of post-war Lionel engines almost continuously.  Choo-Choo Barn does the same, I think.

Lock them in forward, set the handles appropriately, and watch 'em run.

George