Weekly Photo Thread 7/19-7/25

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Good lookin' layout, and it looks to be a pretty decent size, too!

I've run only one fairly long train, and I'd guess the length, not counting locos, to be about 35'.  It was a mix of cars, from 34' hoppers, lots of 40' boxcars, to some 50'ers, too.  I ran it with various locos (steam and diesel), four at a time, and with them in various positions within the train: one, two or three on the head end, with one pushing, and in various versions of that.  I also spaced them, singly, throughout the train. 

Because my layout is mostly grades and curves, it was very interesting to watch the slack running in and out in various parts of the train, some of it going uphill and some downhill at the same time, and occasionally in more than one location at the same time - a little nerve-wracking, too, but no derailments.

Wayne

35' definitely beats me, not only in length but probably in total cars, if you're running all those  shorter older types.   There is a healthy dose of 86' boxcars and 89' autoracks in my train, and several 60' autoparts cars as well.

I did a similar train a few years ago that was a mixed freight that maxed out the staging track.   I had a real issue with the slack coming in and derailing the train if there were any hiccups.    One section of the layout dips down into a tunnel before a relatively sharp curve up a steep hill.   For whatever reason, my locomotives would  sometimes hesitate here, just beyond the curve.   If the train was going too fast,  the slack would slam downgrade and throw of the front few cars of the train.  I had to run relatively slowly through here in order to avoid this if the engines hesitated.    It took the train a full minute to pass. Curiously,  my train club tried to limit trains like this claiming they took too long.   On the other hand, there were some people with much shorter trains going far slower,  so sometimes I wonder what they were thinking!

Lately I've been running my Trailvan train with the nicer metal flatcars from Athearn, Atlas, and BLMA (also Atlas now, i suppose).   That thing rolls so smoothly that i have more problems with the trailers getting snagged off the decks than the train actually derailing.    Then again, with each car being a foot long and having less couplers and wheels to worry about, I suppose that is cheating as far as building a smooth running long train.   

These trains test how well you maintain your rolling stock for sure!  I'd be too scared to try a multi-unit helper like how you describe though.   You'd need some really well speed matched locomotives!