train size

[yarbnek]

Most the of sets I see have only four cars.  How many cars can one add comfortably with minimum inclines in the layout?

[ACY]

Depending on the locomotive you can add anywhere between 5-10. If you run multiple locomotives together in a consist you can add another 5-10 cars for each locomotive. To be safe start with 4 or 5 and see how well it can pull that many.

[brokemoto]

More than one factor comes into play, here.  The first consideration is how steep is the grade?  If it is one per-cent, or less, the pulling power does not diminish that much.  If it is two per-cent, there is a noticeable reduction in the pulling power.  If it is three per-cent,  or greater, there is a significant reduction in pulling power.

Question two is what type, kind and manufacturer of rolling stock are you running?  If you are running passenger cars, you will not pull as many of those as you will freight cars.  Are you running modern, eighty-five foot freight cars, or are you running antique thirty-six foot freight cars?  Are your freight cars loaded, or not?  How heavy are the cars?  On what type trucks and what wheelsets are the cars running?

Then, there is the locomotive.  Two different types of Our Host's locomotives can serve to illustrate this, in steam, at least.  The SPECTRUM 2-8-0 is a real stump puller.  It is one of the best pulling N scale steam locomotives out there.   The Standard Line USRA 0-6-0 is not the best puller.  Part of the problem is the design of the live, front tender truck which creates  a tremendous amount of drag on the locomotive.  To be sure, you can improve the pulling power by swapping a SPECTRUM USRA switcher tender for the stock tender (you can also swap a SPECTRUM slopeback).  Still, it will not pull as well as the 2-8-0 as , if for no other reason, it is much smaller.

Some of the older Life-Like diseasels are also real stump pullers:  the plastic frame FA-2 and plastic frame BL-2 will pull every piece of rolling stock that you own up a fifty per-cent grade on a nine and three quarter curve.  The split frame versions of these, as well as the FMs are also excellent pullers.  On the other side of it, the old Mehano FA-whatever can barely get out of its own way.

Other factors to consider are radii of curves.  A nine and three quarter curve can cause the trucks to bind.  Wheels roll much more smoothly through more broad curves.


When you decide what per-cent grades that you want, what kind of motive power and rolling stock that you want and the most broad curve radius that your space available will allow, ask again.  We can give you better answers if we know a little more.  Our Host is pretty tolerant of discussing other manufacturers' products, here, should that be necessary or simply should it come to that.  Out of respect, many of us will try to keep Our Host's products in the foreground, but most of us are not afraid to mention or sing the virtues of some of the competing products.

[yarbnek]

thanks to all   am learning a lot here.  a friend and i are just starting out Both of us over 65).  seemed like a fun thing to get involved in.  i have two large windows in an old retail building that we intend to place our layouts.  we will research our layouts, build them inside, test, then place in the windows.  local kids will like it i'm sure.  because we are new, we will stick with one manufacturer (our host here) and use eztrack exclusively.  hoping to get three trains running in the large window and two in the smaller one.

[NarrowMinded]

Just a tip,
if your train gets too long you may also run into "string-lining" this is where the train acts like a string being pulled at both ends and straightens out, you know this is happening when the cars in the center of the train derail towards the inside of the curve.

This happens on tight radious layouts, is cause by a few things rolling resistance, and the rolling stock being to light.

Nm-jeff