by Keith Pashina/photos by the author
My favorite part of the hobby is running train operations to depict railroad traffic on a small Colorado mining line, the Gilpin Tramway. I have been doing this in HOn30 for some time, and until recently, getting reliable operations from the small, modeled locomotives has been, well, erratic at best. A big improvement was going from DC to DCC, but even then, the lightweight locomotive mechanisms, small electrical pickup area, and irregularities in turnouts and trackwork caused a lot of stalling and inconsistent operations.
HOn30 is building HO scale models using 9mm track gauge and often N scale components to depict 2-foot gauge models. Although the track gauge scales out to a tad bit over 30 inches, it is a viable compromise to get extra-narrow gauge models that can operate reliably and at a moderate cost. I don’t know when this track gauge was “invented,” but AHM produced the MiniTrains line of HOn30 models in the 1960s, which were widely distributed in hobby shops and discount stores starting in the mid-1960s. Dave Frary and Bob Hayden popularized HOn30 in their Elk River Line series in 1970, and their subsequent Thatcher’s Inlet series in 1972, both published by Railroad Model Craftsman. These articles, and availability of locomotives and rolling stock caught my attention back then, and I have been modeling in HOn30 ever since.
ABOVE: A receiver, 100 mAh battery, charging socket, and SDPT switch. I always use the smallest size wire to save space.
All of that changed when I switched to using locomotives directed by radio control, with battery power onboard. Some modelers call this “Dead Rail,” and it’s the same thing—battery powered locomotives with no electrical pickup from the rails. This is possible due to the proliferation of radio-controlled drones and flying models; the small flying models needed lightweight, powerful batteries, and compact electrical components. Their inventiveness pioneered the way for the small, compact components that we can now squeeze into small locomotive models, such as HOn30.
Switching over to Dead Rail has been a game changer for me. Now, my locomotives always move when commanded—no more stalling! Slow speeds are what I want, and since the batteries I use are rated at 3.7V, this is easily accomplished. Operating sessions now can focus on driving the locomotive, and suddenly have become much more fun. Battery life isn’t an issue, either, as most locomotives give 1 to 1½ hours running time on a single charge. And this is all one needs—if I have an operating session that lasts for 2 hours, most of the time the locomotive is sitting still; it is actually moving only a portion of that time.
ABOVE: Old Minitrains superstructures mounted on ARU mechanisms make sweet runners.
Electrical pickup issues are a thing of the past with Dead Rail. As a result, I have changed over to hand laying track with Code 40 rail. All the rails need to do is to guide the locomotives and roll-ing stock and minor irregularities don’t affect electrical pickup—all of a sudden trackwork is easier too and more forgiving. I now lay my turnouts without gaps, further simplifying track construction.
The radio control receivers and batteries that I use are all derived from the aerial drone and flying model aircraft builders and their suppliers. The very small receivers that they use are perfect for fitting into small locomotive bodies. Radio control of trains is not new—garden railroaders and larger scale modelers have been using it for decades (I am showing my bias here—to me, anything bigger than HO is a large scale). These models used the then-current radio control receivers and batteries, and the same components probably work well for them today. However, with the advent of more efficient batteries and advances in radio control receivers, the size of these components has shrunk considerably.
ABOVE: There are many different shapes of single cell lithium polymer batteries. Shop around. Here are several. I prefer the largest battery I can fit in.
To use a battery powered, radio-con-trolled locomotive requires basic items: A locomotive with an efficient, slow-running mechanism; Transmitter, to broadcast the radio signal to control the locomotive; Receiver and antenna, to receive the radio signal to and send commands to the motor and lighting; Battery; On/Off switch; Battery charger.
If you are running with locomotives in O scale, or even HO standard and HOn3 gauge, there are several commercially available packages that could be used. The commercial systems that are state-of-the-art pair the radio receiver with DCC-like electronics, so that many of the typically available DCC options, such as sound, can be used. However, the components are really too large to fit into the HOn30 locomotives that I use. Some modelers have worked around the size constraints by putting the battery and receiver in a boxcar towed behind the locomotive. However, I preferred to have the battery and receiver onboard the locomotive…