To test this feature, visit your live site.

A Question for All LocoFi Users & Potential Users

The LocoFi System is NOT primarily a Dead Rail (Battery on Board, Power on Board) control and sound system! It only requires some type of pure DC input to the decoder/module to work.

Dead Rail uses battery power, an excellent pure DC input type, therefore the LocoFi System works well with Dead Rail.

I would really, really appreciate some input from LocoFi Users, and Potential Users, regarding the use of Dead Rail in HO scale model railroading.

I would like to know what is your biggest obstacle or objection to giving Dead Rail a try in HO scale?

I’ve gotten extremely little input or questions regarding Dead Rail using the LocoFi System either here on the forum, from my Website or from my YouTube videos.

Some possible obstacles or objections that I can think of are;

Going Dead Rail is too complicated with having to charge and maintain batteries.

Going Dead Rail is too dangerous when using Lithium-ion batteries.

Dead Rail locomotives have short running times.

Creating a HO battery car, with easy access to the battery, is too complicated.

Using a dedicated battery car is not very prototypical and I just don’t like the idea.

It just takes too much work to do and having a plug and play system would be better.

The cost in time and money is too high.

Lithium-ion batteries are too expensive.

I just prefer to use DC or DCC. Why?

I don’t know enough about using Dead Rail to make intelligent purchasing decisions.

There is almost no real, or useful information, on the Internet, or YouTube, regarding Dead Rail.

Dead Rail is mostly used in scales larger than HO and is too fiddly for HO.

It’s just not a “real” model railroading “thing”.

Hardly anyone in HO scale uses Dead Rail, so there is no deep knowledge base to draw from to learn more about it.

Dead Rail is just a passing fad.

I’m sure that there are other reasons or ideas about Dead Rail, that you could share, that would really help me understand why Dead Rail, with all of its advantages and benefits, is not really catching on.

I would appreciate a few moments of your time to comment about your thoughts regarding Dead Rail. You can comment here in the forum or you can send me an email. There is a link to my email address right at the top of my Webpage.

Thank you so very much,

Ken Myers

I have documented the build, thus far, on my Website, “A Journey Into HO Scale Model Railroading in the 21st Century”.

http://www.theampeer.org/HO

I have created a playlist for “My First HO Train Layout in a Long, Long Time” which has a series of 10 videos on YouTube, at this time.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLREtyERkF2NzDv2XyP7SC-0UTB83w7WlJ

I’ve also created a playlist for my “Making and Using a Portable Dead Rail Demonstration HO Layout Parts 1 - 10

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLREtyERkF2NxlxysmkTpJwUcXrZVXu45m

15 comments

15 Comments

Ken Adams

May 14

I'm currently (pun recognized) working on an old HO P2K SP PA-1 Daylight Scheme for services that used a single PA-1 for 3-5 car trains between Oakland Mole and Sacramento 4-5 times daily in the early 1950's. I've set my SP 2-8-0 conversion aside for the moment. I am using nano plugs for the wiring connections which has been a small learning curve. Particularly creating a 3 nano-plug connection junction for the front and rear truck pickups. I had not planned to run this as dead rail but I have a dummy (yes one of the last) dummy PB-1 unit that I am interested in using as a battery car. Any ideas on how to switch between track and battery power without having to take the PA-1 shell off. I removed the old mother board from the P2K PA-1 and created a sheet plastic replacement structure to go over the exposed rear truck gears.

Edited

Ken Myers

May 15

Replying to

I believe that the LocoFi Admin has provided you with the information that you need so as not to have to remove the shell from the PA-1.

I am a keep it super simple (KISS or K.I.S.S.) type guy and make my battery cars with removable shells for battery replacement.

If you’ve looked at any of my conversions, you will see that I do not charge the battery onboard.

https://www.theampeer.org/HO/

I could be wrong, but it sounds as if you may be using Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) pouch type batteries, which are commonly known as LiPo, Li-Po or Li-Poly batteries.

In the electrically powered model RC aircraft world, these types of batteries are almost never charged in the aircraft. They are removed, through some type of access hatch, and charged externally on a good LiPo charger. Why? Most thermal runaway incidents happen during the charging of these types of batteries.

A “good” LiPo charger uses active balancing to charge all of the cells. The small charging circuit, that I’ve seen used for Dead Rail, uses a passive balancing circuit and fairly low charge current.

There are also charge/discharge protection circuits available for LiPo batteries that prevent over-charging and over-discharging.

For me, this is overly complex, and just not what I wanted to do.

My wiring is very simple and consists only of the LocoFi module and the battery pack.

I have chosen to use cylindrical Lithium-ion chemistry type batteries that are charged, individually, in the up to four slots, of an external multi-chemistry charger.

The chemical composition of these batteries IS IMPORTANT and explained in great detail on my Website. For greater safety, I do NOT use Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO/ICR) cylindrical batteries, even though they are available.

I recently posted a Dead Rail conversion of an old IHC 2-8-0 Consolidation on my Website.

https://www.theampeer.org/HO/IHC-2-8-0.html

You may find that interesting.

Tonight, May 15, 2024, I will be on the New Tracks Modeling Zoom meeting presenting how I use LocoFi for Dead Rail. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. EST on YouTube.

The following link takes you to the New Tracks Modeling YouTube page where you will find the live meeting under the Live tab.

https://www.youtube.com/@NewTracks

The whole recorded meeting becomes available, starting the next day, on YouTube. NTM usually posts just some specific presentation portions from the meeting, so my segment may become available as a single YouTube video.

Ken Myers