How long are your trains you run - How many cars??

[shlbygt500]

if im switching 4 cars on the main loop 8-10 4x8 layout

[xdford]

On my 4x8 I normally run up to 12 cars behind a loco or loco/dummy for mainline engines and 9 cars for branchline trains or smaller engines... 0-8-0 and 2-8-0's and even less for one engine (the Proto 0-6-0) due to a lack of traction tyres and sharper curves.

Maximum length is governed by passing siding length which is fairly consistent. However I have also run some very long trains for testing where a Bluebox F7 was pulling 40 freight cars with its caboose just behind it on the adjoining track.

I think my track and wheels have become a little polished since that time (possibly over 20 years ago) as well as a wholesale changeover to can motors so I don't think it would be possible now, besides looking ridiculous and being unsustainable as I managed one lap going from the inner yard and crossing to the outer lap. This was more of a "what can I do" category.

12 cars is about right for the mainline types of train I run, much longer and it would look out of place.  Hope this helps

Regards

 

Trevor   www.xdford.digitalzones.com 

 

 

[Jake1210]

Well, my layout will probably run trains of about 1 loco and 3-4 cars+caboose, (General minimum on DRGW NG,) to 2 locos 20-25 cars plus caboose (typical max) or maybe 3 locos 30 cars (rare max, and it will probably only happen when im alone and I want to run a massive train )

[spanosnu]

When my N scale layout was 4ft x 35 ft dog bone my friend, Don ran 250 cars nose to tail around the level mainline.  The layout has grown to fill a good part of my 27ft by 42 ft during the past 35 years or so.  Two things limit my trains the staging yard that will hold a maximum of eighteen 60 ft carsand caboose and four SD 40-2s and the 17 inch radius at the top of an average grade of 2.7 % which is 25 feet long.  Fifty cars tend to stringline at the top of BIG HILL's curve.  I usually run 17 or 18 unit grain trains, 17 to 19 car coal trains,  16 woodchip cars or about 23 40 foot cars.  My 5.7 scale mile mainlines are two short for trains much longer than 25 cars of any lengths;  Longer trains overpower the appearance of the scenery in my opinion.

My friend Todd on his 9.5 scale mile maine line routinely runs 100 to 175 car trains.  They look good on his layout because he has much less selective compression of scenes than I do.

Rick

[NS2591]

At my N scale club I was able to run a 160 90 Ton hoppers, 4 engines, 3 on the front, and the fourth unit was 110 cars back. I probably could have done more but I was already tempting fate. that layout you can run huge trains as long as you have all your power evenly speed matched becuase as long as you have helpers it rarely stringlines.

[ntraction]

I model a Santa Fe branch in N scale.My train lenght is 6 cars plus loco and caboose.Layout size is 2 ft by 13 ft , oval ,the back of which is staging tracks.Train length was pretty much determined by available space,and the short train nature of branch operation.

[onebiglizard]

Interesting for me that this question came up now. My visiting nephew (he has a 4x16 layout) asked how long a train I could run, so we have been working to find out.  I used to think longer was better, but now I am learing otherwise.

I have a 13 x 24 train room with the HO trackwork currently about 3/4 of the way around the outside walls.  Put in temp return loops at each end just so I could run some trains.  Last night we went for length with 2 powered GP 50s, a dummy GP 38, thirty 50, 40 and 36 foot cars and a caboose.  I'm sticking on the level part of my layout - not about to attempt this length up the 2% grade.

I was surprised by 3 things:  1. We actually made it around the layout several times without derailing, even though the train doubles back on itself on the 22" R return loops.  2.  the Atlas GP 50s had plenty of power.   3.  A train with this many cars is rediculously long.  Even with short rolling stock the thing is over 16 feet. 

That being said, additional rolling stock and motive power is coming out of storage tonight, to see how long we can go.  I'm hoping for three 4 axle diesels and 50 cars.  This is a one time event and silly, but kinda fun.  I'll see if I can get pictures.

My passing sidings currently handle 7' trains, which is fewer cars than I would have hoped.  I'm now learing another aspect of selective compression.  Meanwhile we'll keep adding cars to this monster 'til something breaks.

 Lizard

 

 

 

   

[my05hammer]

My son and I are going to finally start construction of our basement layout this fall.  The longest train I think we will be able to run is a 21 car coal drag with two SD90Mac's that I bought last winter.  Even though the layout will be the size of the basement, the mailine will probably only be 80-90 feet long, 21 cars might end up being too long and might be split up into two drags. We'll see. 

 

[OzarkBelt]

Alas, my small space in staging restricts trians to an average of 2-6 cars with one engine and a caboose. If it is more than six, it would need two engines: 1&1/2 cars per axle, so the max for my GPs and Fs is six cars (not counting caboose)

[AltoonaRailroader]

Mostly this would depend on how big your layout is I guess. Mine is a N scale u shape 19 ft long  by 5 ft on one end and 7 ft on the other so I can run some long trains. I have run as many as 70 cars in a mixed freight being pulled by 7 diesels and a coal drag with about 60 coalporters with 5-6 diesels. Most of the time though, I usually run about 30-40 cars.

How about you guys ?     Show some pics or videos.

My layout is 140"x66" in a small L shaped layout. Most of the time I run smaller trains with one GP-9 pulling 5-6-7 cars, sometimes a small coal drag, other times a small boxcar run, and another of mixed freight. But then again SOMETIMMES, I really like to lash up my two conrail GP-9's, ones a dummy, and another Penn Central GP-9 so I have a 3 loco lashup and then I start putting on the cars, I think the most I've been able to create without derailments or other problems is like 15-16 cars. It really looks great when it's all moving at scale speeds. And it's not TOO big for my layout that it ends up looking like a dog chasing it's tail. LOL

[TrainMaster1212]

I am part of Keystone n-trak so i run trains that are usually 15-30 cars pulled by 3 f-units or 2 SD units and the train is a mix of 40 and 50 foot cars. My longest has been a coal drag of 75 mix coal cars with 90 ton cars and coalveyors. It was pulled by 2 SD70Mac and a SD60Mac in the rear.  My passenger trains range from 5 cars to 15 cars pulled by f-units, e-units, or P42 depending on which train I run.

[Ed Dalton]

I have run 3 diesels and 32 cars on my n-scale just to see what I could do. . .  In servicing my customers, I generally run one engine and approx. 12 cars.  However, on 2 parts of my layout, I have an engine waiting to off-load cars to service nearby customers, and this engine also has loaded or empty cars ready to return with my main-line engine.

Hope this makes sense to you. . .

Ed

[NKP inFla]

My layout is 12' x 25'. I run trains of 6-8 40' cars during op sessions. The departure track is 12 40' cars long and the arrival track.10 40' cars. During the session train lenght may grow to 10 cars, but they should return to yard with the same number of cars it left it. This allows for appx 12-18 switchings moves which should take 50-70 mins

[BuffaloBob]

On my present layout the longest train is about ten cars, depending on what industries need what and when. At one time pulled 210 hoppers with eleven engines on the Sussex club HO modular layout in north Jersey. That was the longest, the norm for me on that layout was 152 hoppers with seven engines.

[0atman]

 My typical train is 10 to 16 cars but my longest is 63 reefers with a cab forward on the point and another midtrain. My longest passenger train was 23 cars, 15 headend cars and the rest coaches powered by one cab forward.

[Marty on Vancouver Island]

These are excellent topics this month. My longest train is Maine Central's South Portland, ME - St. Johnsbury, VT drag up the Mountain Division consisting of 4-5 units (depending on their horsepower) and 32 cars + caboose. The train has to be "doubled" in both staging and upon its arrival in St. Johnsbury where it's 6 tank cars shorter that were dropped in Whitefield, NH for the B&M. Next would be the CP Rail/B&M pool train southbound with 5 units and 26 cars + a CP Rail caboose and a B&M caboose on the tail. Two CP units are dropped in St. Johnsbury where they'll wait and be added to the next northbound train. This train also has to be doubled in staging. From there the length of the trains drop to 14, 11 and down to 3-6 for locals. This HO layout is in a 20'x20' garage.

Cheers, Marty on Vancouver Island

[Pruitt]

My layout is designed to handle 20-25 car freights on the CB&Q mainline, with longer trains on the NP transcontinental staging loop (visible for about 15 feet at Laurel MT). The longest staging yard track will hold a 50-ccar + loco & caboose train. Branches will handle slightly shorter trains.

[nscale1969]

I'm in N and on my small room sized layout I typically run 20-25 cars..

[Grampys Trains]

Hi Jimmy:  My limit is controlled by a reversing loop, 25 cars + 2 six axle diesels, and a caboose.   

[NS2591]

at the HO club I'm part of our longest block is 25ft, and the shortest being 15. I generally run on the loop that has the 25ft block, my HO grain train is usually two or three locos, and almost 40 50+ft Covered hoppers.

[Texas Zepher]

18 cars puts the observation car directly under the war bonnets.  I guess that makes it about 19.3 feet long.

Or how about 17 cars on a California Zephyr for about 18.1 feet in length. 

[NS AS-416]

One four axle loco, usually a Baldwin switcher or an RS1, and four 40' freight cars. I just have a 4'x8' HO layout and anything longer looks out of place. The funny thing is that I have more locos and rolling stock than I have room for on my layout. I'll have to fill the layout with one long train sometime, take a pic and post it.

Matt

[jbinkley60]

15-20 is average.  My maximum is close to 40.  Here's a video of the longest one I've run so far on my layout.  It has 5 units up front.  They weren't needed but were for show.

http://www.thebinks.com/trains/movies/jersey3.wmv

 

[ClinchValleySD40]

Manifest trains are 25 cars, three locos and caboose.   Coal are 28 cars.  Exception is Detroit Edison coal train.  To get the mid train helpers in, expaneded it to 30 cars.  Locals range 5 to 10 cars.

 

 

[ngartshore350]

Running HO on a 10 x 17 layout. Typically freight cars of around 20 - 30 cars double heading some sd-40-2's or AC4400's. Most I run in pasenger is 10 coaches.

I have run 100 freight cars plus a caboose, but it was a test more than anything. required 3 x Athearn RTR locos on the front and 2 x Athearn RTR's in the middle. Many derailments before getting the middle power in the right position, oh yeah and well cars in the middle were bad too!

[toot toot]

I model in HO with an old time (1890s) theme.  My layout is a single track point to point currently with 90 feet of mainline.  The biggest locomotive is a light 2-8-0.  cars are between 34 and 50 scale feet in length In designing my layout i included a long stiff curving grade which requires uphill traffic to add helpers to anything more than 6 freight cars plus caboose.  most freight trains are about 10 cars but some have as many as 12.  downhill trains up to 12 cars don't require helpers which leads to some interesting operating situations, such as motive power imballances necessitating light moves

[nbrodar]

HO 10 x 12 layout, my freight trains usually run 1 engine a caboose and 12 cars.  Passenger trains generally run 1 engine and 4 cars. 

 

Certain trains, like the Cement Train run longer, because the cars are shorter.

 

Nick 

[timbob]

Hi,

On my n scale 4x8 I run all my cars.  Since I'm new (and broke,cut me some slack I'm in the 7th grade) thats about 14 or 15 boxcars and other frieght cars.  There is still enough room for at least 30-40 cars.

-tim

[riogrande5761]

2-3 engines and up to 20 cars on one train, but the other has to be under about 500 feet to fit in the passing sidings

That is my goal, essentially to run 20-25 car trains in HO, and that very doable if you have a decent garage or basement space to build in.  20-25 cars gives a good longish look to trains in HO too.

My last layout was designed and built to have an 18 foot passing capacity in sidings and yards etc, and storage capacity for 10 tracks 18-24 feet long.  A 25 car unit train of Thrall coal gons with a couple loco's and a caboose can just about fit in an 18' siding.

If I ever get out of the duldrums, and get a new place to build, I'll shoot for the same thing again.