Hi all.
Another question if I may. I bought an HO scale test car and I was wondering how much it should weigh. There was a discussion a while back on the weights of cars but the test car wasn't mentioned.
Not a big issue... just wondering.
Thanks for any wisdom!!
Amanda
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Is this a model of one of the actual prototype cars used for calibrating real world scales, or are you actually calibrating model scales with it?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I would say pack as much weight into the cavity that will fit. I used a "liquid gravity" weight product that is tiny steel shot.
NYC_Scale by Edmund, on Flickr
The NMRA R.P. begins with a 1 oz. HO baseline and a half ounce per inch so a 2" car "should" be 1.5 oz. Commonly, the scale test car would be carried behind the caboose. They had trainlines but no air brakes.
Have fun! Ed
I've scratchbuilt 5 or 6 scale-test cars, but the two that I've not given away are 2" long, with this one weighing-in at 2oz....
...and this slightly-different-style one at 1.75oz.
I'm pretty sure that the others are all around the same weight, too.
Mine always travel at the rear of the train, and I sometimes use that as a deliberate operational impediment when the train in question needs to "switch" the industries in the towns through which it passes...lots of setting-outs and run-around moves necessary.
Wayne
My two are brass that I weighted to about 2 3/4 oz. I also modifiied the side frame mounting to equalize the wheels. I can shove 20 cars uphill with them through curved switches with no derailments.Not how they are usually handled on the prototype but I wanted them to run reliably.
Mark Vinski
MisterBeasley Is this a model of one of the actual prototype cars used for calibrating real world scales, or are you actually calibrating model scales with it?
No... no scales in my future. :-)