I just received my C&NW 60’ baggage car and am impressed at the detail for a low priced car. The weight seems too light however. I know the rule of thumb for freight cars but I think that would make it too heavy. (6oz.?) What do you think? How does it come apart for adding the weight?
Bruce,
That car is about 8+ inches long. The NMRA ‘RP’ would suggest a little over 5 oz for the total weight(1 oz plus .5 oz for each inch of length). What does the car weigh now?
Jim
I bought a couple of used Rivirossi HW cars at a train show. Once I removed the nuts and bolts the previous owner had added for weight, they were very light for their length. I plan to tuck some lead sheet into the tanks and other bulges on the underside, then add interiors, lighting, people, etc. An interior kit adds spaces to hide additional weight that is out of sight.
The car weighs 4.5 Oz. and is 10" long couple to coupler.
The car is definately too light. At ten inches it needs more weight. You need to get inside to add weight. Look around under the car to see if there are any tabs that might be connected to the roo/window piece. Otherwise see if there is a seam where the side and roof meet. If you can look in the end and if possible see if there are tabs that hold the roof to the side. Metal passengers would be a good way to add weight without giving away how it was done. If you can access any of the hollowed out areas such as tool/battery boxes or watertanks these are excellent places to hide weight. I’ve used 1/4inch lead solder between the frame members under the car as weight. I would get the car to seven ounces.
B.B.,
Some other ideas to think about regarding this car. You can check www.adairshops.com as they make weight kits for H.O. Scale cars. I checked the website prior to this reply. They have for a sale a weight kit for an IHC HW baggage which should be very similar to what you now have. It costs a little over five dollars. An economical way to add weight to these cars is to buy some 3/4" steel bar at your local home improvement store, cut it to size, about six inches for this type car, spray paint it flat black and secure it inside with double sided tape. You can get a four foot piece of steel bar for about the price of the weight kit and have enough weights to do about seven or eight IHC/Rivarossi passenger cars. This is a pretty easy and inexpensive way to go if you are not planning on adding interiors to your cars.