I am just interested to know if there are any N-Scale Records ?? Like : What is the Fastest N-Scale Train ? What is the Longest N-Scale Train ever ? Like wise what is the longest Ever N-Scale Track off one powerpack? How much can a Single Locomotive Pulle up a Gradient of 4% ??? You know Records in general some thing I can try and achieve ???
Longest train was 1103 cars pulled by three Cotton Brute engines on a big NTrak layout. The engines were double Minitrix U30Cs that were cast in depleted uranium. Each engine weighed 24 ounces. Charlie Vlk (and others) have some first had experience with this event.
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!! 1103.. Thats incredible !!!!!!!! Has there been an Attempt to match this recently or is this a recent record ??
How does anybody get their hands on DU if they are not a military contractor?. Does it have any industrial applications. I have heard that the stuff is not dangerous unless it is in powder form, or when it burns. Does anyone know for sure? Len
Getting DU? Not sure. That is what I heard. Maybe it was just lead. The engines had to be cast somehow. I am not sure you could do that with DU. I admit that I am way out on a limb on this; I don't have any first hand knowledge.
I belive that modeler was a defense contractor. Up untill afganistan, it was possible to obtain DU in surplus/scrap machinery, but youd have to BUY the whole tank (i was trying to obtain info on an armored hummer a few years back.... don't ask). Tungston would also work, but it is about 1/2 the mass of DU per given area. If anyone has info on how to obtain that in larger quantities, I would also be interested. I am asuming one could cast tungston a bit easier then uranium, but you may have to use a brick mold and use magnesium to bring the tungston up to its melting point (very, very high). Burning magnesium, of corse is not very wise... it burns so hot it actually FEEDS off CO and CO2. so that leaves buying tungston rods and cutting to shape.... not a fun process. The best luck i have had with this is dimond/ceramic cutting disks normally used for masonry and sonework.
Supposedly, the loco also had the drivers reduced in diameter to lower the effective gear ratio, and the wheels were supposedly "diamond encrusted" according to legend. I always thought the diamond deal was a little much, as any slip would quickly eat the railhead, but then, it is someone else's story, not mine. I bought a group of used MicroTrains N&W 2-bay hoppers, and noticed one was lettered a little different. It has the typical large print "N&W" but instead of saying "Norfolk" in smaller print above the "N", this car says "NTraK" i.e. "NTraK and Western". Someone said that is a car from one or the other of the record-setting trains, but I have no way to be sure, since I bought it blind. I think the first train was between 500 and 600 cars with the first Cotton Brute as sole power, but I could be wrong about that. If anyone would like to see a picture of the odd "N&W" car I will take one and post it.
Just found that the Jersey Central N-Trak group hold the record for the World's Largest Layout of modules at 526. (According to their website).
Found this about fastest at micromo.com They have even been inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records with the world's fastest model train. The FAULHABER Group participated in a track 1 competition in Sinnsheim Germany and achieved a top speed of 97.48 kmh or just over 60 mph in less than 2 seconds and within 25 meters of track. Magnat I guess you have something to shoot for. Aim high.
I'm modeling the transition era. Would N-Scale records still be 78s or had they transitioned to 33 1/3 yet?
Was it not Jim Fitzgerald that built the engines .. I seem to recall an Ntrak news letter some where ..
Many folks confuse the atomic number of an element with the density. Density is given as grams per ml. The atoms are packed together more tightly in some elements giving a greater weight per volume. Uranium (U) has a density of 18.9 g/ml, Tungsten (W) has a density of 19.3 g/ml the same as Gold (Au). So Tungsten and Gold are heavier than Uranium. Platinum (Pt) is 21.4 and some of the rare earth elements are even heavier. Iridium (Ir) is 22.5 g/ml. Lead (Pb) is only 11.4. Tungsten parts are usually formed by packing granules into a mold and sintering them together at high heat under pressure. Not as high a heat required as melting it all the way. You can buy Tungsten POWDER from Golfsmith as well as different WEIGHTS for weighting golf clubs. Gold and Platinum would be easier to mold things out of, so your wife may be missing some jewelry if she is not careful.
Probably at a convention they hosted or something. Philadelphia? There have been some really big NTrak layouts.
I believe you're right. The "Cotton Brute" was featured in N-Scale Model Railroading several years ago.
Many folks confuse the atomic number of an element with the density. Density is given as grams per ml. The atoms are packed together more tightly in some elements giving a greater weight per volume. Uranium (U) has a density of 18.9 g/ml, Tungsten (W) has a density of 19.3 g/ml the same as Gold (Au). So Tungsten and Gold are heavier than Uranium. Platinum (Pt) is 21.4 and some of the rare earth elements are even heavier. Iridium (Ir) is 22.5 g/ml. Lead (Pb) is only 11.4. Tungsten parts are usually formed by packing granules into a mold and sintering them together at high heat under pressure. Not as high a heat required as melting it all the way. You can buy Tungsten POWDER from Golfsmith as well as different WEIGHTS for weighting golf clubs. Gold and Platinum would be easier to mold things out of, so your wife may be missing some jewelry if she is not careful. </font>[/QUOTE]AFAIK, Osmium is the densest material known to man. A brick-sized chunk weighs as much as most grown men! Dunno how or where to find it, however.
Depleted uranium, I believe, is defined as uranium that has less radioactivity than lead. Or at least that is one measure. It is still toxic, as is lead. It is heavy. It probably was less expensive than tungsten when available. I've forgotten all this stuff about tungsten and uranium, particularly their properties under machining. There's only so much space in this old brain.
Back in the 50's, osmium was used for styli on 45 RPM record players. I can remember the calalogs selling osmium as the cheapest material, with ruby being next highest quality and diamond being the best. About three months ago there was a stink about firing DU ammo at an Atlantic ocean firing range. If I am not mistaken, the Phalanx system uses DU points in its ammo. I find it hard to believe that spent 20mm bullets can hurt marine life but maybe it can. I know there are issues with lead shot in tidal swamps. I saw the report on a CBC news broadcast. Len
The numbers seem to vary from periodic table to table but everywhere I look I find Iridium as the most dense followed by Osmium. Not that it really matters, both of these elements are quite rare. We never had any of them in our chemistry lab stock room. In this TABLE you can click on the element and it brings up all the data on it. I bought a jar of the Tungsten powder and a bag of each size weight that Golfsmith sells. I use a lot of it in my tiny Nn3 steam engines. Where I don't have room for the weights I mix the powder with white glue to make a paste that I pack into nooks and crannies. There is an alloy of Tungsten that is almost as dense but quite soft and machinable but so far I have never pursued finding a source for it. Uranium on the other hand has issues with machining. The shavings have a tendency to catch fire if they get too hot so you have to have a coolant bath and all kinds of other precautions. You don't want to be breathing the dust of any heavy metal.
Russ, That really sums it up! This also applies to some of the lightest metals--or actually metals throughout the periodic table. You don't want to ingest them in any way--dust, swallowing, through the skin. Tungsten may be the safest of the practical super-heavy materials (discounting gold and platinum because of cost.) When you get up in the 19 range of specific gravity(probably the best measure of weight), a few points higher doesn't mean that much. I think our white metal alloys for frames are about 7-8; and lead is about 11.5.
