Switchers-

[alcodiesel]

I'm building a switching layout puzzle (al la John Allen Timesaver)at the school where I teach. I've been in N and G for years and am kinda new to HO. What's a good running- through switches- diesel switcher? I'd rather pay more and not have the hassles. Thanks, Bill McLean

[BoxcabE50]

I'm not in HO. But Life Like had the same SW9/1200 switcher in HO, as they made for N scale. Perhaps if one of these is still available?

:D

Boxcab E50

[jasonboche]

In no particular order, I have LifeLike, Atlas, and Athearn switchers. I like all 3.

My only gripe about the Athearn is that it's really light and needs weight added if you plan on moving around more than a dozen cars with a single loco.

[ak-milw]

My Atlas Alco S1 switcher works great through turnouts, also the Life-Like SW9/1200 works fine!!

[Black Cloud]

I love my LifeLike P2K SW9/1200. It is absolutely the smoothest diesel switcher in my roster, and it can move reeeeeaaaal slooooooooow.

[MasonJar]

Don't forget the other part of the equation - the turnouts!

Our club has a TimeSaver based module that we use at shows, and the Peco switches are bomb-proof.

Andrew

[alcodiesel]

Yes, the switches! These HO ones were donated by guys in my large scale train club. They are Atlas, metal frog. I'm figuring the live frogs will do well in this layout. What do you think?
Also, I saw Trainworld has LL P2K S-1 switchers for $30.00. Is this a good (slow)runner?

[ 27. November 2003, 13:15: Message edited by: alcodiesel ]

[StickyMonk]

<font color="336633">I have switchers from Atlas, Kato, Athearn, Proto 2000 and Walthers, my pic would be the Proto 2000 line, you can pick these up for stupid money on ebay, I paid $28 for my last one (an S1) and that included shipping to the UK!. As far as switches I would also go for Peco, easy to use and very reliable smile.gif </font>

[Martyn Read]

A couple of others to look out for are the (out of production) Kato NW2 and Steward Baldwin switcher ranges, both these run nice & look good. The Kato's come up on ebay fairly often, and the Stewarts are still in production.

I haven't had a long play with the Proto alco, but was impressed by what I saw.

My personal favourite though is the Atlas alco, it's not quite as fine a model (detail wise) as the Proto, but runs great, and will pull lots due to it's big cast frame.

[StickyMonk]

Originally posted by Martyn Read:
My personal favourite though is the Atlas alco <font color="336633">I have one of those as well but have yet to run that one either :rolleyes: </font>

[Pete]

The one I seem to run the most is my Atlas Alco S3. It never stalls, and is very smooth. My P2K S1 is the best looking, best detailed, and most accurate switcher I have. It runs smooth and can run very slow but sometimes stalls on my Shinohara crossings. That could be the result of dirty track, wheels, or something electrical, but I haven't devoted a lot of time to clearing it up since the Altas loco has no problems at these places. Hey guys, that makes me wonder... I think I'll start a post in the DCC forum about it. If you have time, check out "P2K S1 stalls at crossings". I also run the Kato NW2, which runs very smooth. I don't run it as often since the fuel tank hangs so low on it, it sometimes gets hung up on my Kadee uncoupling ramps! Now I know that's my fault, but I'm lazy!

You can't go wrong with any of them. On a "Time-Saver" you won't be pushing a lot of cars, so a hefty switcher isn't too important.

In my case, the Atlas is more forgiving of my faulty modeling. The Kato runs just as good. The P2K S1 is by far the best looking most accurate plastic switcher ever made (besides the other P2K switcher's). It probably runs perfectly too, I just have to find out how I screwed it up.

[alcodiesel]

I just got a S-1 from Trainworld (great price) and ran it a bit on the old Atlas track and switches I have. Woah! I haven't ed HO since the 60s. That thing runs great! Thank you for the advice. The kids at school want it to run fast and I told them the best s can run very slow. That switching engines don't run fast. They don't believe me.
? should the cab and back lights come on in reverse?

[John797]

Pete, I just got a P2K SW-1 and I find that it takes alot more throttle to run than the normal locos I have. I don't have metering on my throttle but I find that the position of my throttle is a lot higher than normal.

Do you have the same experiences?

Still, it is a smooth running little charmer.

[John797]

Alco, Mine does.

[John797]

Monk, What r ya waitn 4?

Get it out and run it. ;)

[Pete]

John797, I run DCC, but the P2K Alco S1 I have does run slower than all others. It seems to top out at a around 50-55 scale mph, which I believe is the prototype's top speed too! With DCC you can program whatever speed you want, but remember, today locos aren't the speed racers of old. When I got my first Atlas Master Series loco after many years away from the hobby, I thought something was wrong with it because it ran so slow! Now I understand that is not only normal, but desirable as well!

[7600EM_1]

Hey Pete,
Any chance you giving me the conversion to determine scale speed? I'd like to get it asn ahve it for prototypically running steamers! I've been trying to find this conversion for awhile (I once had it on paper, but have since lost the paper it was on!)

[John797]

Pete, I know that the S1 should run slower but I just found that I really ahd to turn the throttle up a bit more than usual. I have a couple of shays that are geared very slow but I get movement at a lower throttle setting.

I was just wondering if I had a problem somewhere. Thanks

[Pete]

John 797 - I don't think anything is wrong with your loco, but I'm no expert. It can still creep along even at the higher setting correct?

John7600EM_1 - Here is an address to get a free scale speed calculator as well as other cool conversion stuff. http://webpages.charter.net/dobbsp/

[Mike Sheridan]

John (797), P2k use a 'constant brightness' lighting system that means the motor power lags the throttle output by about 1.5 volts compared to many 'standard' locos. Could this explain your symptoms?

[7600EM_1]

Thanks Pete! I'll go have a look around I been meaning to ask someone on the board here for the scale speed equasion... THANKS again! :D

[7600EM_1]

Pete,
I had a look around an I can't use the programs! I don't have a MAC computer, nor do I have WinZip to open the file! :(

Anyway of getting this for a Windows based computer?

[John797]

Pete/Mike, Thanks for the info. I really think both of you are correct. It runs real smooth and can pull the house down. I think the lighting circuit board is the culprit for the high throttle settings. Best loco I have when running slow speeds through switches.