command control and more

Very nice.  

Joe  You better be careful their's a lot of DCC fans out there, but ye! I like my DCS. Just keep on chuffing Joe, enjoy!        cTr....(Choose the Right)

Proto-3 gives you all of that in DCS and DCC.

Thats true Matt, something like Lionels LionChief in two rail would be grate too.

cTr.....(Choose the Right) 

The front dummy coupler is right behind the plate. It is mounted as a swing up mechanism. It appears to be about 1/16" too high. I added washers to bring it down a hair, yet still work to swing away.

 I'll have to test to see if it stays coupled to the KD on the rear of the front engine.

I had to add more washers to get the coupler down to the right height. I replaced the screws with 4/40 3/8" ones. I added two 1/8" aluminum rivet washers on each post. I had to shave a hair off the backside of the pilot at the bottom of the opening to allow for the coupler to swing away. I was going to grind the bottom of the dummy coupler. This was faster and easier.

Well, after wasting the morning playing with these couplers, I have come to an easy solution. It's time for a LASHUP! Yeap.

The fixed dummy front coupler won't allow any pivot motion for left turns when hooked to a 805 KD. I tried putting a long shank new generation KD coupler on the rear tender position of the front engine with no success. It won't even couple. I thought about searching for a coupler that would mate with the dummy. So, it hit me like a ton of rocks.

 There is such a thing as a scale lashup. I will now get some wire and make them get along! I'll use scale wire of course. I think to myself why do I fight it? Duct tape would be out of scale! A couple of wraps and I'll be done. If this offends people, please ignore this post. I ran out of patience.

I couldn't agree more! This is the problem I have. I came from 3 rail and I am spoiled with sound and smoke in everything. Only MTH makes 2 rail steam with sound and smoke which immediately means you give up Lionel's superior sound system. There is DCC/Sound of course, but it is a pain in the butt to have to gut engines and install smoke units, DCC, and sound. That's the only way to go though it seems. I like ready to run die cast steam better than brass personally. I've had nothing but bad luck with running brass on an everyday basis. I'll give up a bit of fidelity to get a more robust product that has sound and smoke every time!

Here is a little test that I'm working on as a proof of concept:

Wow. I just became a 2-rail steam fan.

Geno

I like what you are doing Joe, but once around my layout and unfortunately the smoke units get turned off on my 4 MTH steam engines.

If I want sound, smoke and command control in my brass, I'll install it myself, be it DCS, TMCC, or DCC. Best of both worlds.

Well, with all due respect, I'm not shoving it at anyone. I just enjoy the stimulation of sound and smoke. I feel that these are well detailed, well built, and excellent runners. I do own brass, and I do install DCS in all my engines. I do turn my smoke off after filling up the air. It can get quite heavy down there. The effect it gives is priceless to me.

 As pointed out by other's posts, users coming from three rail expect more. Even 3rd rail is installing RS with smoke into their engines. I feel that there's no reason to not provide it for 2 rail. There seems to be a line drawn in the sand here. I'm betting newer guys coming to two rail, will want it. I see that many hard core two railers may not.      

 Some who do weathering do not want smoke either. I would seal the weathering to make it oil proof. It wipes right off of painted surfaces and I do not believe it's harmful. It's not like real smoke anyways. It's oil vapors. People buy the oil scents for those dispensers hanging in their house's outlets anyways. If I switch to vanilla, I bet my girl will welcome the smells!

Sorry Sir!!

I swear I can read these posts in different ways every time!

If I came in with a clear mind, it would be better. Reading too many posts, messes me up.

I do like the brass level details nowadays. I just find that, that alone, is not enough.

I also like the detailing of these engines and the fit and finish. They run strong forever.  

 Sometimes, I even run them silent just for a change. I like to hear the wheels of the cars over joints and switches. I can hear from across the basement, when something goes wrong that way.

 I had installed PS2 with smoke a couple of years ago into a 3rd rail Allegheny. Because it's three rail, it just sits on my shelf. I look forward to getting that running soon. She's pretty to look at even on the shelf.