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We Have Steam But No CLAG, Why Not?


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Hello folks,

 

We all know there are real steam trains in OO gauge, but why dont manufacturers build clag circuits for diesels? i think it would look great! especially on class 37's

 

Something along the lines of adding a certain oil at the top of the trains exhaust and it activates with a function button or on train movement from a standstill.

 

What are your thoughts on this?

 

Edited by Graham Radish
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Suethe smoke units, originally devised as 'steam/smoke' effects for steam outline models and part of Triang's output for many years (I had a Winston Churchill with it), give off a sort of cigarette smoke type haze which is not unlike diesel fumes, and looks very effective on diesel outline models.  Not proper clag, but close, and in the DCC age one can have one's diesels ticking over and correctly polluting entire model neighbourhoods in the vicinity of depots.

 

As far as steam outline models are concerned, some sort of steam/smoke effect is the last undiscovered continent of the hobby, and a considerable challenge.  Not only must it look realistic, it must reflect how hard the loco is supposed to be working (which may not be exactly the same as how hard the model's motor is working), and must be odourless and easy to clean the residue from.  For use on small BLT's, it needs to be available almost immediately you apply current to the loco, and it needs to shut off just as quickly.  In order to 'scale down' in appearance, the smoke must be very thick and dissapate quickly and cleanly.  Don't look at me; I ain't gonna solve any problems, all I can do is tell you what they are and any idiot can do that...

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For me, the issue is scale. Much in the same way as water and it’s fluid nature doesn’t scale accurately down to our little world, neither does smoke or fumes, and that’s down to density.

 

A soft, slow release of coloured smoke, akin to the burning of a cigarette is not enough of a convincing representation of the forced hot exhaust fumes from a hard worked Diesel engine (or from a steam train’s chimney for that matter) to convince me.

 

Basically, it’s just not realistic enough in 00 scale to be better than what my imagination can fill in for.

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Hello folks,

 

We all know there are real steam trains in OO gauge, but why dont manufacturers build clag circuits for diesels? i think it would look great! especially on class 37's

 

Something along the lines of adding a certain oil at the top of the trains exhaust and it activates with a function button or on train movement from a standstill.

 

What are your thoughts on this?

 

 

Hi,

 

Dapol said they were developing a diesel smoke unit.

 

Diesel smoke unit kits have been for sale at exhibitions (I bought one) and diesel smoke oil was on sale in at least one model shop that sold a lot of US outline model trains (I've got a bottle of said oil).

 

Zimo DCC decoders now have sophisticated features for controlling smoke generators and fans (a lot more than just on/off by function button).

 

 

Regards

 

Nick

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My Wrenn Gronk produces more smoke than that, acrid dark smoke.  37  Needs more airflow, a tiny ducted fan into a bifurcated gas flowed exhaust with a very high revving motor.  maybe.  The smoke oil might be a problem, Vaping fluid?   Not sure if that burns / explodes. I'll let someone else find out.

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Diesels with exhaust?

 

Like this one?

 

https://ree-modeles.com/catalogue/catalogue-h0/machines-h0/47-diesel-h0/321-bb67400-s2

 

Le toit de cette machine est en métal afin de permettre une utilisation plus longue et réaliste du système fumigène sur les modèles sonorisés.

 

Roughly translates as

the roof of this model is made from metal to allow prolonged use of a smoke generation system on the sound fitted models ( = DCC models as opposed to DC)

 

 

Maybe the point they are making is that for the safety of the model, if not the layout, you need a metal roof.

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Suethe smoke units, originally devised as 'steam/smoke' effects for steam outline models and part of Triang's output for many years (I had a Winston Churchill with it), give off a sort of cigarette smoke type haze which is not unlike diesel fumes, and looks very effective on diesel outline models.  Not proper clag, but close, and in the DCC age one can have one's diesels ticking over and correctly polluting entire model neighbourhoods in the vicinity of depots.

 

As far as steam outline models are concerned, some sort of steam/smoke effect is the last undiscovered continent of the hobby, and a considerable challenge.  Not only must it look realistic, it must reflect how hard the loco is supposed to be working (which may not be exactly the same as how hard the model's motor is working), and must be odourless and easy to clean the residue from.  For use on small BLT's, it needs to be available almost immediately you apply current to the loco, and it needs to shut off just as quickly.  In order to 'scale down' in appearance, the smoke must be very thick and dissapate quickly and cleanly.  Don't look at me; I ain't gonna solve any problems, all I can do is tell you what they are and any idiot can do that...

Getting convincingly thick, moving in a convincing manner smoke is runs in to problems with the laws of physics. Diesel clag disappears quicker so is easier to pull off semi-convincingly. This leaves me to think that whilst a hard working uphill low speed steam effect isn't possible a fast moving one might be - look at videos of Bittern's 90 mph run (that speed is of course a bit of a problem for a model unless you've got an awful lot of space), where it's not showing much visible at all, just a brief bit of black when another shovel goes on (well-fired with presumably decent coal, as far as I know, which isn't very far). That effect might be possible.

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