General Discussion (Model Railroader)

Referring back to the comment on the use of dummies.  I have a number of them and use them sometimes in consists - I have even equipped one of them with a sound decoder - this is a lot easier to install than trying to fit sound into a motor driven loco.  The problem is where to get decent dummies.  I have picked up 2 new [old] Athearn SD40s from my LHS.  I have also got a couple of good looking used locos from train shows that required some surgery [motor removal] and repainting.  The dummy loco with the sound [a C630] was bought from Stewart Hobbies online - I assembled it from parts and painted it in BCR colours.

On the topic of consisting BBL locos - I agree it's not straight forward but I did manage it.  I like the idea of giving them the same address - I think I will do this in future.

Alan

The AC6000's would pretty much be limited to higher speed premium trains.  The C44-9's were also premium power trains. 

After the  UP merger the SP AC's were used as 2nd units on coal trains, UP leader, SP 2nd unit, UP DP unit.  The SP and DRGW power spent most of its time on lines south of the UP's E-W main line, such as the Sunset and Cotton Belt Routes.

The AC6000's were very unsuccessful engines.  The diesel motors in them had various problems.  virtually all were either scrapped or returned to the builders and went into the 2nd hand market.  The UP currently does not own any 6000 hp engines (other than the DD40X).

Hamltnblue:

The Bluelines are great engines but are dual decoder units.  They are a pain to consist.

Odd, what problems are there consisting? I've popped my BLI 587 in and out of consists easily with a Digitrax 400.

I and others have had issues when programming them.  Quite often if you do any programming the sound will cease to operate, forcing a reset to factory default.

Hamltnblue:

I and others have had issues when programming them.  Quite often if you do any programming the sound will cease to operate, forcing a reset to factory default.

Oh yes, that one. I do remember reading that a while back.

Consisting all depends on location and type of train the railway is trying to move. For example Southern Pacific and Rio Grande both had respectable fleets of SD40T-2 locomotives. These often ran in consist together over parts of the line with a substantial tunnel system. Not to say that SD40T-2's were never spotted where there weren't any tunnels, but they were most often consisted with other tunnel motors in the mountains.  My point is this: depending where your layout is located, it wont make sense to have certain locomotives pulling trains.

To relate this to model railroading... consisting is great if you want to emulate the prototype, but it requires a certain amount of space. Right now on my small layout, I rarely run my big C44-9W. Instead I usually use my switchers to negotiate the confines of my table. Right now, I'm working on a consist of two GP38-2's that I might eventually round out with a GP60. Hopefully this all makes some sort of sense...its late and I'm not thinking too coherently.

If you want to be prototypical, you cant buy a DRGW Dash 8 or an SP AC6000CW. From what I have heard, SP did order three AC6000CWs but they were delivered after UP bought out SP. DRGW stopped buying GEs long before the Dash 8 line, if DRGW bought any GEs.

loathar:

On the local brachline they use 3 GP-10's to do switching. They only move 10-20 cars around all day. The whole line is pretty flat. Seems like a waste of power and fuel to me.

I've watched CN do some switching around my town and they actually use 2 GP9's to switch out one empty car for a full car.  They can't do it with one because of the way the siding is set up.  That might explain why you see 3 loco's doing switching. 

TA462:

loathar:

On the local brachline they use 3 GP-10's to do switching. They only move 10-20 cars around all day. The whole line is pretty flat. Seems like a waste of power and fuel to me.

I've watched CN do some switching around my town and they actually use 2 GP9's to switch out one empty car for a full car.  They can't do it with one because of the way the siding is set up.  That might explain why you see 3 loco's doing switching. 

Wasn't there some videos on YouTube that showed something like 8 locomotives with 6 cars being switched? I've seen things like 5 GP7's hauling 3 boxcars around here a few times----

So do you guys think I'll be able to do a 2 or 3 loco consist with fairly long train on a roughly 6'x10' HO layout? I say roughly because I have the whole garage to work with, but this is my first attempt. I'd like to plan on expanding later, but we will see. Would it be best to start with some of the 4 axles or can I get away with a 6? Later down the road I plan on running a steam just for fun too.

Centurion:

So do you guys think I'll be able to do a 2 or 3 loco consist with fairly long train on a roughly 6'x10' HO layout? I say roughly because I have the whole garage to work with, but this is my first attempt. I'd like to plan on expanding later, but we will see. Would it be best to start with some of the 4 axles or can I get away with a 6? Later down the road I plan on running a steam just for fun too.

Your locomotive consists will have to negotiate whatever radius curves you have on your layout, so keep that in mind. On my old table/layout I had 22" radius curves, and found that to be too sharp for my six axle engines. I just built a small test layout in my garage, and none of my B-B (4 axle) style locomotives have had any trouble around the curves. I actually plan on running some double headers with a pair of GP38s on this small layout before I tear it out and see how I like that. I think you will have no trouble being able to run a train with two or three engines, but it would likely be limited to a length of about 15 or so cars based on the size of your table.

-Cahrn 

 I would stick with 4-axle power on a smaller layout.  Atlas makes very nice GP38, GP38-2, GP39-2, GP40, GP40-2 models that are pretty much the same mechanically, so they run together very well.  DRGW had a bunch of GP40 & GP40-2.  SP also.

P2K had a run of GP60s which are nice as well.  SP had 195, DRGW 3, built to SP specs. 

For steam, the Spectrum 2-8-0 is nice, and easy to find.  Runs well, and takes small curves without looking silly.  They also make 4-4-0s and 4-6-0s.  Bigger steam engines start to look silly on 18-22" radius curves.  

When I complete my redesigned layout it will have both a valley (flat) and a mountain subdivisions.  Trains running on the Valley sub will have at least 2 engines.  When trains approach the mountain sub they will have helpers added to allow them to climb the 2.77% grade.  Any engine can be assigned to a train, but per prototype operation, if AC and DC units are on the same train, at least one of the DC units must be the lead unit.  If the AC unit is in the lead and it runs at full power it can cause any DC powered units to burn up there traction motors. 

Burt,

I currently have a relatively small layout in terms of width. Lenght wise it is about 12 or 15 foot but because of the lack of space I have the width at one point is only about 2 foot at the smallest and widens to about 5 or 6 foot at the largest.

Having said that I have two full trains each running consists on my layout. Each train has two locos and about 20 to 25 cars. My first train is an intermodal train with two Athearn Norfolk Southern Dash 9's out front, one regular and the other is a grey ghost. I usually stick with Athearn because they have a very similar running speed until I get DCC up and running. My second train is an Athearn CSX AC4400 and belive it or not a Bachmann B23-7 Santa Fe with 20 or so freight cars (Box, Tank, Coil and so on).

Now because of space I have to run 18" curves and to get my 6 axle loco to work together in unison I just purchased some kadee centerset long shank couplers and no worries. Now I am ok with the overhang or I am willing to look past it in order to run the big diesels in a tight space but for realism sake 22'' curves is much better for the 6 axles.

Hope this helps.

I know down here in Troy, AL, where CSX runs on its Dothan Subdivision, I normally see 3-5 engines running on the manifest freights.  They'll run 2-3 engines on the two locals that come through.  And we get automotive and grain trains through here too and they'll run 4-7 engines for power.  Most of the time there's either a a GE unit up front, very typically a CW44AC, with either Dash8s, or SD40-2s behind that.  Every 90 days there's also a unit that runs in the Montgomery yard that goes and comes back to the servcing facility in Waycross, GA.  Lots of times the Unit Grain trains will run with AC power all the way, although the most recent one that came through had two CW44AC's in the lead, followed with a GEVO, then a SD50, and three SD40-2s pulling up the rear.  Then again, this train was also about 175 cars long. 

There is also a local shortline that runs the industries here, and their power is either two GP38AC's lashed togehter, or a GP38-2 and a GP38 lashed together.  Most of the cars running through here are either grain cars, or cars hauling plastic pellets, so they can probably get pretty heavy, which shows the need for multiple units.  Also with the the units lashed up so they can run opposite directions by just switching the crew from one unit to the other. 

So yeah, prototypically they'll run multiple units, even if its for the simple reason to make turning the train at point a to point b easier.