> Matt & Kathleen Brennan wrote in
> > news:418cd3be snipped-for-privacy@newspeer2.tds.net:
> >
> > > A quick question ...
> > >
> > > I have a number of the Atlas and Intermountain HO 60' ACF Double Door
> > > Auto Parts Cars. I was wondering what would be an acceptable train
> > > length comprised solely of these cars that could be pulled by one diesel
> > > engine?
> > >
> > > I was hoping one diesel engine could pull 8 to 10 of these cars w/ a > > > caboose.
>
> I model ca. 1960, with 40' & 50' cars and four axle power. As a rough rule,
> things tend to look good and run well with 1 locomotive for every 10 cars. >
Generally true but typical practice is to use a minimum of two engines, at least on some roads. This is for redundancy and / or having cabs at each end.