Please define between lightweight and heavyweight passenger cars.

[Anonymous]

I have seen passenger cars described as heanyweights and lightweights and I haven't the faintest idea what they are talking about. Can some one clue me in. I think I know, but I can not find a definition anywhere.

[rrinker]

Heavyweight cars are the older cars with all the fancy woodwork, heavy wood or wood and metal construction. Much smoother and quieter riding, too. Lightweight cars are the more modern cars made with lots of lightweight metal like aluminum. Less of a load on the locomotives, thus more fuel efficient, but a lot more 'sterile' compared to the older more ornate cars.
That's a simple explanation.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

Basically, the difference is how the cars were made. In the 1920's, they were made from heavier materials (wood, for example) than the later cars, which were made with lighter materials (such as stainless steel). The easiest way to tell them apart is by the roof design. The heavyweights had what is called a clerestory roof. The center of the roof was higher than the sides, in that it was stepped up. The lightweight cars had smooth, rounded roofs. The best thing to do to see the difference would be to go to http://www.walthers.com and look at the various passenger cars available. If you compare the heavyweights with the lightweights, you will see the difference in roof design that so easily sets these cars apart.

[jrbernier]

Jon,

Heavyweight refers to older passenger cars built before the late 30's. The were usually of rivited steel construction with 6 wheel trucks(not always) and large clerestory or arch roofs that tapered or curved at the ends.
Lightweight cars are usually built after the late 30's, many times were sheathed in welded steel or stainless steel, had 4 wheel trucks and the roof was usually a lower arch that did not have a taper at the end. These cars were built with A/C and were considered very modern in the 40's and 50's.
Some railroads 'rebuilt' older cars with new low profile roofs, thermopane windows, and flashy paint schemes to match the newer lightweights. When Amtrak picked up intercity passenger service in 1971, they only purchased newer lightweight cars from the rosters of the existing American railroads.

Jim Bernier

[Paul3]

Basically, "heavyweight" passenger cars weigh around 1 ton per foot of length. So a 85' car weighs in the area of 85 tons for a heavyweight car.

A "lightweight" car uses more modern construction materials (like Cor-Ten steel, or Stainless steel, etc.) that is lighter, stronger and more resistant to rust. The New Haven's first lightweight cars weighed arond 60 tons each for an 85' car, a significant savings in dead weight that RR's didn't have to pay to haul around.

As these new materials came about when the new streamlined fashion did, almost all lightweight cars are streamlined, featuring stainless steel or smooth sides that minimized wind resistance (and looked snazzy, too).

Paul A. Cutler III
*****************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*****************

[Anonymous]

Guys, thanks for your answers. I knew I would be set straight if I asked you all. Again thanks for your replys....................

[jsoderq]

Actually a more basic difference is construction. Heavyweights were built with a heavy underframe to hold the car body while lightweights the body is part of the structural integrity of the car.

[TurboOne]

Jon [#welcome] hope the above gave you the answer you were looking for. I just wanted to say ask away, this is a great place to learn. Congrats on retiring, now you have more time to have fun, especially with trains. Incredible information here, and lots of great folks. There are no silly questions, but lots of silly answers. [:D]

Make sure your locos have grease on the gears, and some light oil on the wheel joints.

Have a great time, and post some pics when you get your pike going.

Tim

[Jetrock]

Older wooden-sided cars are normally not considered "heavyweight" cars--the true heavyweights were of riveted steel construction. Clerestory roofs are also typically a feature of the older pre-heavyweight wooden cars, although some heavyweights had clerestory roofs too.

Another feature of heavyweight cars--one reason they were called "heavyweight"--is because the floor was often of poured concrete, which helped give these cars a smoother ride than older wooden-body cars. Because of their heavy construction, they were also much less likely to "telescope" when a collision occurred.

Lightweight cars were typically of stainless steel, and while they don't have much "charm" they certainly had style--the Santa Fe "Super Chief" and WP/ATSF/BN "California Zephyr", both recently produced in HO plastic, are some examples of the sleek, streamlined lighweights.

[Anonymous]

I believe it is a bit like a Unibody car vs. a steel frame with body shell (like on a good pickup truck).

[cspmo]

This is a Heavyweight.


This is a Lightweight