Oh by the way, I forgot to say when you are on the site click the see it alive in the upper left hand corner of the site and you will be there, it is on camera today.

Owner of K&K the road to nowhere

 

Looks like they had a nice bar-b-que... but I keep holding my breath when folk step over that car parked across the path!

They are usually very careful with the leading foot, but tend to drag the trailing foot... some have come REAL close!

 

This is hilarious.... is it 18 people who all have to function as one?

Maybe on the next shuttle flight, we will give all the astronauts their own toggle switch to turn on one rocket and they can coordinate by talking to each other.

Seriously, I have never seen this move more that about 20 feet before stopping.

I still think it should have one control, DCS or DCC.

Regards, Greg

 

I take it back, it's run about 100 foot right now... But not all the trains are connected together, so that really does not count.

I guess this is a "training" run?

I see, maybe they are running several independent trains, and then try to hook them up into one train while they are rolling?

(hmm... a bit tricky... how long do they all have to be coupled together and rolling to constitute "one" train?)

Greg

 

Well I watched for 15 min and still see just a bunch of separate trains running and a lot of folks chasing trains and then there is this dude with the big cowboy hat standing in front of the camera. Now that sucks. Later RJD

 

I watched it for awhile an did see some grass growing

 

IMHO if he is using LocoLink & battery power it will never happen.. Reason is all the batterys will be @ different voltages, so the power to the receivers will be different in every loco.. This will make it impossible to keep the loco's speed together.. If he is using track power, the odds are a little better.. I think Greg has the right answer, DCC or DCS with my preferance going to DCC..

BulletBob

P.S. I run LocoLink with battery power!!

 

Posted By Road Foreman on 11/17/2008 10:10 AM
IMHO if he is using LocoLink & battery power it will never happen.. Reason is all the batterys will be @ different voltages, so the power to the receivers will be different in every loco.. This will make it impossible to keep the loco's speed together.. If he is using track power, the odds are a little better.. I think Greg has the right answer, DCC or DCS with my preferance going to DCC..

BulletBob

P.S. I run LocoLink with battery power!!

Regardless of battery condition, voltage, current draw, or ???, the intent was to make up a certain number of separate trains each under the control of an operator with a transmitter. All of these separate trains were then to start moving. The trailing train was tasked with matching the speed of the train in front of it (regardless of battery condition). When all the train were moving at similar speeds, Rick would walk along and link their couplers until on long train was made. In this way battery condition becomes less of an issue.

 

I am using battery RCS and do MU lashups every now and then. All you have to do is watch the coupler slack with the locomotives around you. If you are the second locomotive and have slack on your front coupler, slow down a little. If you are the second locomotive and are stretched on your front coupler, speed up a little.

 

I think that's kind of "cheating" but there are no written rules. It's a lot trickier to start a long train in one piece!

The reason I mentioned DCS is that it can be set to maintain an absolute speed, no matter what the load. It was communicated to me that there were significant grades on the layout, so different locos might be under different loads because the locos were spread throughout the train (another problem in my opinion).

So all the locos would be controlled from a single throttle, and all would be running at the same track speed.

So if I had the $$ to spend and it was my layout, I would to it that way if I was forced to run all those separate locos.

I think you could do better with more locos in larger consists, but since I'm not doing it myself, it's pure conjecture.

Regards, Greg

 

Toddalin,

The LocoLink system has only 10 speed steps, 10% to 100%.. So any time you make a change it is 10%.. This is why the voltage has to be the same.. If it is not then you can never match the speed of the other train..

Snoq Pass,

Have never run RCS, so no comment..

BulletBob

 

Road Foreman,

Sorry, I should have mentioned it, but the principles are basically the same for any MU lashup.

 

Posted By Road Foreman on 11/17/2008 2:03 PM
Toddalin,

The LocoLink system has only 10 speed steps, 10% to 100%.. So any time you make a change it is 10%.. This is why the voltage has to be the same.. If it is not then you can never match the speed of the other train..

Snoq Pass,

Have never run RCS, so no comment..

BulletBob

OK...,

I'm just saying what the intent was as Rick had said he wanted to do it.

But even if all voltages could be assured as being the same, the trains would not all run at the same speed as they had varying loads. In the video, some pull the IM single cars, some the IM multi-cars (shared axles), and some long tank cars.

Was never a big fan of the LocoLink system and 10 steps is really not enough, though real diesels use just eight. Even my older A-C TE doesn't have enough steps.

 

Question to myself is, Did he do it or not? I would think not.
Toad

 

Posted By Ole Toad Frog on 11/17/2008 4:18 PM
Question to myself is, Did he do it or not? I would think not.
Toad


Not. Had about 400 feet going together at once.