Kidding of course, Ed. You make an effort to acknowledge that there are other
opinions, and I appreciate that.
A 97 car train is certainly impressive! That would be about 65 feet plus the
locos. On my layout, that train would stretch across 3 depots, and I have a
moderately large one! We designed a track plan to accommodate 15 - 20 car
freight trains, with appropriate yards and passing sidings. The coal branch
containing the helix would be running hoppers, so it could handle a few more
cars. My test was made with 1 F unit and weighted box cars. I have just
completed modifying and painting 2 more F units, so soon I can see how many
cars that will pull. Since I have only about 50' of mainline completed to
date, I'll not be challenging your record anytime soon.
Another opinion that I have is that truck efficiency has a lot to do with the
rolling capabilities of our cars, not just weight. I prefer the free rolling
trucks that are now available from SHS, PRS (or were), and AM. I am also
converting to all metal wheels (not AM wheels though) in these trucks to reduce
the dirt buildup on the wheels and track caused in part by plastic wheels. (I
think).
Just opinions of course, and all in good humor. "Model Railroading is Fun",
after all!
Look forward to seeing you and your fabulous NYC soon.
Roger
----- Original Message -----
From: Edward Loizeaux
To: List, S scale
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2008 12:03 AM
Subject: FW: {S-Scale List} Re: Weight for PRS car
> From: Roger Nulton
> I'm "S"hocked! Ed approving of weighting cars! When Thorin posted this
I
> sat back and weighted for the scorn to flow.
> What have you been drinking tonight, Ed?
Hi Roger..... Mostly orange juice, but a half glass of wine with dinner. To
set the record straight, I am not against weighting cars. I am not
particularly happy with RTR cars that come with heavy weights permanently
installed that cannot be removed. But that is because I like l-o-n-g
trains. Those who are happy with shorter trains might not have any problem
with the weight. And that is fine for them. Everyone can be happy if they
are able to adjust the weight to fit their circumstances. No scorn at all.
Just a desire for adjustable weights.
> A sample of some brass box cars yields 10 -12 ounces each.
I was incorrect when stating the NMRA RP was "about equal" to a brass box
car. I need to go figure out where I got that idea. A big whoooooops for
me. Maybe my scale was in error. Or my memory faulty. Was it the wine?
> My SHS F units can pull about 11-15 weighted plastic cars up my 37" 3%
helix before the Lenz decoder cuts out.
Is that one F-unit or a multiple unit lashup? Seems like a rather short
train, but then again 3% is fairly steep and 37" is a bit on the tight side.
For comparison purposes, I once had a 3-unit lashup of SHS F-units pull 97
cars on the mighty NYC. These cars were a mixture of everything -- brass,
wood, plastic, zamac, etc. Grade is 1.4% (about half of yours) and the
train was snaking all over the place on curves, straights, uphill, downhill,
etc. Gad it was long. Too long actually and looked rather wierd. Still, I
generally try for about half to two-thirds of the NMRA weight when possible.
Some cars exceed this without any added weight and so I just leave 'em as
is. Note that I am not suggesting this is the only way to do things. It is
just what I have done and might not be for everyone.
"S"cornless and "S"cornfree.....Ed L.
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