What speed do you run your trains?

Freight max speed would be 30 MPH for me, while passenger speed would be 55/60 MPH max for me.

Passenger = 36 SMPH max (DCS), Lionel @ 80 'units'

Freight = 24 SMPH max (DCS), lionel @ 70 'units'

And about 75% of max through populated areas 

Also discussed here.

Alex

I run my main freights at about 30 and my way freights at about 17. When I have had a passenger train on the track I have run it at about 55-60............Paul

I don't run freight anymore but when I did I ran at 17 smph. My passenger trains run between 22 and 27 smph.

Charlie

We (our Thursday night train group) tries to run trains at prototypical speeds (ie. slowly). We had a member that thought they were toys and ran them at warp speeds. One of the many reasons he is no longer a member.

Interesting question. Ivor is a  small engine on what is essentially a rural branch line - although with solid trackwork. He usually doesn't even pull a van as he progresses from layout scene to scene at a speed that 'looks good' to my Mark I Eyeball. When he is carrying sheep in an open truck or passengers in an ancient wagon, he goes even slower. Of course, when he is driven by a visitor (regardless of their age), he usually goes much faster. 

A pal of mine who's no fan of 3-rail once referred to a 3-rail modular group we saw at a show as, "A flanged-wheel Indy 500" as they ran almost fast enough to fly off the curves, and in eternal circles. Kind of hard to deny the analogy in that case.

About half way between barely moving and flying off the O-27 curves!

I'm doing about the same as Charlie.   less than 20 for freights and mid 20s for passenger.  Any faster seems too fast on my small layout.  

Express Passenger trains run flat out at 85 to 90.

Express Freights run at 60 to 65.

Slow orders can bring them down to 5 or 10.

It's surprising how few guests will run trains flat out.

15mph to 30mph, I think the trains more like the real thing then toys.

Warp 9 or until then engine blows.

SIR JAMES,

     Usually between 27 and 37 Scale MPH.  Therefore I get NO PILE UPs!!!  But I've been known to do "breakneck" speeds every once in a while just to stretch those legs, er wheels.

MTH DCS is set for the max of 40 mpg.  General my freight trains move not fast than 35 mph.   

Hey Jim - I like to run them fast - especially if train wreck Bob is running behind me...

I try to keep freight at about 25 smph and passenger at 40 smph (I have only the eyeball method).

If I had a really big layout I would increase speeds somewhat, at times, as there are/were fast freights and fast passenger trains. But passenger trains ran at moderate speeds much - most - of the time as conditions do not permit 95 mph most of the time. I find that the 25/freight and 40/passenger (don't run those much, anyway) to be a good track speed on my small-to-moderate-sized layout.

====

These anti-3-rail bigots who see only "flanged-wheel indy 500's" cannot learn, and seem a bit dim. I know several, and I no longer even talk to them (except politely) at shows. I can - and have - run, right in front of them, for example, my exquisite Lionel SP AC-9 2-8-8-4 at 3 smph, pulling a 25-car reefer train, and all they can see is a 2-6-2 doing 120.

After I observed that a few times, I realized that they have an agenda, and are simply rude, so they are not worth the breath.

All model railroads, except the point-to-point type (which have their own set of conceptual issues), are "eternal circles", regardless of their "scale".

U

I rum them slowly but no more then 35 mph.

 Well we run conventional so no speedometer on our stuff. 
All I can say is I run them much slower than the 2 ½  year old grandson.

It depends. My modern DCS stuff is run at slow prototypical speeds. But once a Postwar engine is on the track.........all bets are off. Magnetraction is a wonderful thing.

Roger

For "O", slow enough to not look stupid on a small layout. For AF postwar "S", fast enough to get smoke from the engine.

When the AGHR kids aren't on the layout -- 15 to 25 SMPH. When the AGHR Kids are running -- 25-25 SMPH. When I have the layout to myself -- 10 to 20 SMPH. On the home layout -- 5 to 10 SMPH.

I love slow speed operation. Hence, I had to get rid of my O72/O54 curved switches.....I run small engines and at slow speeds the power drops were too long.

Peter

I run them at a 'cruising speed' that kind of matches the transformer's and loco's temperment.

There's a work-around for this problem if you're using a Ross curved turnout and a Tortoise machine. Basically, you use the Tortoise's relay contacts to energize the unused closure rail as a hot lead and energize the closure rail in use as a ground. Did this with the #8 curved turnout and the smallest engines we have can go through at a crawl without hesitating, let alone stalling. You could potentially do this with an Atlas curved turnout, but you'd have to isolate the closure rails from each other and from the frog.

Very new to all this after my last trains were conventional from the fifties!

I read that crack passenger trains can hit 90-100 mph routinely? I was HORRIFIED at how fast that was on the DCS controller! H O R R I F I E D !

My minimum curves were O-72 at the time. Since increased. But NO s100mph! LOL!

Scale 60 is plenty fast enough! If I had a 100 foot straight section, I might feel differently but, IMO, slow looks better!

I think like Hot Water thinks.

20-30 scale mph looks decent on my layout.

Bogie

The Galloping Goose stays at 30 smph.

Everything else is 35 to 45 Smph

Lionmaster big boy does 70 smph

I made the post in the topic Alex linked to back in February(?), since May, I've converted my steamers to battery power R/C.  Now I run them at 50-65% throttle

I took some measurements (DCS measured my mainline at 1/3 mile long) and with my Williams brass 2-8-2 at different throttle settings:

50% - 19mph

60% - 30mph

70% - 33mph

75% - 40mph

I'm happy with those speeds.

They have a cure for that.

It's called electric shock therapy.

I try to limit freight trains to 4.6

Passenger trains I like to see moving at about 5.7.

If I had a bad day at my real job then I might run trains at 6.9,  but no higher.

I run freight only and I keep the speeds between 25 to 35 mph. Any faster and I start to get nervous going around O-63 and O-72 curves.

Anywhere from creeping around at scale speeds, to as fast as they will handle a curve.

My freights are between 20-25 MPH, I usually run 3 at a time, and my Amtrak between 40-45 MPH. I have 036 curves.

Joe B.  

The problem with high speeds on any train layout is the fact that our curves are no where near to prototypical. We all use unreal radii and usually lack proper easement and super elevation.  Passengers on our miniature railroad would have broken necks and vertigo from our abrupt turns.

High speed trains on such layouts end up looking toy-like in operation. So I suggest speeds a little lower than the prototype.  Watch a few videos of layouts and see what I mean.

Earl 

Here's a short video of a 4-6-2 running at 35 smph anything much faster starts to look funny on 072 curves. 

I run my trains fast. I run mostly postwar or postwar remakes and think they look and sound better that way.

J White

In general I use a moderate speed; that is, just fast enough so the engine will not stall and keep a fairly even speed running conventional.  I may run postwar steamers a little faster to get good smoke output, though.

Clikity Clack

On MTH / RailKing there is a feature called "Clikity Clack" for the sound.

     Get the locomotive up to about 30 smph, and the sound will change to a rail sound called "Clikity Clack".

     This is set up by using the soft keys or going into the Main Menu and look for "Clikity Clack" under sound.

     This is the only time I will go fast to get to this sound.

Gary

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