Gents...
Once upon a time, many moons ago, Mr. J. Padgett
brought two locos with him to the mighty NYC.
Identical in every respect save one. One loco
had SS drivers and the other had nickel plated brass.
Running them around the layout, it was clear that
the SS drivers did pull a bit better. Thus, all future
SouthWind imported locos had SS drivers from that time on.
Also, in a subsequent discussion with noted Professional
Mechanical Engineer (a NYC enthusiast) Mr. D. Smith (also
from Florida), he pointed out that SS has a somewhat
higher coefficient of friction than nickel. At least
according to some scientific type reference book he
was using at the time.
Regarding the breakage of drive train parts, it was
Mr. Smith's opinion that a properly designed drive
train would be such that all parts of said drive train
should be able to withstand the pulling power of the motor
used. Thus, U-joints, valve gear rivets, press fits of
plastic parts, gear teeth, driver materials, etc., etc. should
all be perfectly able to withstand the forces involved if
the drive train was properly designed in the first place.
Following this logic, it would seem that all the pieces and
parts making up a drive train should be able to remain intact
and functional well past the point at which the loco drivers
are slipping on the rails. Some modelers use steel rail for
even more coefficient of friction. I know both HO and O scale
guys who do this and swear by it and have experienced no
problems. They love their long trains.
Regarding decoder smoke, that particular problem is not caused
by driver metal. It is caused by using a decoder with insufficient
rating to handle the amperage drawn by the loco. Using a decoder
with a larger rating solves the problem very nicely. If Tsunami is
the goal, waiting for their larger rated decoders is a reasonable
alternative if the two-decoder solution is not appealing for one
reason or another. NCE offers a 4-amp decoder for those who are
impatient.
I must admit to being annoyed at paying $2,000 or more for a
product and having the plating wear off and flake off and
exposing an inferior metal. Especially when an easy solution
is readily available, but resisted. Like Arden, I love my SS
wheels on my River Raisin UP turbine (which was made in Erie, PA
and traveled on NYC trackage on the way out to Omaha).
Thank you to Jim K. for those SS wheels.
Just some thoughts to stimulate the conversation. I'm sure some
of you folks will have fun with this. Some will not, but that
is what makes the world go around.
Cheers...Ed L.
> I do not find that the SS wheels grip better
than the NS. If there is any difference it is
not perceptible to me. However they do not have
plating that peels off & makes a mess & leaves
you with brass wheels that oxidize.
> I love my stainless wheels. They look better too.
Thanks Jim very much.
> Arden.
> > It is far better for the drivers to slip than
> > letting smoke out of decoders because of a high
amperage stall or emitting plastic and metal shavings
from drive line parts. Some don't agree with that <snip>
> > Jim K.
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