Wondering how many of us out there seek for the maximum tractive effort possible from their locomotives by adding weight and other tricks?
Also, who uses lead vs. tungsten? Powdered / BB’s vs. sheets.
Mark in Utah
I like my steam engines to pull things. As many things as possible. If I had a mini lathe and the skill I would probably add traction tires to a bunch, but weight works pretty well. And no I do not burn up motors.
Yes, I add weight if it’s needed. Most of my locomotives are brass, and a lot of the newer brass comes fairly underweighted from the manufacturer. One of the problems is that the weights tend to be heaviest toward the cab-end of the steamer, not giving the front drivers enough grip. I add and balance the loco until the weight is equal all through the boiler. Sometimes this only takes a little lead, sometimes it’s a major project, but the result is usually a minimum of 50% more pulling power. And since I model a mountain mainline railroad with fairly stiff (2.2%) grades, I need all the pulling power I can get. BTW, I use sheet lead. I know all about the ‘health’ issues, but its still the most flexible and trouble-free material I’ve found.
Tom [^]
Thanks for the poll. I’ve been wanting to start a thread on this for a while. I add weight to just about all my Locos. I have a U30c U.P. (Athearn) that’s quite the “HOSS”[C):-)] since regearing and 3or4 ounces of weight. My S.P. U36c is getting the same treatment[:D]!! It has helped every engine I added weight to.
Oh, and to fisish up I use stick on tire weights, thier the best thing going.
I forge my lead from chunkier blocks to get the right width and thickness I need. I’ve added up to 12 ounces to a diesel (AC4400). Yes they do pull, and it quiets them down as well.
I’ve toyed with the idea of buying powdered tungsten. Found a source for it at about $15 per pound. Heavier than lead. By mixing a little epoxy with it you could pour it into whatever space you can find.
My last project is a dual-motor Athearn DD40. Had to make 0.2" and 0.3" thick strips X 0.8" wide for the top of the body. Still working on it.
Mark in Utah
I haven’t started adding weights to my locomotives, yet. I’m still working onthe rolling stock, which, when done, will require MORE pulling power!
A long time ago, I had access to shot-blast beads, used in big machines to sand-blast cast iron. The beads were really tiny, non-magnetic and heavy! I could put down a drop of Goo and sprinkle beads into it. I was going to use it to line the shells of my locomotives but never got around to it. Now I can’t get any more, so I will have to come up with something else. Might have worked well for steamers because you could lay down a thin layer the length of the boiler without interfering with the mechanism.
Darrell, heavily quiet…for now
Mark,I add stick on weights to my older Athearn engines. on the inside top of the shell…This adds tractive force and cuts down on the shell chatter which accounts for a lot of the growl.
I add weight to “scale power” new locos in relation to my others.
When adding weight always check the stalled motor current with the wheels slipping. Adding weight beyond this may damage the motor.
The more weight the better in a locomotive, the less weight in any cars even better. Want weight?? try depleted uranium,works like a charm.
So far I have completed Three sound installs on some of my loco’s (2 steam, 1 Diesel). While I have the loco dis-assembled I try to poke in as much lead as I think is satisfactory based on type of loco and mfg. So I add weight to my loco’s on an occassional basis.
Terry
At my hobby shop I stock thin lead sheets with adhesive backings, primarily for weighting slot cars. It works great on my trains! It comes in .020 to about .1/16 inch thick, and the adhesive is maybe .005 thick, ( About the thickness of Scotch tape.
I stay away from automotive wheel weights, as the sticky tape is so thick, you lose a lot of space to add weight.
Another place to get thin lead sheet is from a GOOD plaumbing supply house. It’s lead shower stall pan. I’m guessing it’s between 1/16 and 1/8 thick, and cuts easily with tin snips. I’ve used this stuff extensively in full size race cars to add weight right where you need it, while making minumum weight. For model use, you can cut it, and glue, or use a good two sided adhesive tape to secure it in your locos or rolling stock.
3M makes a great tape type adhesive that is perfect for this application. There is NO tape to it, it’s just a super sticky adhesive on a roll. You can get way more lead in a space using this adhesive than by using the common two sided foam tape like is on wheel weights.
Rotor
Whether I add weight or not depends on many factors. Stall current, pulling ability for intended purpose, whether or not the weight can be easily placed out of site, etc. I guess the best answer for me might be “as needed”.
I don’t because I haven’t needed it. My S scale locomotives so far haven’t had problems pulling cars.
Enjoy
Paul
I’ve been using “Goop” to glue the lead in place.
Foam tape would take up too much room and would detract from the goal of adding lead.
Mark in Utah
P.S. Where’s a good supplier for depleted uranium??? 
I cut up lead sheet and cram as much as I can into my BB shells, about 5 or 6 ounces, as it definitely increases the pulling power. I’ve found silicone bathroom caulk does a good job for gluing it in.
I add weight to all locomotives, usually using lead cast in moulds custom- made from sheet aluminum. Steam locos get new air tanks (lead-filled brass tubing), new boiler weights in lead and often the domes filled with lead. If the motor is up to it, I also add lead between the frames or in the cab. It is a good idea to keep the total engine weight balanced about the mid-point of the driver wheelbase. Diesels get the same treatment, even though I generally run only steam on my mid-'30’s layout. If I choose to operate the layout as a mid-'50’s operation, I have several SW1200RS switchers (Athearn SW1200’s with can motors and extra weight). I had also originally planned to be able to update my layout to the mid-'70’s, but this began to get a bit too expensive and I got rid of all my '70’s rolling stock and most of the big diesels. However, I still have three Athearn U-33C’s, detailed and custom painted for my own road. Each one has been remotored with two Mashima can motors and ballasted to just over 33 oz. The measured drawbar pull of each locomotive is 8.3 oz. This seems to be the limit that I can attain as a weight to tractive effort ratio - 25%. I wish I could accompli***his on my plastic steamers. Anyway, the U-Boats are orphans and the motors will probably eventually go to various steam engines as required.
Wayne
Gentle word of caution.
Weight is good, but don’t go overboard. Be careful not to “Overweigh” locomotives as this can actually lead to cutting short your motor’s life.
The weight of the locomotive can in the extreme subtract from the wright of the rolling stock you’re trying to pull. Generally speaking, this isn’t an issue, as the wheels slip before I run out of cars.
As long as you’re able to slip the wheels, then you haven’t added too much weight in my book.
Mark in Utah
You’re right about not overdoing it. That’s why I put two motors in each unit. If the total train weight exceeds to pulling power of the locomotive, the wheels of the loco should slip when the train stops moving forward. One of my first efforts was an old Tyco C-630 that I detailed and rebuilt with a safety cab. This loco looked pretty good, but it was too light to pull much of anything. I added a big block of lead, which really improved the tractive effort. However, at the first grade, the train stalled and unfortunately, so did the motor in the big Century. To be truthful, I’d kinda expected this, since the unit was powered by a cheap pancake-style motor mounted on the lead truck. I decreased the amount of lead until I could get the wheels to slip under full load. Actually, the motors in the three U-Boats are the biggest that I could fit into the overwidth Athearn hoods and in retrospect, I might have gained more pulling power by using smaller motors and more weight, although this would have been pretty much a hit-or-miss situation.
One of my diesel switchers (it started out as an Athearn SW"1500"; I rebuilt it into an NW-2) has a Sagami can motor that I got from NWSL through the mail. Unfortunately, when I measured the inside width of the hood, I measured at the bottom of the hood and forgot the fact that the opening narrowed at the top to facilitate removal from the mould. When the motor arrived, I discovered that the motor was almost the exact width of the opening only at the bottom and it required a lot of work with a big file to widen the hood enough to get the whole thing together. This loco is way overpowered: I had installed a detailed cab interior from GSB, so the interior space available for additional weight w