Running Long Trains

I've never had the space to run one, but I'd love to put together a NYC 20th Century Limited in that gorgeous Art Deco style, with a 4-8-4 Niagara at the head.

I love running long trains at my operating club, the Paradise and Pacific.  I never run less than two powered diesels to pull my trains due to weight.  The 18 car El Capitan one video is all aluminum cars with the exception of some heavyweight head end cars.  I hope to eventually get that train to it's more prototypical consist and length of about 20 cars when GGD decides to redo the 1951 Super Chief someday.  My longest freight train was 75 cars in a mixed freight.  More typically, I am running around 50 plus or minus on freight trains.

These are not new videos and I have not been as active this last year and a half, but a few trains I like to regularly run. 

Old video off a Windows phone (yes that old!) of my Williams PA's prior to upgrading to Sunset ones.  The rear unit is wired to start in reverse for easy conventional operation.

The El Capitan slows through Holbrook, AZ.  Two of the three FP45s are powered.  I own 6 powered units so I can swap them out during any run session that is over 2 hours.

I love running long trains on my 4 x 8 layout

John

WOW!  Very impressive Andy.  Thanks for posting the video.

- walt

Here's my Marx cattle car train. Power is double headed K-Line versions of the Marx 333 Pacific.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl7_MSigPlw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDpJxbWUM_4

I adore long trains, and run 30-50 car units on my old Plywood empire.  My favorite power units were two MTH proto1 SD90 EMD demo units.  They could haul the world, but to keep the tail from chasing itself on my layout I had to limit to a max of 50 cars.  

One of the primary goals of my new layout was to be able to run longer trains, so I went with the folded dogbone on two levels with 140 feet of mainline track.  That allows me to run 50-60 cars and still not be chasing my tail.

At a club function at Harry's place, I ran this 115 car freight using two Legacy U-Boats.

Andy,

I like your long trains, very nice Freedom train and I like the ore cars too.

I am a modular club guy too, and I am a fan of long trains made up of 40’ boxcars, they are my favorite trains to run on club layouts, and on my basement layout.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

One of the primary goals of my new layout was to be able to run longer trains, so I went with the folded dogbone on two levels with 140 feet of mainline track.  That allows me to run 50-60 cars and still not be chasing my tail.

At a club function at Harry's place, I ran this 115 car freight using two Legacy U-Boats.

A man after my own heart regarding tank cars!  Enjoyed your vid.  A snap of mine.

@Commodorefirst posted:

A man after my own heart regarding tank cars!  Enjoyed your vid.  A snap of mine.

Thanks, those were all my little 8,000 gallon sized cars.  I have 60 or 70 of the larger scale cars as well, but they're not unpacked yet.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Thanks, those were all my little 8,000 gallon sized cars.  I have 60 or 70 of the larger scale cars as well, but they're not unpacked yet.

Very nice.  Look forward to a long consist of them. I have a fair number of the 20,000 gal from Atlas, MTH, and a good number still in boxes too.  The wall units are my current runners.  Only 8000 I have are the MTH units you see.

Amazing, Andy!!! I wish I had enough room to run long trains like those. Thanks for sharing.

Now, I have to ask... how long does it take to put all those ore cars on the track???

I love long trains, but the term "long" is relative.

For me on my layout, a long train is 10 cars. There is a reverse loop on each end of my 2 main lines and I have 031 curves and 031 postwar switches, so a locomotive on my layout will hit the caboose if I run more than 10 cars.

I'm sure some of you think that a 10 car train is a short train. Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I'm sure some of you think that a 10 car train is a short train. Arnold

Well.... yes, that would be a short train here.

I once had a Baldwin Model Locomotive Works that would pull a twenty-car passenger train around the club layout. No grades were involved so that was a help.

@PRRMP54 posted:

I once had a Baldwin Model Locomotive Works that would pull a twenty-car passenger train around the club layout. No grades were involved so that was a help.

I'm sure that locomotive was a stump puller as most of the Baldwin models were cast bronze weren't they?  Also the gearing in those was made for pulling.

I think any of my larger Legacy or MTH steamers would have no issues pulling 20 passenger cars.  I've pulled 70+ freight cars with the Vision Line Big Boy, and my previously posted 54 tank car train was pulled by my Legacy C&O Mallet, and it didn't break a sweat.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I love long trains, but the term "long" is relative.

I'm sure some of you think that a 10 car train is a short train. Arnold

Well, Arnold, as you point out, long is a relative term - it really depends on how long the cars are... My main line is 14’x16’ or so. Recently, I was running four 21” passenger cars with a pair of E7’s and that made for a 6 car train that was just over 9’ long!!!

@Apples55 posted:

Now, I have to ask... how long does it take to put all those ore cars on the track???

It didn't take very long as the owner had a helper putting them on the track.  He also packs them in a way that makes them easy to unpack and re-pack.

I didn't see how long it took to pack them back up, or if he had help in that aspect, but we had that layout down and packed in our vehicles and trailer in 1.5 hours, which is about normal for a layout that size.

Andy