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(SOLVED) Train Speed Measurement In MPH


Graham Radish
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'Scale Speed' is an interesting concept and potential can of worms.... Depending on what is meant behind the question 8-)

There is the direct scaling of distance, whilst keeping time constant.... I.e. 1/76 of the full size distance in the same time. However, not everything scales linearly.... Such that when filming models, with the intention that they LOOK like the full size model, then 'time' ( or recording v playback speed ) needs to be adjusted ... Or features like wobble and bounce will appear unnatural. ....but unlike when filming 'Thunderbirds', most railway modellers don't have live-time-rate adjustment. Another consideration, if trying to match a timetable, is 'selective compression' of the distances between 'places' (stations).... But this is likely to be heavily related to the size of the modelled layout!

 

Cv5 is not available on all decoders... Such as the basic Hornby and tts decoders ... But I believe the rail master software offers an alternative method of choosing a software-set maximum speed .,. Some other control software offers a similar choice of Speed in km/h / mod. Or % of maximum

 

The simplest method is to udevan oval of track ... Of known length ., and time the loops ( or 10 loops / 10 )

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Hi Graham

Go to www.modelbuildings.org

If on your mobile open the home menu on the right side

To reveal More Resources click on that.

Scroll down to FREE TOOLS click on that

Scroll down to Scale Speed Calculator

Click on that.

Now Bookmark it

BINGO

regards

Jeff

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'Scale Speed' is an interesting concept and potential can of worms.... Depending on what is meant behind the question 8-)

There is the direct scaling of distance, whilst keeping time constant.... I.e. 1/76 of the full size distance in the same time. However, not everything scales linearly.... Such that when filming models, with the intention that they LOOK like the full size model, then 'time' ( or recording v playback speed ) needs to be adjusted ... Or features like wobble and bounce will appear unnatural. ....but unlike when filming 'Thunderbirds', most railway modellers don't have live-time-rate adjustment. Another consideration, if trying to match a timetable, is 'selective compression' of the distances between 'places' (stations).... But this is likely to be heavily related to the size of the modelled layout!

 

Cv5 is not available on all decoders... Such as the basic Hornby and tts decoders ... But I believe the rail master software offers an alternative method of choosing a software-set maximum speed .,. Some other control software offers a similar choice of Speed in km/h / mod. Or % of maximum

 

The simplest method is to udevan oval of track ... Of known length ., and time the loops ( or 10 loops / 10 )

Hi Folks,

 

Phil is quite correct that not all things scale, for instance he notes "wobble". Wobble is a pendular motion and therefore is constrained by the formula in the following link:

 

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pend.html

 

This the mechanism that regulates clocks via the escapement, the longer the pendulum the greater the period between frequency of swing.

 

It is also why real  trains that may have a centres of mass between 5 and 8 feet from the ground roll a lot more gently that OO gauge models that do indeed wobble.

 

Gibbo.

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The over-fast way model trains ‘wobble’ out of scale time is the same reason scale water and smoke doesn’t work either. Time needs to be slowed to suit also, whilst maintaining set scale velocity.

Too many scale factors to fudge at once.

Rob

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Bodies mounted on coil springs ( or a spring ) along with added lumps of weight can achieve some of the effect. .....a Swedish 'Date box' Y6 railcar has a very characteristic wobble ..... And Helga at the Nene Valley Railway is an example of such a railcar.

 

A similar conundrum can be experienced if driving a loco via an inbuilt video camera against viewing it from nearby.....with the differing angle of view in each case. ..my experience is that with the on board camera you will want to drive more slowly 8-)

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Set up a test track with a known distance and adjust CVs until you get the desired top speed.

 

This may help

 

attachicon.gifBullock's patented scale model relative velocity calculator.xlsx

 

Phil

Dear Lord Bullock of Abbotswood

 

Had I known about your toy train whoosh thingy I might have used it. Instead I calculated how far round the layout was in scale miles. Well it is just under a scale mile then worked out how many seconds it would take a train to go round the layout at a set speed. Us DC modellers can't pre sent top speed, and who wants to any how, nothing like a Jinty going faster than Mallard. I drew a speed graph which sits in front of a marker and the clock. Off goes the train, as it passes the marker I note where the second hand is and when it does a lap I note where the second hand has reached. I work out how many seconds and look at my graph and congratulate myself at running a DMU at 55 mph around the layout. At first realistic scale speed seemed very slow but once you get use to them it is easy to set the train trundling along. 

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Something that has made life so much easier profiling cv5 and even cv66/95 is a little device I got from the US. It measures speed in kph/ mph and can be set to required scale. It's the Accutrack 2 model railroad speedometer, here is the link I got mine from althought its out of stock.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Accutrack-II-Model-Railroad-Speedometer-Now-for-KPH-Bob-The-Train-Guy/1532690653

 

I can't recommend this enough and it takes out all the guesswork, so much so that all stock can be set to the same speed.

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