Round and round she goes...

[haasmarc]

We have an 8.5' artificial that comes apart in 4 sections.  I keep thinking about putting an N scale circular diorama in between two of the sections closer to eye level. Would be different, no issues with pets and would be high enough that N scale would work just fine size wise.

[MK]

That would be different for sure and interesting!  You might need some guard rails in case someone bumps the tree.  And also the road bed has to be secured from moving due to the shifting weight of the train as it goes round and round.

If you ever do it, post pictures! 

[glakedylan]

as for me, i do full blown foobie Xmas.
I have an N Scale EMD F59PHI in PRR
hauling Atlas short passenger cars.
I have an N Scale Model Power 4-6-2
hauling holiday cars (12 days of Xmas).
I have an N Scale old Atlas (IIRC) GP unit
in LV paint hauling holiday theme MTL freight
(wreaths, candy canes, etc.).
And I have two old N Scale Minitrix U Boats
in PRR (double headed)
hauling more holiday theme freight
(including ConCor & BevBel).
Yes, four track mainline, kidney shaped oval
on HCD.
We seldom have guests and usually none for
the holidays, but I enjoy them.
sincerely
Gary

[peteski]

If you were running the train 8 hours per day for weeks then wear would become a factor. Running for few hours a day for few days should not cause any severe wear.   But periodic cleaning of wheels will be required.  I would also give the entire train running gear a thorough cleaning/lube after the running period is over.

We have a member in our NTRAK club whose module includes several self-contained loops of track. He continuously runs a train on each loop for the duration of the show (around 6 hours per day). Some shows are 2-day shows.  Other than cleaning the wheels he doesn't do any maintenance of the locos or rolling stock. He participates in around 8 shows per year.  So I would not worry about running your train few hours per day for several days.

[narrowminded]

I have been running a continuous loop under the glass top of my lady friends kitchen table for several years now.  The first few years it was a Christmas only thing but for the last couple of years the loop has been up year round with only the scenery changing at Christmas.  It doesn't run every day but does do duty running a few and up to eight hours at a time, maybe several days in a week and maybe not again for a week or two.

I have run a variety of locos on it from an old Bachmann train set Northern to a few Life-Like FA/B 1's, a Bachmann GP-40(?), a few other Bachmann steamers, especially the 0-6-0's, a few Model Power Steamers.  Very recently it's been the Bachmann old time 4-4-0 with a set of 6 Athearn Overton cars from kits.   My lady friend fell in love with it on sight at a train show and with some apprehension, (until i saw the price) purchased it brand new for $25.  I expected it to be cantankerous but it's been running since we got it with maybe one track cleaning and literally two days ago got its first wheel cleaning and oiling maintenance.  I expect it to run pretty trouble free through the holidays with little to no maintenance.  In general, a daily or every other day run for an hour or so seems to assure reliability more than letting it sit idle for weeks. 

The only ones that have actually failed, both due to motors, were the old Northern and a newer can motor 0-6-0.  The Northern  had a ton of hours on it so no complaints.  A new motor and it's ready to go again.  The 0-6-0 only had about 50 hours on it, running very nicely, and then flaked out one day.  It went back under warranty. 

A good basic maintenance, nothing fancy, and then run it. 

[Mark W]

This is my treasure.  My first 'real' N Scale engine (First actual was the ol' Bachman SantaFe F). 
Released in 1991, runs flawless to this day.



I even took it along to college, running it hours on end while I did homework, night after night.  It passed the legendary 2,000 hour mark long ago.     

Earlier this year, I found a great deal on a new/unused mechanism, including trucks and figured why not?  35 bucks later, I had new wheels, motor, and piece of mind.  Performance wise, nothing actually changed.  It still ran perfect.

Here's a shot of the old wheels vs new.  Aside from the plating, virtually no wear of actual metal.  And I didn't even bother swapping the idler gears or worms. 





Long story short, and in the holiday spirit:

Let it run, let it run, let it run!

[nkalanaga]

No help here, but the Black Mesa & Lake Powell Railroad originally ran their trains, mine to power plant and back, around two reversing loops.  The line was designed for the train to go the same direction around both, with a single track in between, so the same wheels were on the outside on both loops.  They found that the outside wheels wore out much faster, and they finally started turning the cars to even out the wear.  They could change the direction on the loops, because of the way the loader/unloader were set up.

I seriously doubt that you could run an N scale train long enough to wear the wheels out, without the motor giving out first, but uneven wheel wear can be a real issue, especially in captive service.

[narrowminded]

For a Christmas tree train that just cycles around it should be easy to reverse travel direction and should really not need anything too special for power.  A simple DC and you're running.  And that leads to used, low mileage, E-bay, and having a spare.  An example could be a couple of old Life-Like FA/B-1's which are almost always available and are near bullet proof.

[nickelplate759]

I did this with Bachmann G-guage trains - because we have cats. They watched it, but didn't attack.   If I were to use N scale (assuming no cats), I'd just get something inexpensive and reliable, dedicate it to this purpose, and expect to replace it when it wears out.   Even if you run it 10 hours a day every December, I'm betting the engine won't wear out for quite a few years.  Do pay attention to lubrication.  If you are worried, get a spare loco mechanism and stash it away so you can use it when the first one wears out.

As for asymmetrical wear - if NASCAR-style loops (only turn left) is all this engine will ever do, then the asymmetry isn't a problem.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Our N Scale N Trak club had a rather large display at a shopping mall for two weeks over Christmas many years ago here in Melbourne. Some locos ran all day, some for over 8 hours. They ran flawlessly and showed no signs of wear. Kept the track clean and they just ran and ran.
Rod.

[R L Smith]

Looks like I might have to forgo my idea of using my recently acquired Kato Operation North Pole with 5 lit coaches.  I don't have any pets nor small children around.  Neighbors don't come into my house.    And we usually don't throw parties.  If we do, I can put the trains away temporarily.

But I love that ONP set.  Maybe I'll do it for a few minutes instead of hours.  Changing directions every year sounds like a nice idea.

I'd say run your ONP to your hearts' content.  I worked for many years at a hobby shop, and our N Scale display layout ran for 7-10 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Locos, particularly Atlas and Kato demos, lasted for months and months and months and months.  When they started to get a bit noisy, the owner (or I) would take them apart, clean and lube, and put them back on the loop.  Hardly ever changed direction either.

I have no experience with lighted passenger cars for that kind of duration, but I can't imagine they would not survive a few seasons.

My $0.02.

Ron

[MK]

I'm not too concerned about the coaches as all have the v2 light kit so they are LEDs, which last forever.  They are also fairly light so wheel wear is probably non-existent.

[strummer]

FWIW, I'm inclined to go with the "tinplate" idea.

You have the nostalgia factor, as well as durability and they give off that wonderfully odd "ozone" smell...

Mark in Oregon