Tracion tyres

Not AFAIK.

What do you mean By "mildest gradient?" Anything steeper than about 1 in

HTH

I would add extra weight to your locos. The liquid lead stuff (which is just lead shot I think) is your best bet. Tractions tyres help to keep rails dirty.

Rob.

On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 03:06:30 +0100, "Mark" said in :

Which locos, what gradient? I have gradients of 1:70 and can pull

Guy

Bear in mind a couple of things with "liquid lead".

a) if mixed with some adhesives, eg. PVA, it seems to form an oxide over time which has a larger volume than the original lead plus PVA. As it expands it can crack open a model. The topic was covered recently in some of the magazines.

b) packing density. A friend of mine did some maths on the packing density of lead spheres, including varying the diameters (because there are air or glue gaps). He then did some practical experiments. Outcome was that lead sphere filling a void have a very similar density to solid brass of the same volume.

Solid lead is quite easy to work; it comes in sheets/rolls as "lead flashing" used in building work.

- Nigel

I have a Hornby rebuilt Battle of Britain that can haul 8 coaches up a 1 in 28 helix with 3rd radius track. The unrebult version can take 5 coaches similar for a Bachmann Lord Nelson and a Hornby Q1. The Hornby M7 can only take 2 to 3 coaches up.

Chris

"Mark" wrote

Arghhhh! Traction tyres are the pits. We're spent years trying to persuade manufacturers to make heavy models which do not need them. If you need more traction then just add more weight!

John.

"Nigel Cliffe" wrote in news:g744dl$qd8$ snipped-for-privacy@news.albasani.net:

There is a much better way - if you choose to use lead shot/liquid lead. Pour it in to place as per normal then using a lit wax candle pour molton wax over it to hold it in place. If you're doing a large amount do it in stages.

Using this method allows for expansion and perhaps more importantly means that it can be cleaned out at a latter date without leaving any marks.

OK, Ill add weight.

I am used to using continental models which run much smoother from the box and are buch heavier than british outline models.

Thanks for the advice

Mark

In message , "Just zis Guy, you know?" writes

And my Bachmann 56xx tanks will pull 9 Bachmann Mark 1s up a 1:75 gradient on my garden railway.

Could someone recommend the best place to get hold of this Liquid Lead? Can it be acquired from your average model shop, or a specialist retailer?

Also, where is the best place to add extra weight? Presumably over the driving wheels/power bogies?

as said earlier in thread, liquid lead expensive blx. Walk passed any house having roof done. Lots of narrow strips of lead there for free. Can get huge quanities after a while. Just the right thickness too although if you want it thicker then cut over width and narrow it in vice. Far easier to add to anything, flat so glues easy, can roll for in boilers. Easier to get into a lower place so better centre of gravity. Beware of unblancing loco, can end up with wheels lifting.

cheers, Simon

I don't know if they still use lead. But what is sold as liquid lead on the left side of the pond is shot, for those who pack their own shotgun cartridges. Could be steel balls.

Of course as soon as you put a model railroad/railway label on it, up goes the price.

Before I left the UK I used split shot from the fishing shop. This was

Other possible weights are wheel balancing weights for cars.

The answer to where to put it, is anywhere it has the effect. A friend hid layers of flat sheet lead inside the cab roof of a 4-4-0 because there wasn't any room left above the driving wheels after putting the motor and gearbox there.

In an 0-6-0 or larger there should be room in the boiler. But this is too far forward in a 4-4-0 unless the engine is properly equalised with the bogie carrying the engine's weight via a rubbing plate.

Mike Sharman's Flexichas booklet describes the problem.

He also provides answers like transferring weight from the tender on engines without a trailing truck. This has the rear tender axle fixed and the front two on a sort of bogie, with the draw bar pushing down on the rear of the engine. Or you could use a dummy fall-plate attached to the tender, rubbing on the cab floor to do this.

In a tank engine, the obvious place is the tanks which would be over the drivers.

You should be able to get lead shot from diving suppliers.

Cheers, Martyn

Fairly certain that lead was is heavily discouraged if not actually banned for angling as so much had been chucked in watercourses over the years it was affecting Swans.

Presumably you meant from a Tyre repair depot and not swiped of parked cars.

Anyone know where I can obtain depleted Uranium for my Warship project.?

That should set off echelon.

G.Harman

Depends where you live.

Dunno, but I've come across N-gauge engines using tricks like tungsten footplate and even frames.

I doubt my little Sherline could mill these.

At model train shows in Canada, vendors dealing in miscellaneous tools and parts sell 3 oz strips of lead with peel & stick backing, marked off in 1/4 oz (7g) sections, specifically for model rail applications. I use them for weighting freight wagons, concealed underneath or inside.

And in the USA. They hide nicely in the underframe of Peco, Slaters or Parkside O-scale wagons. Sometimes two deep.

For goodness sake, stop talking about buying lead. Go for a walk - not only is that good for you but theres plenty of free lead in the UK. You can even consider it recycled waste.

I put some in the slots under the wagon floor of recent built dapol kit. Dab of superglue and held nicely, no messing with round bits. No worries about expansion.

Cheers, Simon

Try someone from a former USSR republic, probably plenty lying around. I remember seeing a highly radioactive layer outcrop in South Africa but cant remember if it was uranium or thorium or ...It did send the geiger counter sky high and we didnt walk over it.

Cheers, Simon