I’ve been reading several posts now and I’ve realized that most of my freight cars are most likely too light.
What is the proper weight to length ratio of freight cars? I’m not sure of the scale lengths of my cars anymore due to having tossed the boxes to save space so if possible I’d need this figure in lbs/inch or grams/inch etc…
When adding weight to the cars, how do you do it? Solder some lead to the bottom? I understand that box cars would be easy to add weight to but what about open gondolas or flat beds?
A girl I’d dated had a son, who modeled the steel industry in HO, and asked the same question.
I’m a gage/template-maker by trade; I told him to put varying thickness pieces of steel into his gons. .062" thick steel is approx 6" in HO; .031" is 3", etc., making actual ‘loads’
To weigh-down his flats, I cut some pieces of .031" steel to fit underneath them, ‘between’ the frame-rails, bolsters, etc. Use same approach to make ‘empty’ gons.
A few drops of glue should hold 'em in place…
I think my article on this subject was posted in the NMRA Bulletine in Februry 2002. I used bathroom/kitchen caulk to attach some junk to the front and back of a box car that I run with the doors open. Keep it simple, use good adhesive but cheap weight; hide it in the load or out of sight.
Lindsay
I use lead sheet cut to fit - just remember to wash your hands thoroughly after handling lead as it’s extremely toxic! As far as sourcing lead is concerned, we recently had some building work done on the house which involved re-roofing. There was a fair bit of spare lead sheet hanging around afterwards, so I think I have enough for the next 20-odd years!
I weight my cars a little heavier than NMRA standards. I find they rarely derail or uncouple accidentally. However, the added weight limits the number of cars I can put together (ususally 8-15 depending on their length). My layout’s size limits me to smaller pulls, so this is not an issue for me. If you want longer trains, stick wit the standards
A car this many centimetres should weigh this many grammes plus this much? …drove me crazy especially because it’s such a simple equation.
I took a piece of track and added a paper scale down the centre. A car placed on it shows it’s length easily. This track is attached and tared to a small scale with a dial that displays the weight in inches. If I am not making sense look at it here.
I weigh my frieght cars to NMRA standards to the extent possible (some flat cars are just not possible).
I bought a digital readout scale on sale that I keep at my workbench. Then I have a cheat sheet where I worked out the NMRA standards for HO cars of the most common lengths: 36 ft, 40 ft, 50 ft, 60 ft, 75 ft, 80ft, 85ft and 89ft. and I have that posted above the workbench (finally a practical use for those train magnets you see at swap meets!). I use all sorts of methods, including lead sheet which I spray paint and then paint the cut edges. I try to keep pretty close to NMRA standards and I change as many wheels as I can to Kadee metal wheels.
So far I have not attacked my passenger car fleet – very underweight by NMRA standards – because I am not sure I really need as much weight as the standards call for. If I had sharper curves I would be more precise I guess. We will see!
Maybe the most important thing to remember is that if some of your cars are correct weight (and some brands come correctly weighted right down to the 1/4 ounce) then running those cars with underweight cars can be an invitation to problems. There are modelers who claim the NMRA standards are too heavy and that the most important thing is consistent weighting. They may well have a point
Dave Nelson
Where can lead sheet be purchased? Home Depot? Hobby Lobby? Or just a hardware store? I’m begining to think some of my derailments are from improper weighted cars and the lead sheeting would be a good solution, how does one attach it? Just epoxy or JB Weld?
Dale,
Maybe it’s simple minded to note this, but I find it useful to weigh my kit built cars before I assemble them. The postal scale on my workbench has a plastic tray and an adjustable tare. I just dump the parts in the tray to determine if additional weight is needed for the length of the car versus my “cheat sheet.” That way I can hide the weight inside a closed car (box, reefer, or passenger, etc.) before I’ve attached the sides and avoid having to add it later to the underframe. I use the weights available at the LHS or the sprues off lost wax parts, and, if not already provided, attach them with double stick tape or Walther’s Goo. Flats and gondolas admittedly are more of a challenge.
Bob
i use automotive stick-on wheel weights. the hobby store sells them,however you can by them in bulk at any tire supply distributor at 1/10th the price you pay at a hobby store.
Try a building materials supplier (our local one sells both to the construction trade and to DIY enthusiasts) for lead sheet - though they might only be prepared to sell it “by the roll” which will probably last for the next 150 years! If they sell it by the foot/metre then this would be a better idea. Ask for “roofing lead” as this is what builders use it for. For obvious reasons don’t buy too thick a grade of lead - it will be impossible to cut! (Cut lead sheet using tinsnips, this stops any dust).
I’ve used a variety of substance to attach the lead - Blu-tack or similar is effective but a bit expensive, try using Cyanoacrylate “Superglue” (get the gel type as this works better than the liquid). This will produce a quick, strong joint. You can use epoxy or anything that will stick metal to plastic without harming either, I just use Cyano as it’s quicker and easier.
Bob raises a good point. You don’t build the car and THEN weigh it, you weigh the parts and then get a sense of how much if any needs to be added
I buy sheet lead at swap meets – the seller sells it tightly wrapped in newspaper. I do not know where he gets it. There are also those 1/4 and 1/2 oz lead weights on double sided tape. For some cars I replace the sheet steel weight with lead. With others I just add a few pennies above the tracks. If you use GOO remember that Goo releases gas and if you have a tightly sealed car you need to drill a tiny hole to let the gas escape or the car might swell.
I get in the habit of picking up steel nuts I find on the street or near construction sites. They make good weights and the center hole can fit right over the mounting screw of the truck. And they are free.
Dave Nelson
Well,Now for the other side of the coin…I do not weight my cars to RP20.1 never have and never will and I never have any problems as I just use the weight that comes with the cars.The club I go to doesn’t weigh cars to RP20.1 and we run 50 car trains across the layout and have a working hump yard. and we don’t have any problems…
We do use metal wheels as we feel that is where the weight should be,on the rail and not in the car its self…