this thread is started to carry on with peteski about pick-ups
in the attempts of improve the acela and I assume the 44 tonner...
I can't talk about them directly, I can tell you about what did and didn't work
in tenders and steam engines.
the ideas should translate to your acela.
this photo should be part of this discussion
the 4 wheel truck is build from parts in a Kato caboose truck.
that truck is the only pick-up and the pickup from it is so-so.
the motor will stall at slow speed.
the sideframes are loose and the top is rounded and the extra weight didn't really help.
I have not tinkered with that setup since the photos were taken
on to another example...
the concor 2-10-2 is as built is too stiff.
If you make sure the top of the pickups sleds stay in contact inside of the tender....
weeeelll... then the wheels will not roll.
a skidding wheel is not a good pickup system.
here is another picture. when this truck is installed the pickup is quite good.
I have since tried the spring idea to good effect on some other locos.
the overall point is that getting the wheels onto the rails is a big help
and the springs on the top of the CC 4-6-4 tender trucks and the springs
on the top of the Kato Mike and the gs-4 and the b-mann Consol are
a big part of why the performance of those models is so good.
it is a part of why D. Vollmer's k4 runs well.
the same concept even improves b-mann's 4-4-0
Brokmoto said if you can get the tender wheels rolling the loco performs a lot better.
He is right. When you get the wheels rolling the contact spring
pushes the wheels into the rail...
the trick is simple.
and in n-scale it can not be left to chance.
If you want a wheel doing pick-up... push it into the rail.
and assume there is no such think as flat and level track...
victor
