Unit Trains

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Has any one else built and are running unit trains? I am finishing building my 23 car N scale rock train. I am using two bay fifty ton capacity hoppers, most of which are of the peaked end variety. Any unit train that you have I would like to hear from you.

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2

I have 11 of the old Tyco/Mantua operating clamshell door hoppers. I usually run them as a unit train, even though that’s not really a lot of cars. It’s the right size train for my layout, though.

3

It doesn’t really fit my normal modeling focus, but I have a DM&IR ore train that I like to run at the club for open houses, and occasionally just when I feel like it. Setting it up gets to be a chore, though.

4

I’ve got some BN and BNSF Bethgon unit coal trains–100 cars isn’t a problem, if there’s a layout that will take them.

And also a short-ish coil steel trail: 24-36 cars.

Ed

5

I have 2, one of all things is a 32 Tyco Old Dutch Hopper 50 foot cars. All so a 34 B&O Coal Train.

Cuda Ken

6

I’ve got a Norfolk & Western 2-8-8-2 and caboose that I use to pull twelve coal hoppers. It sounds a bit short but looks long on my small layout…

7

I have the equipment for a couple (albeit layout length - read short) unit Intermodal (Well cars and Spine cars) trains, and a decent sized unit coal drag. (NS Hoppers)

I’m working towards a layout sized unit tank train as well, but am not quite there yet…

8

I run a unit trash train, 20 cars, which is long for my small layout,

and a unit frac sand train, which is 24 cars long,

Currently working a TOFC train, using spine cars, witha few long flats, which will be 20 cars long.

Mike.

9

Two identical unit trains, one loaded, one empty, Tomikawa Tani Tetsudo six and seven axle articulated hoppers with a four axle brake van on each end.

Identical numbers on one side, a different set of identical numbers on the other side. The track arrangement that allows an empties in/loads out at the colliery is, schematically, a wye, so the opposite side of the train shows up every other cycle. When they meet on visible track each has different numbers.

These are short trains, not Powder River monsters; sized to match the prototype trains and siding lengths I recorded in Japan over half a century ago. The cars are all kitbashes of no acknowledged parentage.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

10

Got pics?

11

I guess you can call my 6 car Tropicana train a unit train but the SiW is way too small to run real unit trains

12

Sure, so far have the following unit trains ran by the D&RGW in the 1970’s, from memory:

  • Kaiser joint UP/D&RGW coal train Thrall gon’s - 35 cars
  • CSDPU 5-bay Ortner coal train - 32 cars
  • Northern Indiana Power & Light NORX Thrall gon coal train - 25 cars
  • Public Service cal PSCX Thrall coal train - 25 cars
  • D&RGW Thrall gons (blue end) - 25 cars
  • D&RGW Bethlehem quads (ExactRail) - 29 cars
  • D&RGW Bethlehem quads (Walthers) - 35 cars
13

A solid coal drag on my layout. 34 hopper cars with loads. AHM Berkshire on point. Its my only really long train, it far exceeds the lenght of my passing sidings.

14

Just a reminder that a ‘unit train’ isn’t just a train where all the cars happen to be the same type. Unit train means the cars in the train are treated as one unit - they’re hauled empty to a site to pick up say coal, then returned and unloaded as a unit at a power plant, usually with a loading/unloading balloon track at each end. There normally is no individual switching of cars in and out of train. 50 BN bathtub gons going back and forth together from the Powder River Basin to a power plant and back is a unit train; 50 refrigerator cars from various owners / lessors going from Los Angeles to Chicago on a Santa Fe reefer express isn’t.

15

Yep.

16

The longest unit trains I have are.

1.) Coal A mix of 90 ton 3 bay hoppers in ATAF, BN, and BNSF. loaded with coal. A few Bethgon coalporters in BNSF and Union Pacific 16-18 cars.

2.) Intermodal 8 TTX 89’ flatcars with 45-48’ trailers. (5) 3-5 unit well cars with containers.

17

Actually prototypical for late 1950s mine runs to a small mine. There is a GSVP N&W frieght trains video that shows this.

18

Hello all,

I’ve collected 30 of the Tyco Operating Hoppers.

They have been upgraded to Kadee trucks and body mounted couplers.

With a 4-unit GP40 consist I could only fit twenty-six of these cars on the “mainline” of my 4’x8’ pike.

It was “nose-to-tail” and was quite ridiculous.

Typically I run a 2-unit consist of GP30s; with a GP30 helper on the end with eight hoppers that serve the upper unloading platform.

Sixteen hoppers are then pulled by the 4-unit GP40 consist under the loading platform to receive the discharge.

Hope this helps.

19

at modular club i run 110 PK2 PS2 covered hoppers pulled by 4 proto 1000 f units or 3 PK2 SD’s with a cab.

20

I’m working on putting together a Intermodal train, It will have the following;

Athearn Genesis SD75M SF #232 (facing forwards)

Athearn Genesis SD75M SF #226 (facing backwards)

Athearn RTR SD40-2 SF #5031 (facing forwards)

20 Athearn Maxi III Well 5 - Unit cars lettered for TTX with 48 containers in each one

6 Athearn 57’ Spine 3 - Unit cars behind the double stacks with 53’ trailers or 53’ chassis’s

A FRED on the end of the last spine car.