# breaking in my new F7 locomotives



## Blue North (12 mo ago)

Hi all, just received a Walthers F7 A/B set and they are fantastic smooth runners. The directions (glad there are some, as opposed to certain other manufacturers) say that you should break in your loco by running it through all possible paces for an hour! Forward backward, clockwise counterclockwise, slow medium fast, stop start, etc. 

Two questions, (1) is it OK to hook up both engines and do the break-in that way, or should I do an hour for each engine? (2) These engines both weigh a ton. They are not super fast, whether together or apart. Hypothetically, would my A unit be faster if the B were a dummy? OK third question, is the point of coupling A/B really to be able to pull more cars, and has nothing to do with unloaded speed?

Thanks for any insights!


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Yes, you can hook up both locos together to break them in. They are designed as a set, and should be fairly well speed matched out of the box.

They're supposed to be heavy. That's what gives smooth nickel-silver wheels traction on smooth nickel-silver rails. It probably has nothing to do with the speed of the locomotives. The most likely cause of that is that they are DCC units being run in analog (DC) emulation mode. They often run slowly when doing so. You can double check their speeds by running them separately; they probably won't go much if any faster.

In the real world, the B unit's purpose was to haul a heavier train, while being cheaper to produce because they don't have a cab, and therefore don't need all the controls (they're slaved to the A unit). On a model railroad, it's more for show than anything. Unless they are badly mismatched speed-wise, they're probably not slowing each other down.


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## Dennis461 (Jan 5, 2018)

"...is the point of coupling A/B really to be able to pull more cars, and has nothing to do with unloaded speed? "

If you are talking real world in 1949. A steam loco like a 2-8-2 had 3300 horsepower, a F7 had 1500 horsepower. So two diesel units were needed to replace it (the 2-8-2). So a railroad would buy a F7a and F7B set .


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## Blue North (12 mo ago)

Thanks. These are DC so I can't blame slowness on DCC. Maybe the weight. The smallest and lightest of my five locos, a Mehano 4-6-2, is by far the fastest, it actually scares me! Tonight I ran both the new F7 locos (uncoupled) on the track together and the A is slightly faster. It takes about 20 laps of 4x8' oval for them to come together again. Thus I can run them uncoupled and break them in, or coupled since you say it's OK. Should the steam locos be broken in the same way?


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Back in the good old days you were advised
to 'break in' your new car. Run it at lower speeds
for X miles. I always assumed that was to
allow the many moving parts to settle in and
perhaps smooth out any 'burrs' that made it
through the inspections. I think you can
assume the advice to 'break in' your new
F7s is for the same reason. In my experience
the 'early' running was not as smooth as
later on after the new loco had had it's
time on the track.

Don


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Blue North said:


> Thanks. These are DC so I can't blame slowness on DCC. Maybe the weight. The smallest and lightest of my five locos, a Mehano 4-6-2, is by far the fastest, it actually scares me! Tonight I ran both the new F7 locos (uncoupled) on the track together and the A is slightly faster. It takes about 20 laps of 4x8' oval for them to come together again. Thus I can run them uncoupled and break them in, or coupled since you say it's OK. Should the steam locos be broken in the same way?


Again, I really doubt that the weight of the locos is the cause of them running "slowly". Every Walthers loco I have weighs a pound or more, and they're not slow.... although I run mine at realistic, scale speeds, not wide open throttle. The question really is, are they slow, or are they just slow compared to your other locos? My bet would be that these are quite a bit too fast, and that the speed of the F7's is in ballpark for wheat the real loco could do.


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## Blue North (12 mo ago)

CTValleyRR said:


> Again, I really doubt that the weight of the locos is the cause of them running "slowly". Every Walthers loco I have weighs a pound or more, and they're not slow.... although I run mine at realistic, scale speeds, not wide open throttle. The question really is, are they slow, or are they just slow compared to your other locos? My bet would be that these are quite a bit too fast, and that the speed of the F7's is in ballpark for wheat the real loco could do.


You are probably right. I got out the iPhone stop watch last night and there is a big difference between the twenty-year-old Mehano and this new Walthers. Results on an 8x4 oval at full DC basic throttle:
F7 A unit and B unit are both (running alone) 9.7 seconds for one lap.
A/B coupled: 12 seconds. (This seems counterintuitive, they are both powered.)
The Mehano 4-6-2 with unpowered tender is 8.3 seconds, and without tender is 7.7 seconds! A full 2 seconds faster.

So yes that is too fast for verisimilitude! But really fun.


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## Blue North (12 mo ago)

PS The Mallard is on its way from Hornby. We'll see about that steam speed record.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Different brands of locomotives have different gear ratios and different motors, so simply testing them at the same throttle setting does not give an accurate picture of the true performance….that’s comparing apples to oranges….

A lot of model railroaders, myself included, are more interested in how slow a locomotive can go than how fast…..if you want speed, maybe get into slot car racing.... 🤣


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## kilowatt62 (Aug 18, 2019)

He said; slot car racing!


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## Blue North (12 mo ago)

Old_Hobo said:


> A lot of model railroaders, myself included, are more interested in how slow a locomotive can go than how fast…..


What's that telling you? Serious question.
(This speedy loco also does nicely going very slow.)


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## Blue North (12 mo ago)

kilowatt62 said:


> He said; slot car racing!


Yeah high speed rail is for suckers, right?
(I don't want my real trains to go too fast, as I love the journey.)


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