What is the "Normal" Length Train You Run?

I guess I'm in an "obverse" kind of mood. The other thread on "What is Your Longest"
Whats your longest train? - TrainBoard.com
made me wonder "what is the norm".

I tend to run what fits visually proportionate to the size of the layout. My 3' x 10' space (with an "L" where the yard is), seems to fit 5', (One loco with 8 cars) to 8', (2 locos with 12ish cars), trains best. The cars tend to be 50' boxcars or larger 4 bay covered hoppers. Yes, sometimes I'll run a much longer train but that is more for grins.

So, please, do share, what do you "normally" run and why?

 

My normal is about 8-12 cars..

 

Yes, but why? Is it the size that fit visually? Is it the longest you can get away with? Is it what fits your passing sidings?

Just wondering.

 

I pretty much run what I think looks good on my layout.

I tired of running shorties 10 or 12 car trains on roundy round layouts. I wanted to run longer trains. So, I designed a layout with wide radius curves to accommodate the long strings of cars and plenty of long sidings for passing tracks. A hidden staging yard where the longest track is capable of handling a 40 or 50 car freight. All with the purpose of providing a variety of trains.

Loads of fun and little to no repetitive operations.

I like operating everything from locals, commuters, freight trains and full length passenger trains. There is no roundy round operations. Each train comes out makes it's run and heads back in. Locals make their runs, switch the industries and return back to the yard. The only thing missing is a classification yard. There's a mini city sitting where I planned on putting in a small classification yard. Oh well.

 

For this topic there really isn't a concrete answer because it depends how large your layout is since my layout is a 4x8 I can run about 16 freight cars and two to three locos at one time (I need at least two three axle locos or three two axle locos for 16 freight cars since I have a grade on my layout). The most I ran at one time was 22 but then if I run more then 22 I can hit the end of my train in one of my loops on my layout. So best is 16 and most is 22.

 

I can run about 25 cars with a pair of locos and up to 30 with a trio (going up a 2% grade):

 

My layout is deigned for one SD7 or smaller engine and 3 40' cars or 2 50' cars.

 

Grey One, you are also the wise one......

I have a medium sized layout, a 4x8 with a 2 1/2 x 5 section cut out to form a sort of "L", with a double mainline. I too, keep my trains shorter than my old larger layout because it is way too easy for long trains to look too ominous and disproportionate.

But once in a while, I will get a new hair up my nose and run a longer trains for kicks and grins, either to test the strength of the loco or couplers, or just to see a complete and functional passenger consist, like the Daylight, Broadway Limited, and 20th Century Limiteds, and now working on the B&O.

I also run a selection of cars to cater to the function of my business and industried on my layout.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

 

We have a club rule of no more than 50 cars or whatever will fit into our longest siding. Generally that is about 40 cars. Members do cheat and take two sidings but I have found that about 25 cars is my usual train length. I've noticed that after that the people seem to lose interest. I guess it just seems redundant.

 

Hey Steve,

My max is 60 cars, before the couplers start breaking. My normal is 40-45 cars on freight, and about 8-10 passenger cars. Even 40 cars needs a gentle touch on the throttle uphill, and a careful decline. Otherwise it's clothesline city on the upgrade and pancaked trains on the down.

So 40 is just comfortable due to the grades. I used four diesels, although two would probably do. Steam is another issue, which I haven't measured.

The sidings can accommodate well over 100 cars. But then I have a "long" layout.

 

I belong to a club with a layout with enough track miles to not make a train with, say, 50 cars look too ridiculous. Operationally, we're limited currently by some passing sidings, so trains over about 9 feet long have some difficulty.

I tend to run things on the "local" (blue, in NTrak) line, since so many of the other guys are into passenger trains and big modern stuff and not much else, and because I am the one with little switchers and cars that can negotiate some of the tighter curves here. These trains tend toward one locomotive and up to about 15 cars, and are meant to represent the local freight job.

 

I should add that my best steamers will pull about 16-18 cars up the grades, but that's max. That's the Bachmann heavy mountain and the ConCor 2-10-2. Oh, and the LL 2-8-8-2s will pull about 16--at least the two good pullers out of four. The Bachmann 2-8-0 will pull about 14. I haven't DCC'd the Kato Mikados, but figure them at about 14-16, with TTs.

It all varies. I used to track these measures assiduously on the previous Pittston & DeWitte. But that didn't have the grades--no, actually, it used Rapido couplers, and I think I didn't have 60 cars!--so who knows?

I know two Kato PA's or E8's, or LL FAs, C-Liners or Erie-Builts will pull 60 cars up the 2.75% grades. But I use four units--who has time to make/break the consists? Not me.

I think four Kato PA's would easily pull a 250-car train on level, flat track without curves. Or maybe more.

 

I usually run 25-35 car trains with 3-4 locomotives, depending if they are an ABBA set of FT's or three geeps. Passenger trains are usually 12-15 cars long.

Cheers:

Bill

 

For me, it`s dictated by layout size right now, as well as the type of motive power and my grades. On my own layout, I`d say ten cars would be the max for operating with, but then it is supposed to be a short-line.

 

My "layout" gets changed about every week..

It keeps getting put away in a box.

So it keeps changing. Not too big.

 

On my N scale layout, 15-20 cars, depending on car length. On my HO layout, 7-10 cars. At our club layout, I have run 100 car coal trains behind my N&W/NS locomotives, but usually 20-30 wells on a stack train with a pair of BNSF -9's.

 

14 or 16. Always an even number...including locos...I dont like odd numbers. I am also superstitious...never 13 including the locos.

It is what it is...LOL.

.

 

In reality, I run one 4 axle diesel pulling 8-10 forty foot cars. In my imagination, it looks a lot longer than that. Like my scenes and buildings, my trains are selectively compressed to work in the available space.