Lots of Potential

Hmmm, if the thing runs decently, I can see lots of potential for that concept.

-Jack

Very, very very interesting.

Very, very very interesting. I'll definitely be a buyer. It's about time a high quality model comes out. Thanks for the vid

   Patrick Waltz

Motors in the trucks...

Dear MRHers,

Hmmm, truck mounted motors/mechs, I wonder how to they fit in scale-width hood locos and switchers?
Any issues with truck swing?

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Great!

Power trucks leave the car body open for speakers, batteries, or other goodies.

Interesting...

I'd like to see how they wire it for DCC.

I'm definitely piqued by the idea of a new locomotive from Kato - especially with that N scale P42 wandering by at the end of the video. 

KATO NEW DRIVE COMING

Outstanding, thinking outside the box.

Wayne

History repeating...

Dear Wayne,

Impressive yes, but "outside the box"? Over 3 decades of PDT, SPUD, Black Beetle, BullAnt, and Stanton Drive might suggest otherwise...

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

last resort

I think many of your examples suffered from poor performance and were considered a "last resort" by many modelers for when a conventional mechanism could not be used.

Looking forward to it

That history leaves me wondering how good the new power trucks will be.  If they really are as quiet, powerful, and durable as other Kato models, they they're really on to something.  Aside from the benefits of increased weight and/or easier sound installation, I can see how it would make new product development and kitbashing a lot simpler.  Right now, changing the length of a model requires a lot of rebuilding.

Also, Kato has a pretty good history of making parts available at reasonable prices.  This could be a real boon for kitbashers and scratchbuilders.  I'll be keeping an eye on this one as well.

Interesting

Given Kato's track record, I would be very surprised if it was anything but well done.  I look forward to seeing this as it progresses.

...and yet......

...the only thought that comes through my mind on seeing those is "I wonder how easy it will be to rewire those for common-rail pickup for my traction layout, and how much they will cost so I can make an On30 B-B-B-B locomotive akin to the Piedmont and Northern 4-truck box motors...?"

If they're wired for DCC...

I'm assuming that the decoder would still be on the frame, which means that the wiring for each truck would have to come out.  In that case, any other sort of creative wiring needs ought to be simple enough as well.

Thoughts on NWSL Stanton drive

Anyone have thoughts (pro or con) on the NWSL Stanton drive?

$$$

It's expensive.  All the NWSL mechanism parts are expensive.  They may be worth every penny, but it's still a lot to spend to power a model.  For example, a GP-7 can be had with a conventional drive for $50 or less, compared to around $200 for self contained trucks.  That may be as much the reason for it being a last resort as the quality issues.  It's also why I'm more than a little excited about the idea of Kato making them available for a reasonable price.

Dear Mike, I've eval'd all of

What about...

I know that Railflyer has taken a bit of a reputation hit on here, but what about their axle-mounted drive motors?

Flywheels

I'm thinking that unless the RPMs of that motor are fairly high, or the flywheels are made out of depleted uranium, they won't be of much use - more decoration than anything else.

George

I hate it when these

I hate it when these interesting subject threads just END,..... with no new follow on comments, nor even a reference/ link to a follow on subject thread  !!

I just noticed it based on your update.

Did these ever happen?  I was curious as to how they matched speed between the two trucks. 

. . .

 All you have to do is go to the Kato web site.  They sell the truck for 50$

Look in the parts section :

http://www.katousa.com/HO/P42/index.html

Also found this tid bit of interest :

http://www.katousa.com/PDF/Soundtraxx-HO-P42.pdf

But looks like the TSU2/ECO do not have a model specific decoder for this P42 application.

Marc

Who says no one reads old

Who says no one reads old threads. 

Slow speed video

At the end of this video you can see how slow this Kato unit runs.  I think it will be fantastic for any type of slow speed switching scenarios.

Brian …

They look like they pull quite well.  I’d be inclined to get a couple of these while they still have them and do some tractive force experiments to see if you need one or two of them in a steam tender!  I’d be inclined to implement them in the main tender so you don’t have to add another “pusher” tender.   It looks like they’re already out of the black ones and only have gray left.  Be interesting to see if these will be re-run for kitbashers. I’m guessing even though it’s slippery plastic, with a bit of primer they’ll take black from an airbrush ok.

Marc, thanks for the links!  I just ordered a couple of the gray ones.  One for my Doodlebug which has an annoying tick and lifts the body once per wheel revolution (dare I say more of the full “spectrum” of junk! from its famous manufacturer).  The NWSL replacement gears are about the same price as these power trucks.  The second can go into a future critter of some kind for a logging branch line. 

Marc, Mike, et al

Marc:
Thanks for your photo of that truck. I never found that on their site, nor links to it in those links you provided. Guess I just don't know how to use some of these newer websites...ha...ha

Mike:
I'll be interested in hear about your testing of these. I believe I recall seeing some comments about whether the motors on these were strong enough for continuous operation under load, and at speed??