I have a kitbash project using the Bachmann GE 44 tonner chassis ( can motor ) powering a tender with a modified TYCO 2-8-0 engine. I have weighted the shell but it still is a very bad puller. How much do these normally pull? None of the axle gears seem to be slipping on wheel stubs , could be just harder to push the engine and pull a trains. Has anybody weighted these engines and how did they run? I also tried using the old two motor chassis shortened to fit a small tender for a dummy 2-6-2 build. Barley move 3 cars.
I have a Bachmann 44-tonner and I found that at six or seven cars, it pulls them fine. Any more and it starts slipping on turnout points. Not a super good puller, but I found that six or seven cars is about the max from the prototype photos I've seen.
thanks that is about what I can do if you count the Locomotive. I my try more weight, however I do not think this mech can take too much of a load. Here are the photos of the two tender powered engine I have made. The 2-8-0 uses New 44 tonner with the can motor. The 2-6-2 uses the original twin motor mech that I shortened to fit the small tender shell.
Nicely put together. I'd say that the dead weight and rolling resistance of the engine does play a large part in the problem. The tender is the locomotive, and the engine is a part of the load, which must be subtracted from the max number of cars a 44-tonner can pull. The equivalent of three or four cars makes sense.
