Tomix Twilight Express and DD51s

[Welshbloke]

As title, I'm thinking about buying the Tomix Twilight Express packs. I notice the book cases have slots for a couple of DD51s as well as the EF81, but can't find any more details. Did Tomix make a special power and dummy pack of the diesels to run with this train or do you just buy two random Hokkaido DD51s in the right livery?

[kvp]

5 minutes ago, Welshbloke said:

As title, I'm thinking about buying the Tomix Twilight Express packs. I notice the book cases have slots for a couple of DD51s as well as the EF81, but can't find any more details. Did Tomix make a special power and dummy pack of the diesels to run with this train or do you just buy two random Hokkaido DD51s in the right livery?

Tomix actually released a complete set with 5 powered locomotives. If you are buying separately, you can get two of the powered Tomix DD51-s in Twilight Express livery and add any two of the running numbers to the locomotives. Imho there is no dummy locomotive and both are powered in the full edition.

The full set: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10320933

And the separate DD51: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10034510

[katoftw]

You referring to 92459/60/61.  Just buy the two blue DD51s separately.  Run them together in non-electrified territory.

[Welshbloke]

Thanks both, yes it's 92459/60/61. I've had the 8514 SuShi 24-0 with working table lamps for ages but had pretty much given up hope of finding the rest until Tomix made another batch. Looks as if there's a spare coach slot over the two cases which it can live in.

 

Do the two powered locos not cause a problem? As both presumably have traction tyres they can't slip if running at slightly different speeds.

[katoftw]

Hobby search has two of the three set available

[kvp]

16 minutes ago, Welshbloke said:

Thanks both, yes it's 92459/60/61. I've had the 8514 SuShi 24-0 with working table lamps for ages but had pretty much given up hope of finding the rest until Tomix made another batch. Looks as if there's a spare coach slot over the two cases which it can live in.

 

Do the two powered locos not cause a problem? As both presumably have traction tyres they can't slip if running at slightly different speeds.

Tomix has a tendency to issue multi motored sets and often both motor cars have traction tyres. This works most of the time in analog operation as the faster loco will have to pull harder and thus get slower due to the higher load until the two balance each other. In digital operation, this could be handled better by speed matching the locomotives. On the 1:1 prototype, this balancing is one of the basic principles of both multiple unit operation and the use of multiple independent traction motors on the same locomotive.

[Welshbloke]

Yep, I know it's one of the more entertaining parts of DMU preservation. Most have a manual epicyclic 4 speed gearbox with shifting controlled electro-mechanically. To change gear you have to let the RPM drop to idle, shift, give the gearboxes a chance to loosen and tighten brake bands and then slowly open the throttle. Getting all the engines to rev up together, hold roughly the same RPM at a given throttle setting and drop back to idle at the same rate is therefore a tad important...

 

In model form I always assumed this was why Kato issue powered KuMoNis and so on without traction tyres. I know some of mine don't move off at the same power setting as other units and therefore need the freedom to slip. Once up to line speed they balance.

[Welshbloke]

On 6/25/2018 at 11:34 AM, katoftw said:

Hobby search has two of the three set available

Yep, Amazon Marketplace has all three as does ebay! Probably going to grab the basic set and add on set B late next week, then A next month. That gives me a five coach train plus my extra SuShi until I can afford the other four.

[nah00]

My Twilight Express is the Kato version but I've never had any problems with MU-ing my DD51s on it or on my Hokutosei. They can be a little cranky at first to run together but they sort out after a minute or two. Nice thing about the Tomix DD51 is that you can turn off the headlight on the trailing loco, I just used duct tape on mine to black out the lights. Plan to put decoders in these eventually since Digitrax does make one that supposedly fits without modification. 

[Kiha66]

1 hour ago, nah00 said:

 Plan to put decoders in these eventually since Digitrax does make one that supposedly fits without modification. 

 

I added the drop in decoders in mine, only thing you have to do is trim the lightpipes to fit or just remove them entirely.  Also a few layers of tape under the end where it slots in helps a lot to improve power pickup reliability.