I was looking at the Lionel sets for possibly running around my G scale in the winter. At first, I hoped for track power, and better quality. Something like their Polar express in O scale electric version with metal wheels.
Now I'm thinking of battery so I don't have to go out back and power up. Maybe I could plop the train on the rails and watch it run from inside?
Most of them look fairly "delicate". Is there a better choice and would run longer without wearing out?
I know I could get a battery car going for my MTH one gauge. I don't wish to wreck them in the snow. I have an old Bachmann set that maybe a better choice for battery. I just don't think it's worth the trouble of conversion.
I figure for less effort I could just grab a Lionel RTR set or just the engine and remote.
So a Bachmann interview a few days back revealed that the new Dash-9's will be offered in 2 different cab numbers per paint scheme...no release date given.
The Moguls are getting some tooling rework, a Pittman motor and metal gearing.
Wow, a pittman now days is getting rare. They are expensive.
I hate to see the new pricing. Remember the low blow out sale prices on this stuff?
Someday, I'll have to get one up on the bench again and have a closer look. I saw an old post on Ray's site and followed it. I removed those switches. I never did any investigation on what they actually do.
I disable (remove) those switches and my engines do fine. If you get a sticky switch, it can short out your track. Those wire power runs underneath is what rotted out on a few of mine. So adding power jumpers eliminates the need for them, under the switch to carry power.
Some of mine are getting older. I ran short jumper wires to help the switches. If you use rail clamps like I do, you can use those clamps to attach the wire jumpers. I made mine pretty short as they connect to the closest power points. Someday, I should take one off and snap pictures of what I did.
It's good practice when building layouts in any gauge, to help the switches power paths when they're required to carry larger amp loads. I like to run large consists with many engines drawing power from the rails. Some switches can't carry all those amps even when new.
I got a used Aristo stainless pass car in years back. It arrived with a broken sideframe. Rather than complaining, I inspected it first. It was very brittle. I believe it matters where in the country things things run outside. In the Southwest, it gets real hot. I believe it cooks some plastics. I'm not sure about the Southeast doing it as much? I imagine hot is hot no matter where it's at.
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any good battery RTR sets?
in General Discussion
Posted
I was looking at the Lionel sets for possibly running around my G scale in the winter. At first, I hoped for track power, and better quality. Something like their Polar express in O scale electric version with metal wheels.
Now I'm thinking of battery so I don't have to go out back and power up. Maybe I could plop the train on the rails and watch it run from inside?
Most of them look fairly "delicate". Is there a better choice and would run longer without wearing out?
I know I could get a battery car going for my MTH one gauge. I don't wish to wreck them in the snow. I have an old Bachmann set that maybe a better choice for battery. I just don't think it's worth the trouble of conversion.
I figure for less effort I could just grab a Lionel RTR set or just the engine and remote.