Seeing as how my prototype, (The LNER) would give their engines a workout. I want to see what you guys to to test your equipment.
Max speed
Max load
Both
Other
When and where.
Interesting question. In my case, it’s a mountain railroad set in California during the WWII steam age, but actually, I don’t really push my locomotives hard at all. My main terminal is where lighter ‘Valley’ power is either turned over to heavier ‘mountain’ power, or helpers are added.
I have some fairly stiff grades (2%-2.4%) on my mainline, but rather generous curves (34"36" radii), so my ‘mountain’ locos (heavy non-articulated steam or articulateds) are not really overpowered by the mountain district that amounts to the greater part of the layout. My freight trains average between 20-30 cars–it’s a fairly large layout, but the track is also ‘broken up’ into a lot of scenery divisions, so that no full train is ever on view at once. And being a mountain railroad, I’m not looking at high speed freight or passenger, my speed limit is usually between 20-35 SMPH. And there’s not a lot of ‘multiple’ train operation–prototypically my railroad would only see about 20-24 trains within a 24 hour period.
So, to conclude, my locomotives are chosen for exactly what I want them to do–haul fairly long trains at fairly low speeds up relatively heavy grades–BUT–either be changed out or have additional motive power added from the ‘flat’s’ to the ‘mountain’ grades. So actually, I’d say I’m pretty easy on my motive power in the long run.
Tom [:)]
I haven’t made a serious attempt at doubling, although I tried shoving a heavy train on my 3% grade with a tiny P2K SW8 to see if that little bit of help would make the lead engine slip less, and it actually worked!!! But, no lash-ups of monster steam yet. So, my heaviest loads have come to the slipping point, and the only two that I have allowed to do that for tiny stretches are my BLI Niagara and Pennsy 2-10-4 J1. I prefer not to have any slippage, though because it is hard on the surface coatings on the drivers. Not great on the pins holding the rods either.
My strongest puller is unquestionably the PCM Y6b Mallet from the Norfolk & Western. As far as I am concerned, with a very modest background accumulated in the hobby, it ought to be one of the top 10 HO steamers produced so far, although I would not want too much brass included in the running. I have never actually attempted to stall or spin it, but I have loaded it with 20 BLI coal hoppers with fake load, plus a Walthers caboose. It didn’t hesitate on my 3% grade, and it’s a long grade.
-Crandell
Well, there was this one week on spring break in Mexico… oh, you mean, MODEL RAILROAD equipment? My strongest puller is a BLI Blueline AC6000 pulls a 20 car freight and coal drag up a 2 1/2% grade without breathing hard. And I haven’t even double-headed it with the other AC6000 I have, yet.
Don’t really see “pushing” the limits as anything worth doing, but to each his own.
In N scale, all my grades a 4% and my tightest curves are 9.75R, but there are only a couple of those (it’s a fairly congested layout.) Using both single and lashed (double header) engines, none seem to be breaking a sweat. Longest trains are 8 - 10 cars. I rarely run anything that would be considered “high speed”, as anything beyond a medium speed setting looks too unprototypical for the layout’s setting; most look better at a crawl. Basically, I do what “feels” right and set speeds that will allow what looks like prototypical operation on both flats and grades. I do run them occasionally for 1/2 or more at a time, before switching engines, don’t know if that’s typical or not.
Not sure if that answers your question.
Archer
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I haven’t really pushed my equipment really hard to find out. Of course my trains are only 2 locos with 15 to 20 cars in length and no grades.
If I assemble my heaviest cars as a standard-length train, my Nihon Kokutetsu 2-8-2s will slip on the twisting 2.5% grade heading DOWN from Haruyama (but upgrade.) That’s why there’s a dedicated helper (2-6-2 or 1200HP diesel-hydraulic) sitting in a spur at the UP end of the Haruyama station. None of my catenary motors have any problem with the usual-length trains on the gentler grades between Tomikawa and the netherworld - all of them are grossly overpowered and loaded with lead…
On my coal-originating shortline, the teakettles are assigned on the basis of one driver axle per ten tons of trailing weight. That’s why there may be two little 0-6-0Ts pulling a train of three loaded 4-wheel wagons and an elderly coach, with the 0-8-0T shoving on the rear coupler of the coach. The only thing that can take a half-serious train (seven coal hoppers plus 2 hopper-brakes) up the 4% to the colliery is a 2-6-6-2T with a traction tire.
As for maximum speed, the JNR locos are limited to 70kph, with lower speed limits (down to 40kph) posted for the sharper curves. The shortline’s maximum is 40 kph, with some 25 kph curves and a couple posted with 15 kph limits. The only engineers who would try to exceed the limits are probably living out death wishes.
I’m modeling a prototype situation, with prototype conditions. With the exception of those 2-8-2s, nothing is ever pushed close to its limits. Neither, in fact, are the 2-8-2s, which either run double-headed or take that pusher at Haruyama.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
We push the motive power, couplers hard every week at the local club. Layout is modeled after the old Clinchfield RR. Ruling grade is 2.5% with a double S curve, one at the bottom of the grade as you exit the passing siding, and one as you crest the summit of the grade. Unit coal trains are typical 16 Athearn or Roundhouse 4 bay hoppers loaded with black beauty sand blasting sand. We used to use real coal from the tailings piles at the Clinchfield 24 mine, but the dust got to be an issue. Typical motive power consists are 3 six axle units such as EMD SD9’s, two unit consists of EMD SD60’s or SD50’s or four to five 4 axle units, usualy GP7/9’s, F7’s or the occasional GP38-60 series. Steam is usualy a Bowser Challenger class on the point with a Bowser mountain shoving on the rear or cut in ahead of the Challenger for the grade. This is the min amount of motive power, any less will slip out on the hill, usualy between the two S curves or just as you get into the upper S curve. Hauling coal is hard work, in just a 16 car train, it is possible to rip the knuckle off a diecast Kaydee #5 by taking the slack out to fast with good power on the point. Mike
I use to push my engines hard but I have backed off. One of the reason I use to push them was to see how my modeling skills had progressed, more I could pull the better I made the rolling stock. (I started with a lot of cheap cars that I up graded)
My rule of thumb now is 20 cars per diesel, 15 or less for steam engines. The exception are my Y6 b (same one as Crandell) and my Big Boy. Here at the house I will pull around 50 cars with them. At the club and if we gave room 70 or so. They will pull more but 70 cars is a long train!
I like to keep the engines speed around 30 sMPH.
Cuda Ken
I don’t really “push” my equipment. No point to it.
However, when I am testing new or repaired track sections, I will run an engine at full speed, usually a steam engine or a six-wheel axle diesel to find track flaws, which inevitably will be found. Don’t ask me how the know. The answer to that question can often be painful, especially for the engineer on board the engine.
Rich
First and foremost I do not recommend this.
At a club I was a member of years ago I shoved 37 stock weight BB cars with a Athearn GP7 with wheels spinning while it was barely moving the cars…
Why this act of wanton abuse?
Simply because a follow club member said it couldn’t be done…[:O]
Note the response on speed, very few responded, this because of the silent MR rule to see just how slow you can actually operate a train, the key is to slow it down so it appears not to be moving.
I doubt if you will get many responses to the “speed” question.
I used to test the current draw of locomotives before installing decoders. But all the new stuff is so light on the energy consumption I don’t worry about that any more.
I used to test some of my equipment by building a train up in the club’s main yard. I would see how many cars it could pull up and out of the yard. It was a 36" radius curve on about a 2.5% grade. I had an Altas SD24 that did about 52 NMRA weighted cars. Wow, but the next time I went to run I I found I had burnt out the motor and most of the electronics, so that little experiment cost me about $100, and I don’t know how many hours re-working it all.
Speed? I have many friends who spend hours programming the decoders in their locomotives to either restrict the top speed to a layout speed, restrict the top speed to something prototypic for that loco, or making all the locomotives exactly the same so they can all work together.
Mine don’t push the pull
At train shows. There have been shows where I have had one engine do 8 hours of constant running pulling 20-40 cars.
Well, there was the time a friend and I lashed up a 32 car train and ran helper ops over the Mascoma Lake Grade (4%) with five engines! In normal operations though, the hardest equipment is pushed is a ten car train with a single engine…intermodal train is fine but with a loaded manifest there’s going to be some charging the hill and minor wheelslip necessary!
At the price of HO scale locomotives today I don’t see the need to try to burn up the motors or strip the gears or over test the strength of couplers. Maybe when I was a teenager I might have done such things but I couldn’t afford the hobby then.
Bob,That’s why I used a Athearn GP7…I needed a tough engine that would be tough like a Timex…
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I guess the most “punishment” any of my locomotives have seen was the first run Kato GP35 that I bought at the hobby shop where I worked. I ran that thing about 8 hours a day on the store layout for about a year before the bearing/contact plates wore out to the point where the thing started sounding like an Athearn. Fortunately one of my customers was a machinist/gunsmith, so he took the plates and added NWSL bushings to them. That unit is still running today!