Insulated wheels on live steam locos: love them or hate them?

My preference is for insulated.
I have been known to run a live steam hauled train of coaches with track powered lighting in the twilight, it looks rather impressive. Also at an open running session at a friend's large railway a couple of years ago I spent some time trying to locate an electrical problem before finding that a visitor had placed an uninsulated live steamer at the end of a siding.
 
While choosing my first live steamer, it was an option I had to consider,

I came to the conclusion that I was going start with insulated wheels, as it goes me a nice, easy go any where option to start with.

When/if I acquire a second live steamer then I can consider what I've learnt and decide what to do.

But people have said before, with modern materials, and manufacturing there should be no reason why one type of wheel is superior to another.

Dan
 
Neil Robinson said:
My preference is for insulated.
I have been known to run a live steam hauled train of coaches with track powered lighting in the twilight, it looks rather impressive. Also at an open running session at a friend's large railway a couple of years ago I spent some time trying to locate an electrical problem before finding that a visitor had placed an uninsulated live steamer at the end of a siding.
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Neil has a good point as it is more often the standing period whilst the loco heats up and cools down that is the issue. If you have isolated sidings it is OK but if you don't you need insulated wheels as live steam locos don't have an off switch like LGB.:bigsmile:
 
PaulRhB said:
If the wheels aren't insulated the loco has to be taken off before playing with the electric stuff so it can't sit on shed looking pretty.
Prefer the option as usually offered at present.
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precisely!
and there may be times when power to the track is inadvertantly left on while the steamer is as well
and i too use some track powered lighting like neil

one would ask-would you leave a bar of steel across the rails in general?
-if one runs electric locos-the answer is to me obvious

its a fail safe feature , and an added feature, and an added cost

i wouldnt rule out an uninsulated loco-but thats simply because any given offering is likely to be unique in model design-ie either you want it or you dont-regardless of wheel insulation
 
Hi all, I just want to reply to Tag, about Accucraft locos. I have a little Accucraft Ruby, that has un insulated wheels. Bought off Ebay, still in it`s box. so I assume it was "as new". So whether this is as designed by Accucraft, or not I don`t know. Incidently, I run both steamer (Lady Anne) and trackpowered electric, and a battery powered. So if I want to run Ruby, the track power has to be off. Also yes there is water and oil on the track after steaming.
Cheers
Clarry.
 
funandtrains said:
Neil Robinson said:
My preference is for insulated.
I have been known to run a live steam hauled train of coaches with track powered lighting in the twilight, it looks rather impressive. Also at an open running session at a friend's large railway a couple of years ago I spent some time trying to locate an electrical problem before finding that a visitor had placed an uninsulated live steamer at the end of a siding.
Click to expand...

Neil has a good point as it is more often the standing period whilst the loco heats up and cools down that is the issue. If you have isolated sidings it is OK but if you don't you need insulated wheels as live steam locos don't have an off switch like LGB.:bigsmile:
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Exactly my thoughts ,I think the cleaning the track issue is a red herring, as you need to maintain a certain standard of track cleanliness anway & I find I can run track power after after running my steamers without problems. As for stock I can remember which of the 2 items I have with un insulated wheels. Well made insulated wheels have all the advantages & none of the disadvantages.
 
Well, although I run battery, I keep track power to both test new acquisitions before conversion and to allow my Son-in-Law to run his stuff. But the community is not large in this part of the world so I welcome a couple of friends with steamers as well; for that reason a fair bit of my layout is elevated to provide a steam up area. On their own layouts one of them has track power, one doesn't; they bring insulated wheels when they come here to run. When we go to the place without trackpower, S-i-L either takes some of my stuff or proves that the crabs should never seek to be steam powered (unlike pussers, of course). In my part of Adelaide track cleaning doesn't have to occur too often (about once every three or four months) and I don't find much of a problem with residue; the rubbish (aka flowers) dropped by wattles and leaves from gums is much more of a problem.

I got a little loco from Ivan a while ago which came with non insulated wheels; I felt it worth the (fairly minor) effort of insulating them; however, I'm not totally sure I would bother again given the few times I actually use track power at the same time and the other options available when I do.

Steve
 
As Acccucraft tend to produce track powered versions of most of their live steamers (Ruby excepted, for example) then it would be natural for them to be engineered with insulated wheels from the outset. As Roundhouse only produce live steamers then one can see why they might concider them an option. Given that the bulk of product is now produced re-guagable 32/45mm to access the maximium market (and you can bet your bottom dollar that most UK 45mm users will have come from a track powered background) you might as well engineer in insulated wheels from the outset if you want to maximise your sales.

I run 45mm gauge, US & UK narrow gauge outline. The UK stuff is near exclusivly live steam barring a battery (steam outline) powered loco. The US NG fleet has 3 live steamers. Started out DC track powered and still am. The live steam bug bit fairly early on and the fleet is now split 50/50 live steam/track powered, with that one battery interloper. Changing the whole track powered fleet over to battery/track power would be prohibitive cost wise and off no real benefit overall. Thus I have always been concerned that both locos and stock have insulated wheels. I run both together and very much agree with the comments regarding "sitting around looking pretty" and cooling off after runs. I am a 16 mm NGM member, though not the G Scale Society (was briefly at the outset of this obsession).

There is an exhibition layout group - The Buckinghamshire Garden Railway Society" that run mixed live steam/DCC at shows throughout the day with no obvious problems. As previously mentioned us track powered wallahs have a track cleaning routine anyway that overcomes what oil contamination that may occur. I swap out the abrasive pad at the end of the stick (Vic !) with a felt covered sanding block soaked in meths and that does the job, then I get to work on the track if there are any slip and eletrical contact issues :laugh:

Max.
 
I prefer to have Insulated Wheels on my puffers, even going to the extent of converting a couple of my Roundhouse Locomotives to their Insulated Wheels myself. One where I forgot to order the thing with Insulated, the other which was a second hand purchase.

Would not consider any other way as I do like to run both at the same time. Yes you do get Gunge on the Track, but personally I have never found this to be a problem with the DCC Juice.

I have also never had any problems with the RoundhouseInsulated Wheels on regauging them as I sometimes do to run on that strange Narrow Gauge Track Gauge 32mm.
JonD
 
I don't think I have a preference either way, though I have had thoughts of signal track-circuiting which would be a lot easier without insulated wheel-sets.
 
nimbus said:
Hi all, I just want to reply to Tag, about Accucraft locos. I have a little Accucraft Ruby, that has un insulated wheels. Bought off Ebay, still in it`s box. so I assume it was "as new". So whether this is as designed by Accucraft, or not I don`t know. Incidently, I run both steamer (Lady Anne) and trackpowered electric, and a battery powered. So if I want to run Ruby, the track power has to be off. Also yes there is water and oil on the track after steaming.
Cheers
Clarry.
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Accucraft UK and Accucraft US seem to manufacture very differently.

As I mentioned earlier, Accucraft US seem to be insulated as a matter of course.

UK manufacturers have tended to use solid steel wheels because the vast majority of their output have outside frames.

A solid steel wheel is cheap to make and the result is that the loco bounces and bangs around badly on the track - I don't like 'um.
 
Like some others here I run some building lights from the track power. I also have my colour light signals. I've just this week bought a Regner Super Konrad and am just waiting for the rain to stop long enough to give it a run. Insulated wheels are a must if I want my signals to operate automatically.
 
I can't see the point in not getting them if they are available.
When I bought my loco from Roundhouse, I made sure it had insulated, I don't even own any track of my own, but you never know if you may run on someone else's line which is electrified.
 
I have an Accucraft Garratt that melted the insulation on one of the front drivers during a smokebox fire that wasn't spotted quickly enough and a coal fired Fowler whose rear pony went out of gauge when the heat from the grate softened the plastic, so for me insulated wheels should be an opt-in if you need them choice.

I've only visited one line where the owner runs a mixture of track power and live steam and for open days he just turns the power off. Then, he is a bit of a rarity, a member of the 16MMNGM that runs American outline on 45mm.

Rob
 
It seems that everyone would be happy if the manufacturers took more care in the design and manufacturer of insulated locomotive wheels so that they the plastic used was heat and shrink resistant. There are various plastic and ceramic options that could be used to solve the problem. I guess the problem is that the numbers made are so small that manufacturers R & D budgets are next to nothing.
 
For me I dont buy a steamer based off of insulated or non insulate wheels. I will run live steam with my electric but only because my 3 year old will be running electric while I run my steam. My Accu Foreny and project engine is insulated so I am able to run them with electric. If I were to get another steamer then it would not matter since already have 2 that are insulated. If cost was the factor then I would go non insulated. I also find myself slowly going to mainly live steam and battery as a backup.
 
personally i always ask for insulated wheels as i often visit a few friends electric railways.
 
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