The next new feature for O scale 3 rail steam locos???

Take off your traction tires and you will have that.

Scott Smith

I agree, scrap the annoying traction tires and replace with magne-traction -- dynamic magne-traction powered with electro magnets to effect wheel slippage on demand.

Vision Line Big Boy already has slipping wheels (sound).

How about the engineer leaning out the cab window to look forward. It would be cool to see him momentarily leaning out on que. until it mafinctions that is.

scott.smith posted:

Take off your traction tires and you will have that.

Scott Smith

BINGO!

This feature was made many years ago....but not on purpose. 

I had a Mantua HO scale Hudson.....it had no traction tires. I found, as a 8 year old, that if I gave it full throttle on start then back off to 1/8 throttle I could get a very realistic slipping action.  But it was a little unreliable in that sometimes at full throttle it would get traction and fly off my 4 x 8 empire. I'd like a system a bit more reliable!!! 

I'd like to see locos that broadcast their sounds via bluetooth so you can reinforce the loco sounds with nicer speakers.  Of course you'd still have the sounds from the loco itself for visual cues.

Roving Sign posted:

I'd like to see locos that broadcast their sounds via bluetooth so you can reinforce the loco sounds with nicer speakers.  Of course you'd still have the sounds from the loco itself for visual cues.

It exists, just not in O, a bloody shame.  Rolling Thunder.  Check it out.

Pete

I've thought about this recently too, Dave. I think you could have some sort of clutching system in the driver's that would spin the wheels but not the tires and then gain traction. Cool in theory but I imagine very difficult and expensive to implement.

While I enjoy all the bells and whistles of Legacy steam locomotives, I feel the next generation of features should be centered on realistic operation. Maybe that's what Lionel has planned with the force-measuring coupler feature with the new Vision Line steamer. Assuming it is as neat as it sounds unless it filters down to Legacy engines it'll be an isolated feature for one model. 

It'd also be neat to eventually see the next generation of locomotive control by voice command, where an operator talks into a command control headset, and tells an engine, "Erie 3321", proceed on track 1 at 25 mph". "Erie 3321 engage rear coupler", and so forth. It's a logical step forward in command control technology.

Another feature I always wanted was a mini screen on the remote control that gives a cab view of addressed engine. Then I can really "drive" my locomotives around the layout no matter where I am standing.

I doubt we'll see any of these however as it seems the importers struggle with basic QC and operating features working as they're supposed to.

Personally, a "feature" that would be REALLY nice, and prototypical, on future higher detailed steam locomotive models would be: reversing valve gear. The only 3-Rail company that has done this, so far has been Sunset/3rd Rail, on the last model of the C&O H-8 2-6-6-6. It is very visible, when the locomotive goes forward, the appropriate valve gear linkage drops down to "forward gear", and when backing up, the appropriate valve gear linkage moves upward to "reverse gear". 

."Slipping wheels!!  Now I know slipping wheels are not a good thing in the real world.....but I love watching a big loco trying to a heavy train and get a little wheel slippage. Maybe the lead and trailing trucks lift slightly and we get some driver spin!!! Make sure the sound matches......and I'm in!!! How about it???"

"How about the engineer leaning out the cab window ?"

Sparks?

Texas Pete posted:

Roving Sign posted:

I'd like to see locos that broadcast their sounds via bluetooth so you can reinforce the loco sounds with nicer speakers.  Of course you'd still have the sounds from the loco itself for visual cues.

It exists, just not in O, a bloody shame.  Rolling Thunder.  Check it out.

Pete

WOW! - That's it!  Thanks for that link.

So cool that they have the distance:volume control part worked out!

Although it would still be cool to have multi-channel output - for crewtalk-type/passenger sounds - might be neat to have them come from somewhere else on the layout.

Paul Kallus posted:

It'd also be neat to eventually see the next generation of locomotive control by voice command, where an operator talks into a command control headset, and tells an engine, "Erie 3321", proceed on track 1 at 25 mph". "Erie 3321 engage rear coupler", and so forth. It's a logical step forward in command control technology.

 

It would be a tall order for the train to do voice recognition, but this would not be too difficult to implement today.

A phone or computer would do the voice recognition, and just send the appropriate commands to the Legacy or DCS command base.

If I saw that and I ran that RR, that would be that engineer's last ride!

I've thought led light simulation of sparks or even "sparkers" (a device that creates sparks) would be cool -- maybe add in appropriate sound changes and realistic dialogue to go with it... (add a mode for 'sailor' or 'saint' versions)

Hot Water posted:

Personally, a "feature" that would be REALLY nice, and prototypical, on future higher detailed steam locomotive models would be: reversing valve gear. The only 3-Rail company that has done this, so far has been Sunset/3rd Rail, on the last model of the C&O H-8 2-6-6-6. It is very visible, when the locomotive goes forward, the appropriate valve gear linkage drops down to "forward gear", and when backing up, the appropriate valve gear linkage moves upward to "reverse gear". 

Agreed 100%.  The sight of model steam locomotives going down the tracks with the valve gear on center bothers me.  I've configured the Walshaerts valve gear on one of my engines to be in full forward, but it would be way cool for it to be variable.

Operating Reverser.

I vote for the operating reverser with appropriate sound when changing position.  Now if we could adjust the cut-off when underway, well that would be the icing on the cake.......now we're cooking! I know, I'm getting carried away!    

The VL Big Boy is really feature rich, with wheel slip, depleting coal load, back draft, twin smoke stacks that pour out lots of smoke, smoking whistle, ditch lights, and the amazing Whistle Effect...Runs Fantastic, Although pricy, the early order pricing was very fair...The Speaker System in this engine is wonderful. Therefore, I think, adding the swinging bell, and the scoop effect will be enough goodies. I think the new coupler pull effect will be great...Blue tooth?  I think there should be a Quality Control Effort second to none....Also, I think going with the Brass/Hybrid ideas would be interesting...So many ideas....That’s why the hobby is so much Fun....Great thread..

I have been able to replicate wheel slip for years.  A light weight engine with old hard tires and too many cars going into a curve will slip almost every time 

Also I have seen video of an H K Porter 2-4-0 (conversion from 0-4-0) make a perfect single revolution wheel slip and then catch traction to start away from the platform with 3 or 4 coaches in tow. I knew the engineer and asked him about it, he said he couldn’t do that exactly the same engine if he tried 100 times.

All of this stuff sounds great, but who is going to buy the $5,000 locomotives in enough quantity to make the engineering effort to pay off?

gunrunnerjohn posted:

All of this stuff sounds great, but who is going to buy the $5,000 locomotives in enough quantity to make the engineering effort to pay off?

The last new loco I bought was the MTH DAP PRR 2-10-4 set......and that was above my pain level. So....no...I'd not pay the going $2K we have now.....but fun to imagine it!!  Everytime I watch the Pennsy Power DVD and the T-1 slips a few times before getting rolling is just cool!! 

How about this feature:  it runs correctly right out of the box and continues to do so with minimal maintenance for 50+ years?

palallin posted:

How about this feature:  it runs correctly right out of the box and continues to do so with minimal maintenance for 50+ years?

Now that's just crazy talk.

Alan

I would like to see all the features combined into one locomotive.  We have locomotives with swinging bells, blow down effects, steam chest effects, whistle steam, depleting coal loads, excellent sounds, etc.  But not one locomotive with all of these features together.

palallin posted:

How about this feature:  it runs correctly right out of the box and continues to do so with minimal maintenance for 50+ years?

At a reasonable cost.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

All of this stuff sounds great, but who is going to buy the $5,000 locomotives in enough quantity to make the engineering effort to pay off?

Right

Lets just start with the trucks & thumbtack

Doug

how long do you think it will be before we have battery operated engines with enough power for realistic and sustainable operation ?

anyone shorting (pun intended) their transformers?

How about quality control during manufacturing, that I would vote for not all these wish lists everyone wants. 

Dave

palallin posted:

How about this feature:  it runs correctly right out of the box and continues to do so with minimal maintenance for 50+ years?

I'm a conventional runner......I was talking fantasy stuff......Many of my locos were bought with fried electronics or I could not afford them!!! So DOA locos are among my favorites!! .....but I get what you are saying. 

Sounds should be polyphonic... meaning that one sound overlays another, not replaces it when activated.   Perhaps a mode button sets this feature on or off also, or there's a way to edit a property table to indicate which sounds are polyphonic or not.

A coal auger between the engine and tender, I'm getting tired of scooping up coal that spills onto the track from the tender.

The chances of this feature being offered does not augur well.

My postwar 675 can spin those Baldwin Discs fairly easily. 

Conductor Earl posted:

The chances of this feature being offered does not augur well.

 

 

I think I'll pull the tires off my scale PRR T-1 and grease up the rails......that will be cheaper!!!

Wheel-slip, yes. Better that more smoke.

My modern TMCC Pullmor 5344 J1 will slip the drivers quite well; If I were to swap the 1-chuff switch (good idea, anyway) for a magnetic reed switch on one of the drivers, add 4 magnets...It would have 4-chuff wheel-slip. Great - another thing on the to-do list (and the Lionel L3 Mohawk with no traction tires is a real candidate, too; that slip looks so real).

To sum up after reading the above: the best way to have wheel slip is to let the drivers slip - and have a chuff-sensor or cam on a driver or driver axle. You don't need to "imitate" slip when you can "initiate" it. It's also another reason to lose the traction tires. I really dislike those things; this would also stop much high-end locomotive abuse: "It pulled 250 cars!" Too bad it can't be an option, as Lionel offered on a few modern Hudsons. Let's leave the traction tires to the "toys". (Too late, I know.)

Real wheel slip, not the dumb sounds from the big boy. My thought for how to implement it would be having a motor that raises the locomotive slightly via the power pickups so it loses traction. I would also like better sounds. Someone get the sound guys to spend tone around a real steam engine. They might learn something. 

 As for voice commands, Mike Wolf says MTH products will be able to do it soon with Amazon Alexa.