Im used to putting ever freight car I have behind trains when I run them. these past months ive been buying cars like a mad man! I have 16 cars 9 modern cars, and 7 postwar cars. do you guys think 16 cars is too much for a postwar engine such as the 736 or 2026 to pull?
"No childhood should be without a train!"
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
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If the engine clips the caboose thru the reverse loop...It's too many cars. Otherwise, game on!
Kurt
I've been running 25 cars behind a postwar F3. Tried the 736, but it was a bit too many cars - too much wheel slipage over the switches. 25 cars seems to take two motors, whether in one engine or two. Have sucessfully tried various double headers: ie-postwar steamer plus switcher, or two MPC Geeps. Will try a few more cars as I get them cleaned and lubed. Couplers (slipping) start to be the problem, as the trucks tilt. Retrofitting washers has been suggested to address this, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.
runtime
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
cnw1995 wrote:John is certainly right. I have slight up-and-down grades across my layout - and when I am pulling a long train, I can certainly 'feel' them. They actually make it 'fun-ner' to jockey the throttle.
Agreed Doug, Were I starting over I would build in some elevation changes but I'm sort of locked in with what I have now.
Hi!
May I build on Kurt's response...............
When your train is on the longest continuous running loop, and the engineer is chatting with the brakeman and conductor sitting in the caboose, you might have too many cars........
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I have pulled 26 frieght cars with my Williams 671 steam loco, the engine can handle it but I started having derailments on the curves, my outer curve is 43.5 inch radius GarGraves track(GarGraves equivalent of 042). When you derail on the curves that is usually when to take cars off the train.
Lee F.
Bob Nelson
You know you have too many cars in an oval of track when you can't take up the coupler slack anymore.
Jim
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
phillyreading wrote: I have pulled 26 frieght cars with my Williams 671 steam loco, the engine can handle it but I started having derailments on the curves, my outer curve is 43.5 inch radius GarGraves track(GarGraves equivalent of 042). When you derail on the curves that is usually when to take cars off the train.Lee F.
Your derailments surprise me. I pull 25 postwar cars on a Lionel 'classic' 031 curved layout, and derailments are infrequent.
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