Rich, you're probably right about that--but that's why I asked about the
similar S layout in Ohio (I hope I at least got the state right). Maybe
nobody on this list is near it or knows anything about it.
Back when I was in high school, I visited the tourist NG line in the
Black Hills of South Dakota (called at that time the "1880's Train").
The operation had somehow talked Gilbert into building a medium sized
layout in a nearby building. I visited it and talked to the operator
who was a senior in a nearby high school. It ran very nicely, but then
again only during the tourist season of probably 4 months. They did
lock up those troublesome reverse units. I didn't own a decent camera
back then so I don't have any reference but it could have been a
"department store display" that might have been installed in a number of
places.
Back when we started to get our influx of brass imports, our mechanical
engineer Jack Troxell seemed very disappointed in the size of the
Omnicon gears and wheel bearings. He thought the larger Overland gear
boxes were superior although he admitted, a bit noisy in comparison. I
don't imagine too many of us have actually run most of our engines
anywhere near their limits. My usually trusty USRÅ 0-8-0 might work all
night long but will only move a few hundred feet. Many are happy to get
a couple days of service during a show. SHS did replace their display
engines after a time, so it would be interesting to find out how well
they did. Of course that usage wasn't really that much either.
Part of the reason I'm bringing this up is that I replaced a ceiling fan
last night in a bedroom. Another unit went out some months ago. The
one in the living room was replaced a year ago and the original unit in
the train room (a cheepie) lasted about 18 years. Some of those motors
work nearly all the time for years on end.
Bob Werre
PhotoTraxx
--- In [email protected] <mailto:S-Scale%40yahoogroups.com>,
"Gerry Evans" <gerry.evans@...> wrote:
>
> On the other hand, our S Flyer, SHS and AM engines performed near
flawlessly for 25 years in downtown St. Louis from T-day through New
Years each year. trying to find a new home for it.
> Gerry Evans
>
The MSI layout runs 365 days a year, 8-10 hours a day. That would
challenge even SHS and AM locomotives.
Rich G(ajnak)
