Recently I found a set of old Balboa brass full length passenger cars. They are painted for the Southern Pacific Golden State train, which ran somewhat close to the area I model, so I bought them (six brass cars, new in the original boxes; factory painted and lighted). They are somewhat crude by today's standards but the total price was $310, including shipping and tax. After putting window tinting in all of the windows to hide the lack of a car interior, I unfortunately discovered a problem on the layout: I inadvertently built an S turn. Most of the mainline is 34" radius, but this one spot has a short 34" left turn followed by a #6 right hand switch. The reverse portion (curved portion of the switch) is the mainline; the straight goes to the industry siding. As a result, I'm concerned about operations. Close coupling may be out of the question. So I'm considering diaphragms. Does anyone have any experience with them? I've never installed any on passenger cars and want to avoid problems if possible. Thanks in advance.
