So is there a fix out there to improve the Walthers Berkshire anemic pulling?

[BeastofTheEast]

Lots of good info. I may try this double tape.

[Lemosteam]

Ok the results are in, and are rather surprising:

First, I'd like to thank jdcolumbo for the idea, and I hope he does not mind me giving him credit in the video below:

In my mind this is a legitimate substitute for a TT driver when one does not have the means or ability to create one.  I do suggest cleaning any hairballs after the initial run of the loco!  LOL!

[jdcolombo]

I'm getting a "this video is private" message when I click on the video.

I'm always happy to get credit , although I didn't invent this idea.   I read about it somewhere - maybe on the old Atlas forum?  It's been so long ago, I can't remember.  I do think I get credit for evangelization, though!

John C.

[Lemosteam]

John, thanks.  I have opened it to public so it should be viewable now.

[mmagliaro]

John,
Very imformative.  But I do have some questions.
First, that big hunk of lead you have balanced on the engine - is that equivalent to the
10 or 12 gram (about) standard Mikado weight?  Or is it a lot heavier?   If it's heavier,
than it's hard to know how these pull-ounce measurements would really come out
with an actual Mikado.  The pulling is a function of friction from the tire and the weight on it.
(If it's the same weight, then you can ignore this comment!)

What about all that hair and dirt the tape picks up?  That can't be easy to clean off.
To others who have used this approach, what do you do about that stuff?

This does seem like a viable solution.  The tape is constantly rolled against the wheel, so it will tend to
stay put rather than peel off, and that mylar tape base is probably pretty strong stuff, so I'm not surprised
that it lasts.

This is not a bad idea at all!

[jdcolombo]

Very interesting.  I wonder if the decrease in pulling power for the tape is linear or if it all happens at once as dust loads up on the tape.  I don't seem to get much hair/lint on my Berks, although the tape does get dirty from running around the track. 

For Max - I don't try to "clean" the tape.  As noted above, mine gets dirty, but it doesn't seem to pick up much hair/lint.  Mostly, it just turns black after a while.  But it really doesn't take more than about 10 minutes to remove the old tape, cut two new strips, and put it on if you'd like a cleaner tape.  All I know is that several of my Berks have 8-year-old tape on the drivers, and they are still going strong.  I've replaced the tape on two of my ten Berks; the others have the "original" tape application (but as I noted in an earlier message, it would take me probably four years to put 8 hours of run time on one of my Berks).

John C.

[Lemosteam]

Hi Max, the point of the weight was not to simulate the overall weight of the locomotive or to impress that the Mike could pull more or less.  It is simply there to hold the front end down. I was having conductivity issues on all three examples till I added that, plus the mech by itself does not have the benefit of the tender pickups.  I think my drawbar link was pulling the rear of the loco down a bit.  Since the weight is a constant in all four tests, it does not affect the results.

If you look at my other traction tire video, it is surprising how close the results for the plain mech by itself came to the complete locomotive!

Also note how well the mech ran all night without tender pickup and a driver axle coated with tape! It was still running when I woke up, a little warm and really noisy for some reason, but that is a different topic I will start as this surprised me much.

I do think that even with a TT or tape, the flange makes intermittent contact with the rail providing a little more conductivity at those times.

Glad you thought it useful, and that you came to the same conclusion.

Think of how many Bachmann 0-6-0 and really light locomotives without TT this could help.

As for the hair I have a long hair cat that spends lots of time in the basement, but I have never caught him on the layout.

[Lemosteam]

John, in truth w as expecting an amount of letdown just due to the crud attached to the tape, but I was fully expecting much much more of a letdown than that.  I was pleasantly surprised.  That eight hours nearly wore the other drivers coating off if you look at them in the pic.

I would also think after eight hours strait that the TT driver would also have a letdown. In retrospect I probably should have done that too, but my purpose was to validate or debunk the tape.  I feel like a Mythbuster today! "Confirmed!"

Even though I think this is not equal to the TT, this is just so inexpensive and low-skill to apply, that I will definitely use it instead of trying to manufacture a groove by hand. I don't have any of the correct tools to do it properly.

Sincerely, I thank you for sharing the idea!

[Cajonpassfan]

Otto, you be the judge, I felt I got some fairly good comparison data from these tests, although I have never equated the force to the total number of cars the could pull

I think Micro Mark still sells it:

http://www.micromark.com/digital-pull-meter,9577.html

Thank you John, I think l'll get me one with my next order.
Otto

[peteski]

I'm not too keen on the tape solution, but I was also pondering: instead of using double-sided adhesive tape, how about just standard clear Scotch tape?  (not the frosty type but the regular clear tape)?  No adhesive for the dirt to to adhere to it.  I suspect that it is the softness of the clear material (not the sticky adhesive which probably wears off onto the rail) which improves adhesion to the rail (acting like a very thin traction tire).

[BeastofTheEast]

I'm not too keen on the tape solution, but I was also pondering: instead of using double-sided adhesive tape, how about just standard clear Scotch tape?  (not the frosty type but the regular clear tape)?  No adhesive for the dirt to to adhere to it.  I suspect that it is the softness of the clear material (not the sticky adhesive which probably wears off onto the rail) which improves adhesion to the rail (acting like a very thin traction tire).

Tried it. Slippery. Almost as slippery as bare metal wheels.

[Lemosteam]

Tried it. Slippery. Almost as slippery as bare metal wheels.

Thanks I did not want to do another test!  Lol.  That is exactly what I figured.  Mylar is already a slippery substance.

[peteski]

Thanks I did not want to do another test!  Lol.  That is exactly what I figured.  Mylar is already a slippery substance.

I don't think that clear Scotch tape is Mylar (probably cellophane).  Still, good to know that it doesn't work.  I still wonder how much of the adhesion to the rail is due to the substrate of the tape rather than the adhesive itself.

[Chris333]

Gotta use matte tape 

[mmagliaro]

Well, you could try it with a thin strip of masking tape, or electrical tape, just to see if
any semi-soft, non slippery tape would help.  I expect that it would.