HO Live Steam Mallard

[WhoozOn1st]

Perusing a new edition of one of the catalogues I receive periodically, I ran across this:

LNER Class A4 4-6-2 Mallard Live Steam Set

While well aware of small live steam, I don't recall seeing anything THIS small before. Not a modeler, so don't know if stuff like this is common, or if this is just a novelty. Says "HO-compatible," but notes that due to different voltage it requires its own track. Not cheap!

 

[GG-1]

Perusing a new edition of one of the catalogues I receive periodically, I ran across this:
LNER Class A4 4-6-2 Mallard Live Steam Set

While well aware of small live steam, I don't recall seeing anything THIS small before. Not a modeler, so don't know if stuff like this is common, or if this is just a novelty. Says "HO-compatible," but notes that due to different voltage it requires its own track. Not cheap!

Aloha

There aren't many that small, 4/5 I think. The HO Compatible, refers to the closeness between HO/OO scales. OO is common in Europe. The reason for separate loop of track is the steam is made by the electric on the rail rather than by a fire in the boiler.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

OO is common in Europe. The reason for separate loop of track is the steam is made by the electric on the rail rather than by a fire in the boiler.

Seems to me that the steaming method is less the reason than incompatible eurovoltage. Don't some of our esteemed Allies run something like 220 on their national grids? And I'm guessing euromodels operate at a different voltage as well. So while the Mallard set's transformer might be okay with standard U.S. current for input (and manufactured for U.S. use, like a left hand drive Jaguar), perhaps the stepped down voltage received by the model is what actually requires a layout separate from U.S. standard HO.

 

[Chris J.]

OO is common in Europe. The reason for separate loop of track is the steam is made by the electric on the rail rather than by a fire in the boiler.

Seems to me that the steaming method is less the reason than incompatible eurovoltage. Don't some of our esteemed Allies run something like 220 on their national grids? And I'm guessing euromodels operate at a different voltage as well. So while the Mallard set's transformer might be okay with standard U.S. current for input (and manufactured for U.S. use, like a left hand drive Jaguar), perhaps the stepped down voltage received by the model is what actually requires a layout separate from U.S. standard HO.

Normal model trains in the UK (which uses OO, rather than HO which almost everywhere else uses) is 12v DC. DCC uses a slightly higher AC voltage which IIRC the DCC unit generates the 12v DC from to power the electric motor. The tracks are the same for OO and HO (which makes them out of scale for OO, but i guess it's 'close enough').

I suspect the live steam thing needs more volts and amps than a normal electric motor model; so it has to run on it's own track.