Garden Railway Forum

Keith S wrote: ↑Tue Aug 21, 2018 9:24 am It turns out I've been confusing what the word "drag" means. You're right, it's not "drag". The whole point to any device that attempts to make a toy engine act realistically isn't to resist motion, it's to resist acceleration. A friction device resists acceleration by resisting motion, and it applies a greater force parallel and opposite to the force applied by the locomotive in the direction of movement as speed increases. It will limit top speed. A flywheel device resists accelleration by absorbing a percentage of the force applied in the direction of motion by the locomotive and storing it in the form of angular momentum. It will not limit top speed. Therefore you are correct to say the Slomo does not add "drag" to the locomotive. However, during acceleration, there is more work being done to produce a given rate of increase in speed than there would be if the locomotive was not equipped with a flywheel and was simply being driven very carefully. There is greater force being applied to the crank, and therefore more wear is occurring. It may be your contention that it is not possible to control an engine carefully enough to create the same realistic accelleration as the Slomo does. I agree with you there. I believe slightly increased wear is the price you pay for the advantages of the Slomo, or the flywheel van that I use. Also, my engine is manually controlled, so I do put the regulator where I think it ought to be for the speed I want, and can't "drive" it.

God, I'm a bore. I think I've been arguing with myself because I imagined someone saying the flywheel device doesn't increase wear over time, and I have been arguing with that imaginary person. Enjoy your trains. Thanks for the discussion.

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:02 pm I keep reading that a SSP Slomo causes more wear to a loco than one without. Does it cause more wear than say adding an extra wagon or two to a train or driving your loco on demanding track with gradients?

Until a SSP Slomo has been fitted to a brand new loco then the same loco purchased without a Slomo and then they are run in identical conditions over a period of time (talking years) to compare 'wear' then the statement of a Slomo causes more wear is false.

Please read the following:

http://smallsteamperformance.com.au/wear-issues/

dewintondave wrote: ↑Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:02 am It will cause extra wear, because it's an extra load for the loco. Anyway, if one can afford a ssp slomo, one can afford repairs

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:10 amRunning a loco with a heavy train causes extra wear as well

Keith S wrote: ↑Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:11 pm The best way to avoid wear, as well as to make the most efficient use of a given quantity of butane or coal, is to leave the loco on a shelf and dust it off once in a while. This is what I do, and this style of running induces practically no wear to the running gear, uses very little butane, and the locomotive goes very slowly indeed. It's been on the shelf about a year now and the engine hasn't even moved far enough to run the slack out of the coupling chains. I have to admit, the chuff is extremely quiet however.

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:10 am Running a loco with a heavy train causes extra wear as well

Keith S wrote: ↑Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:11 pm The best way to avoid wear, as well as to make the most efficient use of a given quantity of butane or coal, is to leave the loco on a shelf and dust it off once in a while. This is what I do, and this style of running induces practically no wear to the running gear, uses very little butane, and the locomotive goes very slowly indeed. It's been on the shelf about a year now and the engine hasn't even moved far enough to run the slack out of the coupling chains. I have to admit, the chuff is extremely quiet however.

steveh99 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 19, 2018 4:14 pm If anyone can better this without a slomo, paste your video here. I don't have anything else to say on this subject

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Sun Sep 09, 2018 5:09 pm I thought I would post this in response although I obviously have a Slomo fitted

Keith S wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:35 am Amazing. A real driver on a full-sized locomotive would be hard-pressed to drive that delicately.

dewintondave wrote: ↑Sun Sep 16, 2018 10:44 pm Listen to that loud chuff, the poor NA must be struggling against the non-drag of the slomo!

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Mon Sep 17, 2018 7:39 am It has a Summerlands Chuffer fitted Dave.

Listen to these NA's you can hear the difference: