What Gauges the Performance of an Engine?

I have seen many benchmarks used in various magazines and on these boards.

What is important to one operator may not be important to another.

For example

Low speed operation
How many cars can be pulled flat and straight
Maximum speed
Minimum speed without stalling
Room for and ease of installing a decoder

NOW- what is important to me

How tight a turn can be tolerated
How does it pull up a grade
What couplers come WITH the engine installed
Ease of traction tire installation, if available
AND MOST IMPORTANT
With less than perfect trackwork, will it stay on the road AND/OR will it self correct with guiderails when entering a turnout?

I would NOT have purchase a KATO PA-1 at this time if I knew the answer to this question. I would have waited and employed it on my expansion, when done. Silly me for not asking here in advance. I must assume that all but a few of us have less than perfect trackwork. I have found the Bachmann Consolidation to be rock solid in not derailing with my track flaws, for example. THIS would be important for many of us.

 

Trackwork is not so hard that I'd disqualify an engine, since it's my fault. It's not all that hard to get your track working well. You need an NMRA gauge and patience, but it's possible. Besides, isn't it the track manufacturer's fault, not the engine?

My determinate for my favorite engine is the quality of the machining of the frame. All the characteristics of an engine come down to this basic item. For example, an engine with a warped frame will present it's truck skew to the track, leading to poor track following and lack of adhesion. Electrical pickup is also in the batch, since a wheel up off the rail is not helping anything. Kato frames (except for the SD40-2) are excellent! Some Atlas engines with the new "improved" pot metal frame wobble like a goose on quaaludes!

If I had only one engine, I'd pick a Kato F7 as the all time champ.* Some of my fleet of 32 D&RGW units have seem a 100,000 scale miles without any attention. They grind on and on, when Dash9s and other younger upstarts have flickered into stalled impotence. They are also one of the best pullers out there.

*if you file some of the lower ladder rung off to clear the truck spring casting.

Tony Burzio
San Diego, CA

 

Tony-

I think that you missed my point which was what is important to ME, not the general buying public.

I am well aware that the trackwork is my fault, BUT it is still something that will determine my happiness with an engine. I have a Bachmann Northern which runs flawlessly on a Kato Unitrack oval but, at the present time, is totally useless to me because it hops off at each turnout ( only one other train does not make only one of my 16 or so turnouts) and at many of my turns (all Atlas Code 80).
I am sure all of my powered trains will run perfectly on Nolan's layout, but therein lies the difference between an All-Star and a minor leaguer.

 

Fotheringill:

I like how you broke down your list, I've never even thought about doing that. I think the main concern to me when buying an engine is it runs very smooth and well. I had a set of the Con-cor-Kato PA's, and was very disappointed in their performance. The lead truck was always hopping of the the track at switches. I checked the guage numerous times and could never get it to track right.I finally sold them off. I too also consider curve radius, because some curves on my branch line are very sharp. In my case price is also important, along with era. I model the late 60' to 1980 BN,GN,NP,CB&Q,SP&S. so while tempting sometimes to get some of the newer stuff, I can't justify it for my layout. Also it seems some of the newer stuff is high priced and the run quality is not there, which is paramount to me.

 

What is important to me?

I have to give you two answers, since my priorities are different for home use than for NTrak running.

For NTrak:

1) Operational reliability: electrical pickup, tracking on rough or worn out track and switches, staying coupled.

2) Durability: running cool on hard pulls of several hours duration, how well it holds up to wear and tear (siderods, crankpins, gears, bushings, brushes, couplers and coupler mounts.) Something super-detailed is likely to get destroyed. Presentable detail is "good enough". My prototypical accuracy filter for NTrak is on the loose side of "close enough", too.

3) Tractive Effort: (bet you thought I would have that as #1 ) nothing else matters if it won't pull well, but it won't even get considered if it doesn't meet #1 or #2 criteria above.

4) Crowd Appeal: If the public likes what we are running and are suitably impressed, the folding green collects in the donation box. If we are running junk that won't stay on the rails or won't stay coupled, adults roll their eyes and leave. The kids delight in big wrecks, but they seldom donate. I play to my audience. I own and run trains I would not otherwise be interested in, like Thomas the Tank Engine.

At home, these are almost reversed:

1) Does it fit era and locale? 95% of what I run NTrak does not. I'm very selective for home use.

2) Operational reliability: see above. I switch at home, never on NTrak. Home use equipment must be able to operate reliably in low speed switching, and must couple and uncouple hands-off. For NTrak, it just needs to impact couple and STAY coupled.

3) Detail Level/Prototypical Correctness: My "good enough" threshold for home use is quite a bit higher than for NTrak.

4) Durability: I run trains for hours at home too, but it is not as big an issue as NTrak use, because the locos are rarely asked to pull more than 8 cars.

I'm not anti-DCC, but I'm analog with a mountain of legacy equipment, so ease of conversion or availability of factory DCC is not part of my decision process.

I'm redesigning my layout plan so the sharpest curve is 12.5 inch radius, with 19 inch radius easements. That is generous for the locale and era. Not a major concern. Just about everything runs well on Unitrack anyway.

Whether a loco has tires or not, or whether tires are even an option is subordinate to the other selection criteria. If it has tires but shaky electrical pickup, it won't get considered. If it doesn't pull, it won't get considered for NTrak, but might still get considered for the little home layout, if it fits era and locale, and is not too big for the layout.

Hope this information is helpful.

I also hope it helps you understand why I think locos like the mallet and berk are duds. They are too big to use at home. "Big" engines that don't pull well enough for NTrak use, or have durability issues, are worthless to me. By the same token, I searched for an Atlas RS3 in B&M maroon and gold for the layout at home, even though it is a lousy puller. It only needs to pull 8 cars at home. It met the home-use criteria very well.

 

Mark:

That's an interesting question. The answer will be different for every user.

Here are some of my thoughts not in any order of importance.

1. Ease of conversion to DCC

2. Pulling ability on 2% grades ( The JJJ&E doesn't have level track)

3. Steam-transition era equipment with few exceptions.

4. Traction tire availability with ease of installment.

5. Durability

6. Detail of loco's

7. Good electrical pickup


Stay cool and run steam....

 

There are many variables on engine performance.

I used to ignore the performance charts in model railroader revues, but now I actually look at the curve on pulling power voltage. Current draw depending on load etc.

Those are very critical variables in engine performance.

 

What's important in engines to me has changed dramatically over the years.

In my younger, poorer years, I was looking for good value within my transition era. I still do, but running quality and ease of DCC conversion are now most important. I'm not too concerned with pulling power, even though most of a 600-foot mainline run is on a 2.5% grade (up and down). Just lately, as I've gotten more familiar with DCC, a "Back EMF" feature in the decoder has become important--that means the train will run at the same speed downhill as uphill, I think.

I used to fiddle with engines--powering the tender of a Mintrix 0-6-0, scratchbuilding auxiliary tenders for better electrical pickup, remotoring K4s and Yb-6s, wiring an ABBA consist of Bachmann F-7s as a single unit, adding pickups to a Docksider. I had a lot of time then.

Now I don't have as much time. So, if an engine doesn't run well, it gets put aside. Maybe I'll get to it; maybe not. I'll still spend some time on a challenge, like getting Kato PAs to run, or installing decoders in the LL FAs, but I'm just not going to fiddle with stuff that doesn't run smoothly

 

At the moment it would be:
Top of list: Minimum to medium speed without stalling.

Bottom of List: Detailing and Historical Accuracy
I expect in the future top of list will be "ability to install a decoder"

Detailing and Historical Accuracy will always be near the bottom because of my vision.

 

I think it depends on how much you like the locomotive.

In the early years of N scale, much tweaking was needed to get locomotives to perform to our liking. Today, that is not so much of an issue. Or is it?

If your favorite locomotive doesn't perform very well out of the box, you may be more inclined to make necessary changes to improve performance. By changes, I mean mechanical changes to the locomotive or changes in your layout. I think it depends on your own desire to see the locomotive operate on your own layout.

I don't necessarily purchase a locomotive because of brand name or purchase price. However, I do expect the more expensive loco to have better the operating capabilities. I will buy a "cheap" locomotive if it is cost effective to me. I will attempt to make it operate to my expectations on my home layout.

 

I only have two requirements:
1. Did SP, SSW or DRGW have them?
2. Do I got the cashola?

As for the rest, I love to tinker........