I was watching a train program on RFD TV about two years ago, and saw a couple of Santa Fe diesels pulling a slow train of open coal hoppers before the BNSF merger. It was love at first sight!.. I had the locos, but no coal hoppers, so I got on ebay and bought up every coal hopper I could find for about a month. Anyway, it’s one of my favorite trains. I like to sit at the end of the layout at eye level and watch it come by at a realistic scale speed.
Tracklayer
I plan on running illinois Central and/or BNSF coal trains on my layout. Hopefully at least 40 cars but that might not mix with my 18" curves
I run coal trains on my 1930s era layout. Trains are normally only 12 two bay hoppers and a caboose, limited mainly by passing siding lengths. Normal power is 2 modified Bachmann 2-8-0s. I have run much longer coal trains, but usually with diesels, so prototypical operation, era-wise, sorta goes out the window. The apparent overkill on the motive power is due to the fact that the hoppers all have loose loads and each weighs about 8 ounces. With the caboose, that’s a 100 ounce train on fairly steep grades, a fifteen footer on an “S” bend at 2.5% and a 45 footer laid out over two reverse horseshoe curves and another “S” bend at 2.8%. The hoppers are regular Athearn, with the stock wheels and trucks. So far, no major derailments, and a good way to learn careful train handling.
Wayne
Coal trains are my vice in this hobby.
Every railroad I model was a major coal hauler, Clinchfield, C&O, =WM=, N&W, Interstate and Southern. Heavy grades and lots of coal. Seeing a trend here?
Dont let this powder river basin 160 bethgons on flat open ground nonsense fool you, the real coal hauling railroads are up in the Alleghenys.
I wouldn’t mind having a N&W 2-8-8-2 pulling about twenty coal hoppers myself…
Tracklayer
I love Coal Trains.
I run a string of about 30 hoppers, (depending on how many I want to use in the manifest) 2- and 3-bay. It’s a hypnotising sight as it snakes over the long curves. Now waiting for intermountain wheelsets!
Guilty,Guilty,Guilty (pleasure that is), I seem to collect Tyco, Athearn, Round House coal cars like I’m trying to corner the market. Plus I love to hitch up 30+ cars behind an Allegheny or Big Boy or N&W Y6b or Challenger and let them run. I don’t really worry how prototypical the variety of roadnames on the cars or even the proper era of the respective cars or motive power when I put together my “big” coal drags, when I want to see a big train (outside of doing the equivalent in box cars for a timed or fast freight).
I used to be. My old freelance road was based in western Pennsylvania, following several B&O and Y&S lines from Mingo Junction north to Oil City. My mainline represented the main towards Erie, and I had two branches which worked the mines.
Now that I’m modeling central Illinois, the emphasis is no longer on coal drags, but I’ll still have C&IM coal trains running to interchange at Peoria. Nothing like a 2-10-2 hauling a string of battleship gons through the flatlands!
I’ve got about 104 Conrail hoppers, plus a few PC,RDG,EL and Pennsy.
Nothing like a unit train, especially if it’s coal.[:)]
I will be when I finish my layout. Its focused on the Maine Central Mountain Division (Portland, ME to St. Johnsbury, VT). While the real Maine Central didn’t run coal trains over the line, I plan to strech the truth in my world a bit. All pieces were in place for the MEC to do this, but never had the contract.
Coal trains will be loaded on the docks in Portland (Modeled) and then be switched by locals back to Rigby yard in So. Portland. After enough coal is loaded I will run a small unit train north to Gilman, VT to the new Tri-State power plant.
Should be awsome when its all done and will represent the bulk of the traffic on the line along with the locals and the thru freight RY-1/YR-2.
Josh in snow NH
Coal Hauling is not the focus of my railroad, but there is a small mine that will generate 3 or 4 hoppers each session.
I run coal drags up to 45 cars after that I pull a CN and there are cars everywhere. The Challenger will pull these without helper service up a 6% grade without much difficulty.
I guess I should build a mine next.
Fergie
I operate on a club layout and we’re right in the middle of coal country.
30-50 loaded hoppers in one direction and longer empties in the other direction are common.
I rarely operate coal as my interest lies in passenger and find myself getting the right of way around the coal drags. We have several long grades with over 1200’ of mainline tracks and coal drags over the hills are interesting to watch. Some can take 20 minutes or more just to get over one part of the layout.
I have two Rio Grande coal trains. One is the local Scofield 2 and one unit train with rotary gondolas.
85% of my C&HV gross tonnage comes from general freight. whereas only 15% comes from coal.
After all a short line business is usually handling general freight.[;)]
I love coal trains. Ore trains too. I have about 20 coal hoppers and 18 ore jennies.
Nick
I have about a dozen on my layout. Makes for a nice variety to the freight loads, or just running them as a bunch. [:)]
Even though steamers have long sense “emptied their fireboxes”, coal is STILL a major resource and commodity in America…
Tom
i got a small mine that makes 3-4 loads a sesion
NO and then I came into a unit train of 35 hoppers. I had to try them on my logging road and WOW, now I am hooked. I need to find a steamer that looks good pulling those cars through my mountians ands tunnels. It came with a Mountain engine, but it had no chance with my grades. I double headed it with my Sierra, but they are not quite compatible. Anyone have a suggestion for my 18" curves and 4% grades?