In this hobby, it seems like the imagination can take you down so many interesting paths of enjoyment. I was curious to explain why our 600 HP Switcher is such a nice operating model, from a slow and gradual startup to the same upon coming to a stop. It is not unlike the prototype, especially with a string of cars all without a flywheel or electronics.
I contribute this unique smooth piece of hardware to an interface between the motor and the tower drive transmission called a fluid drive. It might be easy to explain simply that the engine was well broken in; however, this engine has not had a lot of running. Consequently, this notion had been on my mind for some time. So I decided to do a little exploration to test this theory and see if, in fact, this device as a hydraulic power transmission smoothed the mechanical transfer in the hardware that makes this model run like a prototype switcher.
Thus, in the video below, I took on the project to create my own version of the Fluid Drive. I plan to install a couple of these in my engines, such as a SW 1500 or an ALCO RS11, and test them using various motors on a 2-rail DC track. I will follow up with blog postings as I document the test results. It could be a useful complement to implement in older engines.
