playdo and n scale cars

Play-do is that sticky stuff you mix with water, isn't it? If so, I'd be very concerned of moisture rusting the wheels of the cars and/or gumming them up and getting on the track. I doubt that most model RR cars are watertight. Most folks use little steel weights or something similar (solid and dry) if cars are too light. I think that's a much safer way to go.

-- Bill McC.

The stuff that I put is already pretty dired up. No moisture leaking and gumming the wheels. It just adds weight.

Andres

Andres wrote: I am new a this, but my cars seem very light and derail farily easy. I filled the caboos with playdo and it feels a little heavy and stays on track . Is is ok to put playdo in the cars, or is it a stupid idea?

--------------------------------------------------- I would think it'd be ok. I use pennies, screws, washers, nuts and bolts, etc.

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

The one advantage I see is that you can mold it to the shape of the car and it won't rattle around, but it still has some water in it and, as it dries even more, doesn't it become crumbly? If so, that could present another problem. Personally, I'd feel more comfortable with the more usual little steel pieces. As (the other) Bill points out, washers and other small pieces of hardware work well.

If you stick with the Play-do, please report back in a while and let others know how it's working and if there are any problems.

-- Bill McC.

I often use florist's clay to weight cars. Works especially well for flatcars and gondolas. I just work it into spaces in the underframe with a pocket knife (not too worried about the detail of underframes, since I don't intend on the cars being belly-up). Florist's clay is cheap, easy to work with, and doesn't harden.

Don.