This is not intended to be a macho thing but more of a “How many cars can you haul before every thing goes for the big DUMP?” I’ve done 90 but! I might make it twice around before going bye bye at a turnout or one of my canted 6% grade curves. Of course I’m constantly improving the track so this won’t be a common occurance.
Amazing how the Allegheny can haul all those Athearn Coal cars! [:D]
I hauled a thirty car train at my train club (I would have hauled more but the radius is too tight and the cars will all turn sideways) effortlessly behind a Bachmann Plus B23-7. I also hauled thirty behind an SD60M (P2K).
Recently; 50 plus at www.comrail.org with two Atlas SD35 and a GP40 (all N&W). Due to the helix, the limit is around 15 cars per locomotive.
My Allegheny has only been ran for break-in purposes. It would interesting to see
how much it could pull. I’ve seen claims of over 100 cars(?) . Dave
I haven’t done it, but one of the other operators at my club ran 67 hoppers at once. This is an N-scale layout (quite large at 10.6 scale miles). Most of his cars had knuckle couplers, but he had a “conversion” car somewhere in the consist to allow him to add his other cars that had Rapido couplers. He could haul them most of the way around the layout, but once he got to the semi-helix, the Rapidos gave out.
I’d like to say he did this with a single loco, but he used 5 Atlas GP9s to do it.
I PULL 80 COAL CARS WITH 3 90MACS
Though I’ve done 90 I don’t do this on a regular basis. I find 30 cars to be a managable number that stays on the tracks and won’t burn up the motor I realize these engines are rated for more but why decrease the life of an engine?
35 cars is average. My mainline is not long enough todo much more 2 of anything gp40s sd40s or anything will pull them. I have a test ramp 12ft long for my helper district. around 12% needs 5 engines to pull 12 cars. Lots of fun. Joe
22 freight cars on my small layout with a Proto 2000 RI E8 until I got it’s passenger cars. Normally I pull 8 to 12 Athearn Streamliners with a Proto 2000 Amtrak E9.
RMax
Now that I have put metal wheelsets on my freight cars my 4 unit Stewart FT’s (all powered) have done 55 cars but the biggest limit seems to be the track and curves at the club layout. I am seriously looking for a Free-mo group and building modules with BIG curves with easements. 48" is their MINIMUM! johncolley tholcapn Port Townsend, WA
The most I’ve hauled so far is about 20.
Most trains won’t be longer than 10-15.
I don’t have long enough sidings.
Gordon
I dont have the room right now to exercise that scenario. However, I will be testing 20 car trains with single units shortly.
I remember a 2-8-8-2 from AHM that started 37 cars with some slip. Keeping control of that train was another story. These cars did not have the refined wheelsets nor enjoyed some of today’s advanced standards of weight etc.
I Have done 40 in N Scale with two kato SD60M’s cant do many more layout not all that big 25x16 spare room
Regards
Larry
In O guage, I’ve done 50 modern Lionel cars with a single motor postwar steamer. It takes some work to get it going, no momentum throttle needed, and you can’t just shut it down either. If you do, the cars pile up accordian style, just like the real thing.[:D]
Ahhhh the 50 car pile up, my favourite! That’s why I like Athearn cars, you can Stack, Rack them and Wreck them but you can’t destroy them. Now that i’m getting into the high end stuff big wrecks are becoming a thing of the past. Mr. Addams doesn’t live here no more but he does come to visit time to time[;)]
I love long freights. I cheated when building my N scale layout (10’X14’X3’ “L”) by keeping it at the same level.
I’m limited by the length of my staging sidings. The longest train on my layout consists of 45 freight cars pulled by one Overland Models 8500 HP Turbine.
All of my rolling stock has knuckle couplers by MicroTrains or Accumate on the newer Atlas units.
Derailments are only an issue if I do something to cause them.
My neighbor’s layout, also N scale, has two 2% grades, both over 8’ in length, the longest train we’ve run on his layout was 55 cars pulled by one Con Cor Veranda Turbine and two Atlas GP7s.
The most important thing is what looks good and works well when you operate your layout.
My Athearn Dash 9 and AC4400 can haul a dummy Dash 9, a 3-unit drawbar double-stack, a 5-unit articulated double stack (all loaded with containers and ballasted with lead), two 5-unit spine cars and a 5-unit Impack set - unfortunately, the end of the train was only about 4cm from the lead loco on the loop - guess I’ll have to extend my test track. They’ll probably handle another spine car and another Impack set without much trouble, and I’d also like to buy another 5-unit double stack car…
Hey Brit, close that gap and you’ll have a mid-train helper.[:P][swg]
Hey Fergie, it wasn’t deliberate. Its not like i dynamited the bridge or something.[swg]
By the way, I do have an Adams Family video, featuring one of the many episodes in which Gomez “abuses the collectables”.
My local hobby shop regularly runs a 170 car grain train. Usually powered by 4-5 Kato SD90MAC’s. He claims he can run 190 cars, but the locos are chasing the last car. Curves are a problem, but he doesn’t have any grades, so the cars tend to stay on the track pretty well.