Friend of mine a number of years back modifided a Bowser Challenger with a nwsl can motor+gear towers and added a 1/2 lb of weight and we ran out out of freight cars at 115....this on straight level track with 36'' cruves.
Just for fun, how strong is your engine?
- Thread starter Bachmann_I10sa
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I've gotten my unmodified Rivarossi Big Boy to pull upwards of 50 cars on a flat straight run I slapped together in my back yard (only place in the house with enough room lol).
I even managed to get to full throttle, though this particular Big Boy only reaches about 30 scale MPH at full.
I even managed to get to full throttle, though this particular Big Boy only reaches about 30 scale MPH at full.
My only engine, a P1K F3 freight CNW loco, can haul all my cars, cabose included, with ease. Of corse, I don't have any elevation changes
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.the most impressive i've seen in person was a scratchbuilt 4-8-8-4 big boy pulling 125 cars and a caboose,it weighe almost 2.5 POUNDS!!! if you watched closely you could see it warp the rails under it but thet took back shape after it passed.but watch out so it dont bop you in da nose like my son!!LOL--josh
I have many strengthy engines, but I'd say the strongest Iv'e got is my P2K E7, pulling all 67 cars I own. It looks like it can even pull more, but I still don't know the equivelant to what it can pull. It runs on 22" curve.
I figure that my GG1 or Challenger may be the strongest on flat and level tracks, but i think in the end my U34CH ( which apperently is powerful enough to resist the challenger or gg1) would win, because it is just light enough to not slide down a grade, lol.
This is a real "apples 'n' oranges" question, as even on a club layout, there aren't often long stretches of straight level track. Also, the rolling quality of freight cars varies widely. I went through some back issues of Model Railroader to gather some test specs: in general, a locomotive's drawbar pull, without the use of traction tires, is at best about 25% of the loco's weight. (I checked only those reviews for locomotives with 6 axles, all powered - this general info may not apply for 4 axle locos). Based on the drawbar pull stated in the reviews and the number of "free-rolling cars on straight, level track" that the locos could actually pull, I determined that 1 ounce of drawbar pull could move between 13.7 and 14.3 "free-rolling cars on straight, level track".
Based on a median of 14 cars per ounce of drawbar pull, my three modified Athearn U-boats will pull 348 "free-rolling cars on straight, level track", or 116 cars each. If anybody has a HO scale mile of "straight level track" and 115 free-rolling cars, (and lives within reasonable distance), I'd be glad to drop by for a test run. 
Here's a pic:
Wayne
Based on a median of 14 cars per ounce of drawbar pull, my three modified Athearn U-boats will pull 348 "free-rolling cars on straight, level track", or 116 cars each.
If anybody has a HO scale mile of "straight level track" and 115 free-rolling cars, (and lives within reasonable distance), I'd be glad to drop by for a test run. Here's a pic:
Wayne
A 7' X 24' oval could hold 102 cars with a few inches left, nose to tail. A P2K E8/9 and an IHC Challenger were the only two that could pull that many cars solo.
Lynn
Lynn