someone please help me understand motor size, flywheels, and drive wheel numbers. I am new to this and am building a 4 x 8 layout with a 4% grade using a dc transformer and running one train only. Any information and recommendations will be appreciated.
I hope you won’t mind my answer, but I think you are running uphill and on the wrong trail.
It isn’t so much the motor heft and its gearing that matters when it comes to towing trailing ‘tonnage’ up a grade. It has more to do with how much traction your locomotive can bear on the rail surfaces. You could have a hefty motor and lots of reduction in the drive, but if your loco slips due to curvatures on grades, or just the grade by itself on tangent/near tangent tracks, of what use is all that power?
What I am saying is you must do trials with whichever engine appeals to you, or that you must use due to your strict model requirements if you are modeling a certain railroad. With X engine in hand, and the grade you simply have to have, whatever the reason, start attaching cars and see where it begins to spin. The only additional tractive effort you can give it will come with weight before you need to add even more power. (You can smear Bull Frog Snot on one pair of drivers, as I have done, and it will add a lot of traction…but I didn’t change motors…didn’t have to.)
So, the chances are that you can live with any engine that meets your model requirements, but it will be limited by the 4% grade.
I hope that makes sense. If I have misunderstood you, please accept my apology.
-Crandell
I am sure you have not misunderstood and I appreciate your advice/ Being new to this I am just searching for remedies to my situation. My train wheels don’t spin at a particular point, but the train slows considerbility and at points stops, I am not sure if it is the engine or the manner in which the track is set ot the transformer which is also old. I believe I need to do more examining of my setup Since I live in Costa Rica and have next to no resources here, any and all help is desired Thank you = Charles
Charles, welcome to the site.
Do you know what kind of engine and transformer you have? Most engines will spin there wheels when they cannot drag the train. It could be a weak motor, or a under power transformer.
If you can post a picture of both it would help. I can see a cheap Life Like, Tyco or Bachmann with traction tires stalling when they can’t pull the load.
Well you have this site, and it was a big help to me when I got started. Plus there is mail order as far as new equipment. You can all so find old Athearn engines (we call them Blue Boxes because they came in blue boxes) off E Bay for around $10.00 to $30.00 plus shipping. Good engines for the money and pull pretty good.
More details of what you have, and there will be more help.
Cuda Ken