controllers and couplings

[bigt1677]

Heres another couple for the B.E. boys:

Thoughts now turned to the controller of which basically there are 2 types, the 4QD and the parkside. Leaning towards a 4QD as they look neater, have an off board relay board for the horns and lights and I like the look of the deadmans lever on the remote. That said, the parkside has a seperate control for the regen brakes which would allow total freewheel and as far as I can make out, the 4QD doesnt support freewheel. Any input, comments or observations into this one please?

Is there a standard for coupling heights at all, have checked both the 5 and 7 1/4 gauge society specs and there is no mention. Reason I ask is because my loco is 5 inch and the driving truck is 7 1/4.
thanks
Trev

[Deeja]

Us Aussies have standards for the coupling heights etc.
Have a look at www.aals.asn.au in the resources section at the "Code of Practice".

In particular there is a hot-off-the-press draft of the latest edition, look for "Standards for Interoperability and Safety of Miniature Railways, Road Vehicles and Plant" about 1/2 way down the page. It also covers 5<=>7.25 conversions.

Deeja

[baggo]

The GL5 Asociation has a standard for coupling height and buffer spacing for 5" stock:

www.gl5.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/buffing_drawgear1.gif

www.gl5.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/buffing_drawgear2.gif

Whether everyone uses the same is a different matter though!

John

[AndrewP]

Our new club loco is a Ride on Railways Hercules which uses a 4QD controller. It is a joy to use, the sprung to off throttle is smooth and progressive and the braking is almost as impressive as the things pulling power.
My little 3 1/2" BE has a basic Parkside controller with reversing done by a dpdt switch on the loco and whilst the controller is smooth enough its rotary throttle makes it a two handed job with no "dead man's" functionality.

Andy

[peterseager]

My Hymek was a Compass House kit and came at that time with a Parkside controller. It has proved totally up to the job. It had the brake function but this is now locked out. I prefer to use the normal driving trolley brake. The loco is driven from a remote console on the front of the driving trolley. I use a 4QD relay board for the horns, Parkside current sensor and Trax sound card feeding a Maplin amplifier.

If I was out to buy a controller I think I would go for the 4QD because they have so much info available on their web site.

Peter

[bigt1677]

thanks every one, all very handy info.