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 Posted - March 04 2013 : 08:27:13 AM
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I recently purchased a Walters Trainline non DCC GP9 locomotive. It has flywheels but when the power is shut off it stops on a dime like it doesn't. I noticed they are smaller flywheels than 10 year old Walters and Athearn locomotives I have. Both of those coast after shutting off the power making for smoother stops.
Is this the trend in locomotives now such that the flywheels are only big enough to help them run smoothly but not big enough for coasting stops?
Do you only get bigger flywhels in more expensive lines of locomotives or is this smaller flywheel a trend across all lines of locomotives.
Anyone know if this is true of current Atlas Trainman locomotives as well?
Edited by - davefromMD on March 04 2013 09:00:21 AM
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Posted - March 04 2013 : 11:41:30 AM
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I don't have any newer Atlas or Walthers locos to compare, but I did allude to your questions in the Bachmann thread. I have noticed either a lack or shrinking of flywheels on their locos. But I can't say I've noticed any performance hit.
I would subjectively argue that in the days when larger flywheels were de rigeur - say 30-10 years ago, trackwork was generally a mess. Steel and brass were still common, as were cobbled-together layouts of loosely-fit snap track.
Nowadays nickel-silver rail, DCC, and a more generally sophisticated user base have greatly improved the state of roadbed. Even basic sets include locking track which helps keep things uniform and smooth at a minimum. Given that, I'd day flywheels are less important than they once were, or at least to the degree they were formerly used.
All that said, the Atlas Trainman line uses the same drive (motor and dual flywheels) as their pricier Master line. The Trainman locos were introduced about 5 years ago. I don't know if Atlas shrunk their flywheels or not.
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