I recall seeing people mention "The Slinky Effect" when referring to Micro Trains couplers. This was mentioned in a negative tone. I am not sure what it is. Why is MT mentioned and not Accumates or McHenry's? Is this like taking out the slack in a prototype freight train? I thought about this today while driving and trying to ignore my wife. A couple of "Yes Dear" and she was satisfied.
Its the reaction from the springs in MTL couplers. They expand and retract, and depending on speed, it can make it worse. I have seen it bad enough that it can actually snap apart couplers when pulling a longer train.
Slinky and Slack...2 different animals. Proto trains 'take up the Slack' when starting. There is some slop in real life couplers too. This gives all the cars equal forces on the couplers without snapping one of the couplers off further back when the slack or whiplash gets back there should the locomotive take off fast...before slack is taken out. You can actually 'hear' the slack being taken up if your about midway on the side of a stopped consist that is starting to move. Slinky is like Tudor says...the effect of the springs in the coupler box on MT's. Slinky is the back and forth...stop and go of the model cars in a moving consist. Dirty wheels...bad track laying...wrong size wheelsets...etc can all attribute to slinky effect. One car slows...and then takes off again. This cause every car in the consist to react similarily. Looks just like a real "slinky" held out between your hands and ya rock it back and forth...hence...slinky effect. Proto trains have slinky too...but not to the extent our models do. I dont run 60+ car consists so the 'slinky' doesnt really bother me that much. I just like MT's JMO .
We had this same discussion a while back. Mark referred to it...see above posting. Mark, Thanks for putting that together so quickly. The whole thread is worth the read. I do appreciate George's apt description of slack and slinky. So, I will take off from what he said and add this thought. Generally what we see as Slinky, is the action the train has as it rocks or oscillates forwards and backwards while running in one direction. This same action does occur on the real railroads. Seldom is there flat running ground for the trains and they are constantly moving up and down in elevation. Check out the timetables that have the track elevations printed in them. As a portion of the train moves over the top of a knoll the train cars will stretch out as the cars going up the hill pull against gravity and then on the down hill run they pick up in speed and bunch up. Repeating this stretching and bunching up of the couplers known to the rails as slack. If you climb to the top of a tall building or a mountain and look down on the tracks of the 1X1 scale, you can actually see the same action we see with our model trains. The difference is: What we see on our model railroads is an over exaggerated type of slack. It's ok to call it slinky as it certainly looks like one. Typically the engineer, will use the brake and accelerator to control the slack. Something, most of us model railroaders know little of. I have difficulty controlling it. I have watched trains at clubs and on my home layout rock or oscillate back and forth while running. The caboose will lurch. I'm sure pissing off the conductor. On the 1X1 foot scale a brakeman would step out on the porch of the caboose and tighten up the brakes to stop this action. In model railroading we haven't an effective way to accomplish the same. You can add springs to the trucks but that only causes it to get worse. Now, I know we refer to Micro-Trains in the same breath with slinky. I've taken the time to watch all my equipment starting with the old reliable but ugly Rapido Coupler. They all rock back and forth. As long as we build couplers that takes a spring to hold it in place we will see the Slinky or Exaggerated Slack. Here's a little trick I use to lessen the slink. I take some gap filling cyanoacrylate, a needle, a jewel box lid (very important...grin) spot some CYA on the jewel box lid, dip the needle into it so it only picks up a drop and then place that in the middle of the spring. Amazing! Why didn't I think of this sooner? Reduces the slink to what appears to be a normal slack. Be sure to read the other thread Slinky Revisited as it explains the phenomenon in more detail.
LOL!! I have no idea..My trains have nothing but MTL's,I run 60+ car trains,they run like silk...I also have dead flat benchwork and track..
I have slinky effect running on the flat with 10-12 car trains at slow speeds..Nothing like slinking over a magnet and ending up with a break in two.
On a 100 car coal drag, I always mix in about 10 cars with restraining springs, usually used in the caboose, to keep the slinky under control. Then again, if I was using (cr)a[cc](p)umates, I'd never get all the way up to that many cars before the falling trip pins would derail the train, or the next one... :tb-biggrin:
The “Slinky Effect is when a line worker at a Chevrolet engine assembly plant notices the neat “Effect” you can get when you take a set of un-cut piston rings for a 350ci Chevy small block motor and toss them down a flight of stairs. The Affect of this Effect is when said line worker takes that idea, sells it as a toy and becomes a multi-millionaire. But that’s probably not what you are referring too.
I don't know what I'm doing different..I don't even use restraining springs,my cabooses don't even jerk at all..
