Need some inclines and car load advise

[ohmitr]

I have a n scale "Scale Trains" Tier 4 Gevo locomotive with 11 cars going up a 2% incline. On my NCE Power Cab a speed less than 40 it will not make it up the grade. At 40 or above all is good. I'm wondering if adding a little weight to the engine would help.

Secondly, I want to add a couple of Micro Trains container cars that the containers have WW2 airplane nose art on them. One container per car. I'd like to add a second container to each car and decorate them myself and run them just ahead of the caboose. I'm wondering if the added weight over stock at the end of the train will cause derailment problems on curves closer to the engine.

[cv_acr]

You should be ok - the plastic containers aren't going to add that much weight to be significant.

[mlehman]

ohmitr

I have a n scale "Scale Trains" Tier 4 Gevo locomotive with 11 cars going up a 2% incline. On my NCE Power Cab a speed less than 40 it will not make it up the grade. At 40 or above all is good. I'm wondering if adding a little weight to the engine would help.

No need to add weight. Just add power by turning the throttle past 40.

Not sure what decoder is in that loco, but most newer decoders have some form of load compensation built in. Just like the prototype, it requires more power to lift more weight. By reading BEMF, using the programming built into it, and juggling whatever settings are loaded into the decoder, the decoder is designed to act like the real thing. You add a greater load, you have to add power to get up the grade.

You can go into the decoder and make some changes if you really want the loco to go right up the grade with a heavier load at under the 40 setting. Consult your owners manual and documentation for how to do this - or just ask here, maybe in the DCC and Electrionics forum.

[doctorwayne]

ohmitr

I have a n scale "Scale Trains" Tier 4 Gevo locomotive with 11 cars going up a 2% incline. On my NCE Power Cab a speed less than 40 it will not make it up the grade. At 40 or above all is good. I'm wondering if adding a little weight to the engine would help....

I'm not sure that there'd be enough room for added weight in a DCC-equipped N scale locomotive to make much difference.
I add weight, as much as will fit, into all of my DC-powered HO steam locomotives, as my layout is mostly curves and grades, some of the latter at 2.8%.
However, your situation is ideally-suited to the concept of "I need another locomotive".
Most of my trains are doubleheaded, and many also get a pusher, too. 
The real railroads use as many locos as are needed, so you'd simply be following prototypical practices. 

Wayne

[gregc]

ohmitr

I'm wondering if adding a little weight to the engine would help.

just like prototypes, the tractive force or drawbar force is roughly 25% (at most) of the weight on the drivers.  so adding weight can help. 

Some locos are just too light.  another factor if steam is whether the weight is balanced uniformly on the drivers.

and another thing to consider is the friction of the wheels in the rolling stock.  I was surprised how easily some trucks rolled.  I had to work on others with a truck tuner to make sure they could roll by themsolves down a 2% grade.

[carl425]

mlehman

No need to add weight. Just add power by turning the throttle past 40.

+1

Adding weight fixes wheel slipping, not stalling.  More work (like going up hill) requires more power.  Adding weight will result in even more work to haul it up the hill so you'll need even more power.