Longtrain, Would you post a pict of that TRIX FM HH Switcher SP scarlet/gray??? I'd love to see it. Is it an HH660??
Nobody mentioned the out of production Concor C-636. Another heavy loco, strong motor, and if you can keep the wires soldered to the pick-ups will pull the track up off the layout.
Well Steve, I take a "keep it simple" approach. I put a loco on the loop and add cars until it slips. I remove cars one at a time until it can pull the train with no slippage. The rating is the number of cars it pulled without slipping. Since I weight my cars according to NMRA recommended practice, and since I use MT trucks on all of them, they are very consistent in the amount of drag per car. So the car count makes a simple and effective measurement for my purposes. </font>[/QUOTE]You could decrease your drag even futher by replacing stock derlin MT axles with Atlas metal wheelsets for MT trucks.
Well Steve, I take a "keep it simple" approach. I put a loco on the loop and add cars until it slips. I remove cars one at a time until it can pull the train with no slippage. The rating is the number of cars it pulled without slipping. Since I weight my cars according to NMRA recommended practice, and since I use MT trucks on all of them, they are very consistent in the amount of drag per car. So the car count makes a simple and effective measurement for my purposes. </font>[/QUOTE]You could decrease your drag even futher by replacing stock derlin MT axles with Atlas metal wheelsets for MT trucks. </font>[/QUOTE]That may be your experience, but it certainly is not what I have observed. There was a test posted on another board where the results were reversed, with the stock MT wheelsets winning by 2 or 3 cars on a train of around 50 cars, and that has been my experience. I got rid of all my metal freight car wheels and only use plastic wheelsets. * I've never had to twist a plastic wheelset back into gauge. * Plastic wheelsets cannot short out. * I have not had to clean a MT plastic wheel in over 7 years of use. * I only need to clean my track about twice a year. When I had metal wheels I had to clean the track and the wheels every time I ran, it seemed. Cruddy wheels make a car harder to pull, too. Keep in mind that climate is a major factor on wheel choices, and what works in one environment will not necessarily get the same results somewhere else. Besides, I'd only need about 9,000 sets. No thanks! I am expecting these plastic wheels to last me as long as I live. I'll keep what I got.
LT: I haven't had to clean my Atlas metal wheelsets since I installed them on all my rolling stock 15 months ago. I also never cleaned the MT plastic wheel sets. It must be the Unitrack and the Florida "air". Stay cool and run steam......
Espeeman, I'll shoot it the next time I have it out. That equipment is in storage off-site. As to model, which FM does that Trix "Toy" resemble most, anyway? H10-4-4 comes to mind, but I think it is missing the "steam loco" cab roof overhang at the back of the cab, and it looks a little "short" to me without it. I think it is kool that 30-year old switcher gives my Train Masters a run for their money on tractive effort. The Trix FM was the best N Scale switcher I ever owned until the LL SWs came along. The Trix switcher is a smooth runner, but the LL is off the charts by comparison on smoothness. TE is a different story, as the numbers show..... The SP U28C was nice too - it had the chunky sewer pipes replaced with fine wire handrails. I sold all of the Trix U boats, including the "spare parts locos" to a friend in Anaheim about 2 months ago.
Hey, I've got to say my PA's & E-8's from Kato are the best.My SD-40/45's are a close second.Then the big SD's & C-44's.
You raise an important point, Bob! I changed to Unitrack when I started swapping out the wheels. So it could be the Unitrack, although I do run the cars in long trains on the NTrak layout too. I always clean the track before I run my trains out there, though. It is usually filthy, and I don't want to bring that crud home..... Like I said, that works best for me, but we all have the freedom to each enjoy the hobby in our own way.
My best pullers are a LL A/B set of Erie builts follwed by their plastic framed E-6, E-7 & E-8's. One that pleasantly surprised me though was the Atlas RS-1. For a somewhat small and light four axle loco, it will take 25 cars up the 2% grade at the club layout with no problems.
A surprisingly strong loco for it's size is the Kato RS-2. Of all the Atlas loco's, the Trainmaster by far is one of the strongest loco's. Stay cool and run steam.....
If the LL SD9 was powered on every axle it'd probably be a bit of a puller. As far as N-gauge goes, its the best puller around my brothers layout.
I wonder if it is the A/C filtering? That is, do the air filters for the A/C unit help keep the dust down?
I wonder if it is the A/C filtering? That is, do the air filters for the A/C unit help keep the dust down? </font>[/QUOTE]Steve: it could be the filters on the A/C units, but I doubt it. The material on the track is negligible. There is no grease or deposits of crud on the track. However, Unitrack is well noted for remaining clean and debris free. Stay cool and run steam......
Hmm, another selling point for Unitrak! Back on topic: I have to agree that the Con Cor U50s and Gas Turbines are stump pullers. Anyboyd want to guess, (not wager), how many assorted cars they can pull around this? I am guessing the cars will cloths line first.
There was an article on this in Railmodel Journal last year. The best way to measure tractive effort is to have a long striaght track that can be inclined. The locomotive is run and grade increased. The angle at which it begins to slip is noted The tractive effort is equal to the weight of the engine multiplied by the sine of the angle.
I tested my Trains and found my Model Power F7 Metal Body to have the strongest pulling power.. I filled up my empty hoppers with some Lead sinkers, my Bachmann Spectrum 12 Wheel Drive Dash 8 was flat out pulling 100Grams , my LifeLike GP-38-2 pulled 150grams and my Model power f7 pulled 250grams in weight... very impressive.. Tests were done on a loop track with little to no grade ..
DITTO this remark Those LL engines have come a long way... and the cab units are very heavy and great pullers. Kato cab units are awesome pullers as well. [ June 30, 2005, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: Calzephyr ]
I haven't had a chance to repeat my "pulling" experiments of the mid-90s. I did much as Long Train did--load a known series of boxcars (and also passenger cars) behinda loco or series of locos, and remove cars until I got a good estimate of the pulling power of each unit/consist. I kept a record on a yellowed sheet of paper, long since filed away in a place that, if I ever discovered it, would yield no secrets, since most of those locos are retired. Still, I gained a sense of what pulled what and, serendipitiously, what would run with what under DC power.
You raise an important point, Bob! I changed to Unitrack when I started swapping out the wheels. So it could be the Unitrack, although I do run the cars in long trains on the NTrak layout too. I always clean the track before I run my trains out there, though. It is usually filthy, and I don't want to bring that crud home..... Like I said, that works best for me, but we all have the freedom to each enjoy the hobby in our own way. </font>[/QUOTE]Points taken by you both. For the record I'm operating on UT with both metal and derlin wheels, in an ac environment. I based my assessment on one car of each. The metal car ran forever with the push of the hand, the derlin did not run as far. Not exactly a complete test. But on the surface I was very impressed by the result.
