@artfull dodger posted:For those that have precious little space and want to model in O scale 2 rail, traction modeling could be the answer. With tight curves being common, traction can fit in places that steam/diesels cannot manage. I bought this MTS North Shore Line Brill coach last winter. Most O scale traction comes unpowered(strange to me), so the trucks were removed and sent to Quentin over at Q-car for conversion to powered. One truck gets a micro motor drive to both axles, and the other gets matching wheels to prevent derailments. One can have both trucks powered, but there really is no need to. I have mine set up to run on 2 rail power so I can run the car till I build the working overhead trolley wire. The car is nearly dead silent in operation, just the sound of wheels on rails, very little to no motor or drive noise. She will go around 42" diameter curves or even tighter if needed. Some lines ran outside 3rd rail, which North Shore used once they were on the "L" in downtown Chicago. Having modeled traction in HO scale, with noisy spring belt drives and tempermental power pick, O scale is sooooo much better. Just wish the cars came already powered. I am now selling the remaining few pieces of HO brass to fund a second coach for my small layout I am planning. Excuse the layout mess, still in transition and a bit of a "catch all" at the moment.
Yes. Unpowered; very little imported with power. Q-Car power is the current gold standard. Depending on weight of the car and inclines on your layout, and then what you may or not add to an interior, a single motor at the right gear ration will suffice for most cars. You can generally go quite a bit tighter than 42" curves - like radius - with most traction. I also tend to use insulated drives -- someday, someday, someday that overhead will go up.
