I wasn't sure where exactly to ask, so this seemed the best place to put this. I wanted to ask what it means when a locomotive model has a tonnage marked in the name. For instance, GE 44-tonners, GE 70-tonners, a 26T Plymouth, a 10T Plymouth, etc. Is that the weight of the locomotive? Or the amount of weight it is able to pull?
Weight of the prototype locomotive.
How does that translate to the amount they are able to pull? I'm not super familiar with it
Have a look here especially the section regarding diesel and electric locomotives and it will explain how weight factors in pulling ability.
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Hope this helps,
Cheers, the Bear.
A little bit, but not a whole lot. The prototype for one of my locomotives is a Diesel-Hydraulic, and I'm having a hard time finding information on how much it was capable of pulling (a 26T Plymouth DDT, as well as a 15T). This is kind of nervewracking.
One article I read said that a locomotive should pull 4 times its own weight. But the illustration showed a tank engine with all drivers.
For interest: the 44-tonner was produced because of either a union agreement or some other regulation that required 2 crew members in any loco weighing over 90,000 pounds.
Mike Kieran Wrote:They pulled 1-2 cars.
While freight would certainly be heavier and pulling it around would require more power, or fewer cars behind the locomotive, I know that I had seen footage of a 10-15T DDT pulling four cars behind it on an excursion passenger train (a short combine, two coaches, and a caboose). Admittedly all five pieces of stock in the train were 36" narrow gauge, but I'm curious to see how much a DDT could pull at most. I am a very big fan of watching critters zip around and have wanted to model several of them. Model Power used to make one, but from what I understand they are out of business now.
Mike Kieran Wrote:They pulled 1-2 cars.
My forklift could pull three boxcars so,a 25 ton should be able to pull 4-5 cars on the level.
I hooked up to the cars using a chain released the hand brakes,bleed the air and pulled the cars. Reset the handbrakes and unchain the cars. The company was to cheap to have the car puller fixed or replaced.
I tend to count curves and grades in my estimations.
BR60103 Wrote:One article I read said that a locomotive should pull 4 times its own weight. But the illustration showed a tank engine with all drivers.
Which, of course, is not applicable to modern railroading as two six-axle diesels can move 10,000+ tons over the road.
railohio Wrote:BR60103 Wrote:One article I read said that a locomotive should pull 4 times its own weight. But the illustration showed a tank engine with all drivers.
Which, of course, is not applicable to modern railroading as two six-axle diesels can move 10,000+ tons over the road.
Nor would it be with 3 GP9s on a 210 car coal drag. C&O did this on a routine bases as did the N&W back in the 50/60/70s.