Just curious as to how many freight cars you normally run on point to point trips on your layout?
Train lengths vary at my place, but my usual maximum is two locos plus 18-20 50’ cars.
My longest coal drags run 24 cars and a caboose, or they did until I’m looking for a new place for a new layout. A single PCM Y6b can handle that easily, even on a 2.4% grade. For passenger trains, two BLI reefers, a baggage car, three coaches, a diner, a couple of sleepers, a lounge car, and an observation car. My BLI Niagara struggles with that load on the same grade, but it makes it. A BLI T1 Duplex roars up that grade with nary a slip.
My HO modern themed layout used to, and will, run passenger trains with 5-superliners or bi-level commuters and typically 10 freight cars with a single engine on the mainline. On the branch, I have a 3-car budd RDC set and typically 4-axle diesels running 5-6 car shorts to the division point yard.
I do run one through freight with 15+ cars that does a drop off or a pickup at the division point yard … But still only need one SD70ACe (genesis) which is such a fantastic runner I could attach all cars I own (100?) on it and it will still be fine.
NP.
Running a narrow gauge short line, I rarely have trains as long as 9 - 30 foot freight cars and one caboose.
Under operations I run 30 cars plus 3 locos, the length of my sidings. When I’m just railfanning I will often double that length with 4 or 5 locos pulling.
My Amtrak passenger train can pull 8 Superliners with a baggage car and two diesels like the prototype. 5’9" in length.
UP/BNSF consists of two diesels and 18-20 cars depending on car length. If it falls short I’ll add a third locomotive. 7’0"-7’2" in length.
I’m trying to do the same with Conrail when I have enough freight cars to fit the time slot.
I will sometimes have my two Atlas train Masters pull around forty or so cars through my Rocky Mountain pass. I get a great deal of satisfaction watching all those cars go around the layout for an extended length of time without a derailment. Maybe at the same time my BLI C&O 2-10-4 will be pulling a dozen Rapido coaches around.
I usually have my Bachmann Spectrum 4-4-0 pulling 4 or 5 cars around at a scale 25 MPH when I am working on the layout. I just have to remember it comes by the area I am working in every 5 or 6 minutes.[:O]
I worked in logistics for 36 years, using every form of transportation one can think of to solve problems. Switching cars just doesn’t cut it for me after real life juggling of transportation issues. Watching them run through believable scenery with a glass of wine I find quite relaxing.
My little switching layout is run via some routing software that I developed. It is set to put a maximum of 3 cars and a caboose on the end of either my SW7 or RS-3!
Needless to say, my locos manage - big grin.
8 to 12 freight cars
4 passenger cars (Athearn)
8-12 40’ freight cars
5-6 passenger & express cars
Is all my sidings can handle, and with 3-1/2% grades, is about all my medium sized steam engines can take also!
Liar, liar, pants on fire! [(-D]
You make it sound like a bad thing! [:-^]
I make it sound like an impossible dream.
Extended length of time without a derailment?
Not in my house.
Rich
LION runs subway trains. NYCT typically operates 10 car trains (600’ on B division, 500 feet on A division) Eight foot platforms are out of the question on my layout.
Walthers/LifeLike sells subway cars in packs of 4, which are too short to look realistic.
LION runs SIX car trains (IRT/A Division 50’ cars) which require 4’ long platforms, over all this arrangement looks quite presentable on the Layout of the LION.
LION uses drawbars between the cars, permanently coupled into these six car trains : 48 wheel pickup plus dedicated lighting circuits are added.
LION is quite satisfied. Him now has 9 full six car trainsets, all of which can operate at once.
ROAR
What is important to me is not the length of the train I am running but, how it can run for hours without a derailment or break in two.
During the week of the county fair run a thon my 18 car train ran flawlessly for the total of IIRC around 38 hours for the week.
I operate occasionally on a neighbor’s layout. Old school. DC, block system, code 100 rail. Its a dual track mainline in a 10 x 50 mobile home. Typical train length is 45 to 50 cars, 50’ to 86’ cars, pulled by 3 rework Athearn BB GPs. Wide curves, 2% ruling grade. Almost never a derailment. I’ve backed that length train thru over half the layout without a problem. This pike is approx 25 years old. The “Building” sits unheated/uncooled for weeks between sessions. Our weather can range from 105 during the summer to single digits and less in the winter. It can be done!
The normal run would be a maximum of 8 freight cars. Passenger runs are not more than 3 Osgood Bradley coaches. Not more than 2 C-420’s or 2 GP-38’s.
All the best.
Reinhard
I model a contemporary shortline. 3-4 car trains are pulled by a switcher. 7-9 car trains are pulled by a 4 axle EMD GP. 10-12 car aggregate are trains pulled by a 4 axle U-Boat or ALCO.
On the home layout.
Trolleys run 5 -8 cars if by themselves, if doubling up sometimes 15.
Steam runs 20 to 30 during “fall” season ops
And the two through trains run about 40 cars.
On the club layout I run about 35 cars behind a BLI 2-8-2. When I break out the 2-10-2 it will push 90+