Maximum weight for passenger cars

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have a set of rivarrossi Rio Grande streamline passenger cars and I want to increase their weight for better performance.

What is the maximum I should go to
Phil;

2

WELCOME ABOARD!
Generally speaking the rule of thumb is 1" plus 1/2 " per every inch so my budd passenger
is 11 1/4 “. Therefore the one " plus 1/2” should come out to 6.6 ounce but actually weighs
in at 6.25, slightly less.

You could add pennies with a two side tape or strong glue.

If there’s an interior you could to add underneath the car depending upon the inside. . Some even add sitting passengers.

Fom what I recall most Rivs already have an interior and may ? be close to the recommended weight.
It’s the IHC’s & Con-Cor’s that are really under weighted.

3

I agree. The 1 ounce plus 1/2 ounce per inch is the NMRA standard, and works good for most applications.

You can always add more weight, but the additional benefits start to drop off. I’ve used solid lead, and lead shot for shotgun shells. Cost about $15 for a 10 pound bag. Pennies, BB’s, wheel weights (free used ones from any nice tire store), etc.

My coal cars are weighted with coal, but that’s different story. Maybe you could weigh down our cars with tiny people?

Mark in Utah

4

The weight guidelines above are good! Sometimes modelers can be tempted to go a little heavier than recommended, which of course won’t be appreciated by the locomotives!

Walmart sells BBs in small “milk cartons” for about $3.80

I filled in the empty pockets in the floors of my Rivorossis and add one or two thin flat weights. I paint the interior and add it in. (I have the older Rivorossi streamliners from the early 1990s.) After replacing the wheels, the cars roll nicely!

I’m going to use them in conjunction with my Walthers Budd cars.

5

I added too much weight to my Riv HW’s and the needle point axle started to grind into the plastic side frame.

6

Locomotive3,

Thanks for mentioning this.

It is one more factor to consider when adding weight to rolling stock. It is easy to forget that a cars axles bear the weight.

Roger that!

7

For N Scale it is 0.5 ounce + 0.15 ounce per inch. For my Con-Cor passenger cars 1.44 ounces.

8

That was my biggest concern to start with. They are actually a mix of Rivarrossi and Concor made by rivarrossi. I worked on the principle of 1 once plus 1/2 oz for every inch, but I was really worried about the axles.
Is it worth changing the trucks and if so what would be a good brand to replace them with?
I didn’t mention it before but I’m in Sydney Australia modelling mainly Santa Fe, that’s why I didn’t reply sooner.
Thanks for your comments though it helps me a lot to know I’m on the right track.
Phil from OZ

9

Here’s the link to the NMRA’s page http://www.nmra.org/standards/rp-20_1.html
It covers the scales from N to O plus HOn3, Sn3, and On3
Enjoy
Paul

10

Thanks for that link, Ironrooster.

Pretty handy as my memory goes on the fritz-------regularly!

11

Yes thanks for the link
Now to get them rolling regards Phil

12

That can get pretty tricky. Do you mean trucks and axle sets or just the axles?
Axles comes in various lengths and http// www.reboxx.com a leading after market manufacturer makes 36" diameter, 1 wheel insulated sets in 21 lengths. Also take notice
in the roll test comparison #s, the higher the # the greater the roll.
All wheels are .088 tread width versus 0.110.
You don’t want to spin your wheels and end up with drop outs if they don’t fit perfectly.

13

I decided to follow my own advise. Thirty six replacement axles are on route from Reboxx
to up-grade my Athearn 72 ’ coaches.
Actually they are not a must have since I’m hauling them with a P2K E7 23 ounce brute
but I’m very curious as to their performance and the claimed"extended rolling ability".

14

Thanks for the advise I’ll check it out

Phil