A retired railroader once told me that the big, heavy multi-wheel flatcars are always run at the front of the train. If I remember right, the rule on the SP was: 2 regular cars to separate them from the drawbar, no more than 5 of the super-flats, then the rest of the train. I would think a big cannon car would merit its own train, like a Schnabel car.
Another way to minimize stringlining might be to put a helper in the middle of the train. Of course if you do that, you have to be sure it's running as fast or faster compared to the lead unit; if it's dragging it will make matters worse. A lot of times when you compare the "natural" speeds of locomotives you are running in an MU, you will find that some are running a bit faster than the others. If they are all together, it doesn't make any difference, but for a mid-train helper it would.
Originally Posted by Lee Willis:
I had a problem with stringlining on only a 24 element train - my War Train I posted a video of some time back. I wanted to run the scratch/bashed built, 36-wheel, 25 inch long railway cannon car near the end of the train -- it weighed a lot and it caused a alot of stringlining initially and a lot of work for me - I had to add weight to various cars in between until they weighed so much that, while the train did no stringline anymore, it was a challenge to get moving. I learned quite a lot, and it was a fun project.
