Re: How many cars can I pull?

N scale. Level track. 15" radius curves. Kato F7 locomotive. Micro train

>assorted box cars, tankers, flat cars, hoppers, caboose.. How many, huh? >30? 50? I only got 10. I was gonna buy about a jillion more, but wonder >if I can pull em all at once.

Different engines can pull different amounts -- even on level track, due to the weight of the engine, and the traction of the wheels on the rails. Traction tires that came on older Kato/Atlas units made a difference; I have an RS11 that had them, and it pulls about 1/3 more than the GP9 with identical drive but no traction tires.

I got about the same results out of my Kato F7's....but the Athearn F59PHI's will pull about double that, though they do slip/slide a bit when first starting. (Better than the wheels not doing anything and buring up the motors...)

Reply to
Steve Hoskins
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Reply to
wolfee

wolfee wrote: N scale. Level track. 15" radius curves. Kato F7 locomotive. Micro train assorted box cars, tankers, flat cars, hoppers, caboose.. How many, huh?

30? 50? I only got 10. I was gonna buy about a jillion more, but wonder if I can pull em all at once.

-------------------------------------------------- I don't run my trains with one locomotive and I don't have any Kato F7s but with the reputation Kato has and with MT freight cars, I believe you should be able to pull around 30 MT cars with this locomotive.

Maybe your track has oil of some kind on it. I'd try cleaning te track. Also, check the wheels on the cars to assure they are all rolling freely. Sometimes one or two wheelsets not seated in the truckframe properly creates a lot of resistance.

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

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Reply to
Bill

wolfee wrote: N scale. Level track. 15" radius curves. Kato F7 locomotive. Micro train assorted box cars, tankers, flat cars, hoppers, caboose.. How many, huh?

30? 50? I only got 10. I was gonna buy about a jillion more, but wonder if I can pull em all at once.

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I took one of my Life-Like F7As and put i to the test on my layout. I was able to pull 28 freight cars. These are a mixture of Atlas, Con Cor, Model Power, Bachmann, Walthers--some with metal wheels and some with plastic wheels. On the 11" radius curve with some of the train always in a curve.

I guessed your Kato F7A should be able to pull 30 MT cars but maybe

20-24 would be a better estimate since I think the Life-Like F7s can pull more cars than the Kato.

As I said, I don't have any Kato F7s to compare the performance.

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

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Bill

Reply to
wolfee

Frank, I am sure it would help, but the problem was inertia. Each of the brass cars weighed about half what the loco's weighed.

Reply to
wolfee

OK then, just have all the station stops angling down hill. (G)

Reply to
Frank A. Rosenbaum

Wolfee, just couldn't resist that one. I have a N scale Kato RS 3 that will pull 40 Kadee hoppers on level track. When I used to set up my module with the N Trak group here in WV we would pull 100 car coal drags with 2 engines. I think Trix U

28's. Although the U boats would pull the load we had to a use mid train helper and a pusher to keep the train together,otherwise the couplers would separate.

It will vary so much between eng>>

Reply to
Ken Day

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