Centipedes Shipping?

[Dave V]

You guys are getting awfully good at arm-twisting!  But, my credit card is anticipating a big hit next month with the M1s...assuming they arrive.

[nstars]

Baldwin prime movers tended to sound like a clattering old tractor needing tappet adjustment, even at speed. (I have a cassette in a drawer somewhere from when I recorded Trona's Baldwins in 1972 or 3. Once you "hear through" the wind noise from the un-socked mic, the clatter is unmistakable.) The question with the "proper" Centipede sound is what four clattering PMs are going to sound like beyond a blurry mechanical cacophony. At least the BLI horn sounds about right for the period, so we can give them that.

The Loksound sound files come very close to the Baldwin engines I have heard myself. You can hear a sample on this page http://www.esu.eu/en/downloads/sounds/loksound-select/loksound-select-usa/. You have to listen to the *Baldwin 6cyl 606SC Dual PM*

Marc

[Iain]

Mine are listed as showing up tomorrow.

BLI got the HO ones reasonably close to sounding like Baldwins.

[eric220]

You guys are getting awfully good at arm-twisting!  But, my credit card is anticipating a big hit next month with the M1s...assuming they arrive.

You know you want to... 

[davefoxx]

You guys are getting awfully good at arm-twisting!  But, my credit card is anticipating a big hit next month with the M1s...assuming they arrive.

You know you want to... 

Heh, I can't wait to see the look on your face, Dave, when a Centipede snags a tunnel portal on the Juniata Division.   

DFF

[Iain]

Heh, I can't wait to see the look on your face, Dave, when a Centipede snags a tunnel portal on the Juniata Division.   

DFF

You know I'm going to do a thread on detailing my SAL unit, yes?  And, you know you are going to read that and want one yourself.

[wcfn100]

You know I'm going to do a thread on detailing my SAL unit, yes?  And, you know you are going to read that and want one yourself.

Which number are you going to do? 

It's curious that it seems like every manufacturer in every scale ever has done the roof taper that's only correct for SAL 4500.

Jason.

[Dave V]

Heh, I can't wait to see the look on your face, Dave, when a Centipede snags a tunnel portal on the Juniata Division.   

DFF

I worry about that too, although Doug has sharper curves than I do and his didn't snag...but it looks from the plan that his portals are in the spiral easements and not in the full curve like mine.

No worries, for now I'm holding off.  Yeah, they're sweet and they're Pennsy, but I'm holding out for my M1s.  Besides, if I want to get all SPF (pushes glasses up nose) by July 1956 (my era) the Centipedes were spending most of their time west of Altoona helping on the Curve rather than sprinting across the Middle Division (which the Juniata Division represents).  Never say never with Pennsy, and yeah, I know the Centipedes would be waaaay more correct on the JD in 1956 than the HH1 2-8-8-2 I run, but I need every excuse to fight the urge to spend!

[davefoxx]

You know I'm going to do a thread on detailing my SAL unit, yes?  And, you know you are going to read that and want one yourself.

I look forward to your thread.  The SAL Centipedes are waaaaay outside my era, so I'm safe.  The impulse to purchase one has thankfully passed.

DFF

[gkoproske]

In the prototype photos and video you folks posted, I noticed that sometimes the unit with the trainphone antennas is the trailing unit.  Was the engineer in the lead unit able to use the phone via some connection to the other unit with the antennas on the roof?  One would not want to run these the wrong way at a train show!

[eric220]

In the prototype photos and video you folks posted, I noticed that sometimes the unit with the trainphone antennas is the trailing unit.  Was the engineer in the lead unit able to use the phone via some connection to the other unit with the antennas on the roof?  One would not want to run these the wrong way at a train show!

They were semi-permanently coupled pairs, so I would suspect that the phone in the unit without antennae was connected to the other unit's antennae. Why go to the trouble of making a double-end unit if you can't run in both directions?

[dougnelson]

What are the dimensions of your layout?  I rather like this idea.

Ian:  the layout is 10'x32".  Wider would better, but you also have to account for reach to the staging tracks to respond if there is a derailment.

[dougnelson]

Here is a photo of the Centipedes at my tunnel portal.  Clearance is not nearly as close as I was worried about.  Of course the Baldwin engineers had to deal with the same issues.  Their curves were not as tight as ours, but they still had to work with the normal clearance plates.  The tunnel portal is actually at a transition curve, but a few inches inside the portal the radius is about 15". 

[OldEastRR]

If you want to see pictures and read about Doug nelson's layout it was featured in the Jan 2001 Model railroader.

[brokemoto]

I did the MT loaded gondola pulling power test on mine.   I put twenty loaded MT gondolas and the Bowser porthole caboose behind it.  It would not move the train, which was sitting mostly on straight and level.  Those that were not on straight and level were on Kato UNITRAK thirteen and three quarter curves on a slight downgrade.  Thus, even with a very little help from gravity, it was in full slip.  I removed six gondolas, it moved the train, but went into full slip in the middle of an S curve on the same radius Kato track.  Removal of two more loaded gondolas got it moving.   It hit a 2,2 per-cent grade and went into full slip about half way up.  It finally got nine loaded MT gondolas and the Bowser caboose up the hill.

I did this test without the traction tyres.

By comparison, the MP Mogul got six loaded MT gondolas and the Athearn wood caboose up the same 2,2 per-cent grade.   I am surprised at that.  The same MP 2-6-0 got fifteen loaded MT gondolas and a MT wood caboose up a one per-cent grade.   I was surprised at how much pulling power was lost on the increased grade.