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Even if the project is unfinised, I encourage you to post some sort of update in WPF. It can help motivate you to keep going, and it is fun to share some real model work with the community.
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Join in!
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-Kevin
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IHC-Hobby carries IHC passenger car McHenry truck mounted knuckle couplers. I’ve used them successfully for my 100+ IHC cars. http://www.ihc-hobby.com/
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Does anyone else in the club run passenger trains this long? I guess if the layout is built for something like that it would be an acceptable project.
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-Kevin
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The club models 1970s but people run older and newer equipment at will, longest train ever run is 48 but the longest continuous string of cars is 30, the train would really be for display purposes during open houses.
This is a disaster waiting to happen. Unlike the real railroads, with 24 IHC passenger cars, metal wheels, cars weighted properly, on a 3% is an accident waiting to happen. You would need at least 4 powerful engines to attempt to do this. I have a 2% grade helix with 8 of the IHC cars with McHenry couplers and it needs two diesel engines to safely handle the helix.
More important, is the club allowing you to do this? While we cant tell you what to do, others have made their comments clear. I would never attempt to do this, not even to prove a point that it could be done, certainly not with 2 engines…
Neal
Don’t know why you would want a 20 car passenger train. Asking for all sorts of problems especially any turn under 30" radius. I wouldn’t run any more than 10, maybe 12 on the club layout where mainline turns are min 32". My Capital Limited is 2 E units and 10 cars. Actually quite a long train looks perfect running.
Most passenger station tracks / platforms were only set up to handle trains up to about 16 cars at most. About the only 20 car trains you’d see would be mail trains. If a real RR had to run 20 passenger cars up a steep grade, they’d probably split the train into two sections.
Running a steam - diesel doubleheader was fairly common in the transition era, but the steam engine and diesel engine would each have to have it’s own crew - so it would have be some type of diesel with a cab to run the engine from. B units - except for some with hostler controls so they could crawl around a service area - had no way to run without being connected to an A unit.
p.s. Still not sure how replacing streamlined roller-bearing trucks with antiquated friction heavyweight trucks would be considered ‘modernizing’?? Kinda like ‘modernizing’ your auto by removing the electric starter and replacing it with a crank.
[(-D]
I sometimes communicate with Steven in the Diner… Below is a copy of my suggestions regarding this topic. … My remarks are consistant with others here.
"Steven NWP SWP… I saw your thread on the IHC cars. I would suggest you start with a much shorter train than the 24 cars you are considering. I would suggest starting with only 5 or 6 cars and later adding more. … IHC cars are constructed similar to Rivarossi cars and Con Cor 85’ cars. I modify them to operate on my layout as follows… Take off trucks . Install body mounted long shank Kadee couplers. Couplers should be set back far enough so the gap between cars is minimal. Install good quality trucks with pivot point in center of trucks instead of offset. A new mounting hole will be needed with its surface even with old mounting hole. You have to add a little flat plastic to do this. Use a screw instead of the pin … Add weight to get the car at NMRA standards.
Check coupler height after trucks are installed, and adjust as needed. "
Furthermore: … Couplers should only be loose enough to pivot back and forth. They should not jiggle up and down because cars will uncouple at the wrong time.
McHenry couplers mounted on the trucks can jiggle up and down causing cars to uncouple.
Worst case scenario I can just run on the upper deck not run on the helixes.
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At this point I would just be thrilled if Steven shared a picture of his T1 (I left the hyphen out this time) on the club layout with a passenger car or two behind it.
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I would love to see what he is actually accomplishing.
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His enthusiasm is amazing. I think once he actually gets something done his projects will become more reallistic in scope and possibility.
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-Kevin
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Right now I’ll just start converting the cars I have, I’ll add to them as I go, according to MR the T1 can haul 24 cars on straight and level track, and the E8 AB set can handle another 24, so the B can handle 12, so T1 and E8b can haul 36 passenger cars, now on 32-34" radius and a 3% grade (I don’t know if that’s actual or compensated) causes that figure to jump by that much.
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SteveO can correct me on this if I get it wrong.
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I believe when Model Railroader reviews a locomotive they actually measure drawbar pull. Then there is a straight line graph that equates to the number of “cars” that amount of pull theoretically equates to.
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These are imaginary cars on straight and level track.
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Expecting that number to be anywhere near how many passenger cars can be pulled up a 30" helix on a 3% grade is not realistic.
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For example, one of my Stewart/Kato F3s can pull about 50 freight cars on straight level track. They can pull 6 cars up a 5% grade and 24" radius curve. I know this through real world tests and experiments.
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-Kevin
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I know that BLIs RSD 15 can only pull about 10 cars up the helix compared to the 50 of the review, to increase traction I could always add bullfrog snot.
OK, left the club, Casey El Presidente says another member has run 30 car Ethanol trains, if I wanted and had motive power up to the task I could run the long passenger trains, as long as the equipment is in good running order.
To increase the T1s already great pulling power I could see if I could get from BLI another of the traction tire equipped driver sets, swap out the leading driver set with that so it’ll have two sets of traction tires, all the power pickup is in the tender anyway, right now it’s:
Leading truck two axles, first “engine” a flanged driver set, and a blind set, second “engine” blind set, flanged traction tire equipped set, trailing two axle truck.
That first set of flanged drivers would get a traction tire.
[^o)] I’d suggest you think about the possible consequences to the locomotives drive train. The gears may not be able to cope with the extra traction.
[2c]
I am confused as to this desire to run this massive passenger train. It is almost appearing to be some sort of contest at thr\e club as to who can have the longest train. I would concentrate more on running a prototypical train that is trouble free and will run flawlessly around the layout, running grades and the helix. you may even refine the coaches to back through series of turnouts in the yard. To me that is more of an accomplishment than playing “king of the hill” most number of cars that pulled the 3% grade.
How small is small? 4 or 5 cars? What you describe is easily doable. 24 cars, it’s starting to beome a production…
I do not have IHC cars, but I have decent number of Rivarossi and Con-Cor passenger cars. I installed 36" metal wheels in mine, which meant I had to shave down the brake shoes a slight amount with an Xacto knife. The cars are also seriously underweight, so I have been adding weight using old tire balancing lead weights. They seem to track better when they are closer to NMRA RP.
The biggest issue I had was how “floppy” some of the trucks are with just a plastic pin to hold them. I tried a 6-32 tap in the bolster and a screw, but it has not been completely succesful.
I thought about body mounting the couplers, but I ended up using the McHenry couplers as a snap-in replacement. The Kadee #451 you mention looks like a good approach to body mounting. I suggest you try it on a couple of cars and see how they work, and report back.
I was wrong about the grade, it’s 30" radius and a 2.33% grade.
I’m going to work on the dozen I have an go from there.