08-22-2009, 02:32 PM
There are very few HO locos which don't have room for additional weight, although adding that weight is not always a simple matter.
I built three of these Athearn U-33Cs, ballasting them to just over 33 ounces each:
[album]1360[/album]
For the most part, the weights were custom-cast LINK, although I used some sheet lead, barely visible in the photo below, over the area where the twin motors were located.
[album]1361[/album]
There is room for probably at least another 3 ounces between the rear of the steps wells and the body-mounted couplers.
Of course, decoders do require space that could otherwise be used for added weight. One solution is to replace all or part of the factory-supplied weight with a new one cast in lead, which is considerably heavier than the zinc or Zamac normally used. Here's an example, although it's a steam locomotive. Steam locos, as has been noted, benefit from having the weight balanced about the centre of their driver wheelbase, and, due to the limited space in most boilers, this can require some innovative thinking. At least there's room in most tenders for the decoder.
Balancing the weight is the important thing, and can allow a loco to pull more than an identical counterpart that has had weight added but is out-of-balance. For diesels, balancing the weight is not so critical, but you should try to do so, within reason.
Wayne
I built three of these Athearn U-33Cs, ballasting them to just over 33 ounces each:
[album]1360[/album]
For the most part, the weights were custom-cast LINK, although I used some sheet lead, barely visible in the photo below, over the area where the twin motors were located.
[album]1361[/album]
There is room for probably at least another 3 ounces between the rear of the steps wells and the body-mounted couplers.
Of course, decoders do require space that could otherwise be used for added weight. One solution is to replace all or part of the factory-supplied weight with a new one cast in lead, which is considerably heavier than the zinc or Zamac normally used. Here's an example, although it's a steam locomotive. Steam locos, as has been noted, benefit from having the weight balanced about the centre of their driver wheelbase, and, due to the limited space in most boilers, this can require some innovative thinking. At least there's room in most tenders for the decoder.
Balancing the weight is the important thing, and can allow a loco to pull more than an identical counterpart that has had weight added but is out-of-balance. For diesels, balancing the weight is not so critical, but you should try to do so, within reason.Wayne