Hi everyone! Am new to this site and the hobby. Am setting a up a separate 3 track layout on a shelf to run around a room measuring about 23’ by 17’. Just DC with separate transformers and nothing fancy. One of the lines will be steam and I was hoping someone much more knowledgeable than I could suggest a locomotive powerful and durable enough to do the job. This is HO scale using EZ track and all flat with 33 1/4" curves. Also, what is the general consensus on AHM and Marklin quality? Thank you for any information, suggestions or recomendations about any of this. Barn’
Well since your not vey specific may I sugest a Blueline Big boy from BLI. That will pull anything you out behind it.
If you are more specific about grades and choise of railroad we can be a lot more helpfull, that said, Welcome to the forums.
Magnus
AHM is rather cheaper and represent older technology going back as far as the late 60’s They are known as IHC today. I think thier products are undergoing some upgrades… if you call small wheel flanges and fantasy roadnames upgrades… however they are being made DCC ready which is a big plus.
I consider Marklin a Creame puff and dont doubt thier quality. The only Marklins I have seen in person over my years were cuddled, pampered and otherwise confined to display cases. Sad and unhappy engines trapped in a sort of collector hell.
Any engine should move 40 cars on flat provided that the cars are free rolling with good metal wheels etc.
The smaller ones may struggle to start such a train.
Any of my QSI engines will start and move 40 cars on the level track without effort but hitting a 3% grade that performance decreases about half to 15-20 cars. I had a BLI Heavy Mike that was able to stop and RESTART a 16 car train on a 3% grade with very little slipping. To me that was just about as good as HO steam will ever be without dipping into really big engines like Big Boys or such.
Having said that, my little roundhouse 4-4-0 towed a 8 pound camcorder behind it one time for about 6 feet. =)
Tell me again about your quest for pulling power?
Keep in mind that when you pair two engines together, they will enjoy each other’s assist and not wear out or endure a short life span. Since you run DC, you might want to select two smaller identical engines for this duty and have better chances to run such large trains.
Your choice of radius is outstanding, no one can tell you that you cant run this or that. Even the 4-4-4-4 duplex will take it as mine did. I had 34" on mine for it.
Good luck! and welcome!
The RR 2-6-6-6 (C&O’s H-8) claims to pull 50 coal hoppers for a level track.
My PCM/BLI C&O T-1 will pull 30+ 40’ Reefers on a level flat track
I recently received an older yet wonderful Bachmann WM F-7. That sucker weighs at least 3 pounds. I put everything I had in rolling stock, including 20 passenger cars. It still pulled!
The PCM Y6b is an awesome model that is truly prodigiuos in its pulling power. So is my BLI Pennsy J1, a very close cousin to the C&O T1. Also, my BLI Duplex 4-4-4-4 is a strong puller, as is the Niagara from BLI…if you are into any passenger trains.
When I was a kid mnay years ago the hobby shop had a circle with four Globe rubber band drive F uints that pulled 60 cars. I’d also look at the Bachman 2-10-2 or a Bowser steam engine. They will pull any and everything.
I had AHM stuff in my time, but they are outdated and I don’t believe exist anymore. Marklin is mostly foreign trains but are supposed to be good quality. You really want to start out with better products so as not to get discouraged. Good luck with it.
I am going to take a guess and say you are a fan of the Andy Griffith Show…
Look to Bowser if you want a powerful and durable HO scale steam locomotive. http://www.bowser-trains.com/
b:
A forty-car train is something like twenty feet long in HO scale. You risk burning out quickly if you try to start out with something like that. Remember, the chance of errors increases in direct proportion to project size and in inverse proportion to the experience of those working on it. Start out small and let it grow with you. That’s the best way.
It’s easy for freshly minted model rails to overestimate what they need to have fun. I’ve done plenty of it myself. Consider this:
-Handling a model train from station to station is just as much fun whether it’s a 3-car interurban freight or a 100-car unit coal train. The work is the same.
-Local switching is just as much fun whether you’re handling one car or a cut of six at a time. Yard switching changes little except in repeated movements if you go from sorting a dozen cars to four destionations, to sorting a hundred cars to four destinations. Emphasize prototype schemes over prototype scale. Too much scale and you make it a job.
-When watching a real train, what do you see? Usually, five or ten cars at a time is a lot to take in. A model train, seen from the same perspective, only a dozen cars long, can therefore give the illusion of a la
Thank you all for your replies and advice! WOW! I didn’t expect such immediate response. My apologies if I haven’t supplied sufficient info for some of you to give me your answer. The grade will be perfectly flat the entire circumference of the layout. These 3 lines will be side by side all the way around but not connected. Radius wil be 28", 33 1/4", and 35 1/2" on the outside and this one will have switchouts along two walls for parking extra engines, cars, or trains. All nickel silver EZ track to keep things simple. The outside track will be an Athearn F7 w/dummy pulling an 8 car passenger train. The middle one is for the steamer. I have a 4-8-4 Bachman UP engine from the Overland Limited train set that I was going to use but it will only pull between 25 and 30 cars before it starts slipping badly. The inside track is going to be about 45 to 50+ cars pulled by a trio. The first is a Spectrum EMD GP45 (I think), followed by an EMD GP40 from the Bachman Rail King train set and finally an Atlas SD something with 12 wheels. The Spectrum engine will easily pull 45 or so all by itself as I’ve tried it. The other two pull about the same, maybe 30 or so each. I thought the Atlas would pull more but it won’t. Anyway, I hope that’s enough info as I’ve talked enough already. Barn’
The Proto 2000 Bekshire 2-8-4 could work. The newest review from MR say it can pull 115 car with the included traction tires. The retail price from walther is $310.00. But I remeber a site who was selling them from $179.00. If you shop around at a train show , or go to a local MR group’s swap meet, or trade with a member of a club if join one, & you could also shop on the internet.
There are several factors that determine how many cars you can pull with a loco, be it steam or diesel. Your curve radius and lack of grades have already been mentioned. The Bowser name was mentioned above and is a good place to start for big steam, they even make a repower kit for your Bachmann 4-8-4 that should make a marked improvement in the pulling power. My Bowser M1a (Pennsy 4-8-2) will easily pull 36 Tyco operating hoppers up and down the 2% grades and 30 inch radius curves on my layout.
Free rolling cars is also important factor, not just for the pulling power of the loco, but to help keep from pulling the train off the tracks on curves, commonly called “stringlining.” Personally, I define “free rolling” to mean a car that you can sit at the top of a 2% grade, just let go of it, and it will start to roll, and accelerate down the grade.
Staying coupled is also important, so you’ll want to make sure your couplers are the right height, and can handle the weight of the train. I had trouble with the cheap plastic Kadee-wanna-be couplers twisting on longer trains and coming uncoupled. Reliability quickly becomes more important when you want to run longer trains.
b:
Well, if you’ve already tried it I suppose that changes things. I suppose there are those of us who climb down the ladder, and those of us who run up and DIVE in. Carry on. [:)]
If your 4-8-4 slips, you might try adding weight. Is there any room?
What kind of cars are you using?
Bar none, the best all-around heavy-hauling steam are the big old Mantua engines like their 2-8-2:
With their old Pittman motors they’d easily drag 125+ cars around any layout (cars equipped with dirty plastic wheelsets, mind you). With a can motor remotoring kit by Alliance they’ll still pull around 100 cars, but do so with some finesse.
“The inside track is going to be about 45 to 50+ cars pulled by a trio. The first is a Spectrum EMD GP45 (I think), followed by an EMD GP40 from the Bachman Rail King train set and finally an Atlas SD something with 12 wheels.”
Becareful of mixing different brand names! They may not be geared the same. Just a thought
As someone whose Märklin (Roco, Brawa, Guetzold, …) engines are anything but dust collecting creme puffs in a vitrine I’ll say with comfort that just about any of the 2-10-0s will have no problems. If you don’t have any yet, look for a nice BR44 of older vintage such as the G800 or 3027. There are also more state of the art, fully digital versions of the same. Pure metal, 4 traction tires, tireless engine. Check out the video at ETE’s website. On level ground it won’t need any help. Best looking behind it will be a very nice long coal or ore drag. These ran about 4000 tons, heavy by the standards of the day.
or the real thing
Of course, if you don’t want non-US prototypes, Märklin also make a very nice Big Boy…
Have fun.
Oh, Märklin is AC with center studs, Trix is the DC counterpart.
Hi, Barn’! And welcome to the hobby! You’ll get and have gotten) a plethora of opinions on this subject, but if you’re not afraid of a little basic work with a file, screwdriver and a spray can, let me suggest an old-school approach:
The steam locomotive kits by Bowser (http://www.bowser-trains.com) are probably, wheel-for-wheel, the best-pulling locomotives out there. Even their little PRR B6 0-6-0 should handle that long a string, on level track. In models, weight translates almost directly into pulling power, and Bowsers are the heaviest out there. I would recommend their USRA Light Mikado (2-8-2) for a nice-sized loco that’s fairly easy to build. They make all sizes, right up to their Challengers and Big Boys, though I would not recommend either of them to a beginner. Start out a bit smaller. [:)]
As to AHM: No longer in production, but some can still be found on eBay. Too light to pull really well, though nice looking, once you get past the oversized flanges.
Marklin DC: Beautiful models, and great running, but IMHO overpriced. Their US-prototype selection is limited.
Whatever you choose, have fun, and remember it’s YOUR railroad. YOU are everything fr
I’ll agree that the old reliable Mantua 2-8-2 can haul a heavy train, and I have thre of them. Those engines sell cheaply these days on ebay. Some have plastic parts unfortunately which can be broken. Other than that, the mechaisms are nearly indestructable.
My heavest steam engine is my old 5 pound Bowser T1 which will pull any train I can couple to it.
If you have free rolling cars, you can haul long trains with most engines being produced today.
This is true. But if you are going to have a grade that will in my experience change that. A 2% grade will drastically change how many cars you can pull up.
Just go for a engine that you like the looks of. Check out FDT for their sale today, you can have several good engines to choose from for less then 100$.
Magnus
Other than track and car wheel factors, the two things that can enhance the pulling power of a steam (or any other type) model locomotive are weight and traction.
I have taken NJ Custom Brass HO 4-6-2, 4-6-4 (passenger) and 2-8-2 and 4-8-4 (freight) engines and added weight by pouring low melting point alloy into the inverted shells and doubled their pulling capacity.
If I needed more, traction tires woud provide an additional big boost.
I have read that overloading an engine can cause motor burnout, but have never experienced it.