How to Add Weight to Your Freight Cars
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- I am upgrading the freight cars on my N-scale model railroad. In this video, I show you how I am adding weight to them. I feel that adding weight to them reduces the likelihood of derailments. It reduces the bouncy or jerky movements of the cars. And it helps create the illusion that the cars are massive and heavy, just like real freight cars. Why might you want to upgrade your freight cars, as I am doing? Very simply: to make them run better and look more realistic. Let me show you how I'm doing it.
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Some great tips there Roy. Adding weight is something I need to do one of these days to all my cars
Thanks, William. I hear you. I've been thinking about adding weight to my freight cars for a long time, but other tasks always took precedence. It was Robert Browning's gift of older freight cars that impelled me to get started on it. Never a dull moment in model railroading. ...Roy
Roy good point, don't forget you can add weight to the locomotives too to help them pull better too. Ken Peterson last week they were using low temp metal in any space you can. This is a big help also...👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks, Jack! I am just now learning about two other products that might be especially useful for those hard-to-weight cars: Liquid Gravity and tungsten putty. I may need to do a follow-up after trying them out. ...Roy
Hi Roy great video on this subject . That chart you used is right up my alley for easy no math involved in figuring out the weight's . Thanks for sharing the link . Take care
Thanks, Jerry. Isn't it great how much stuff is available to help us in the hobby?! ...Roy
I would suggest replacing lead with tungsten, for two reasons. First, tungsten is not toxic, while lead is. Second, tungsten is denser than lead, so you need less of it to reach the desired weight. Model Railroad Hobbyist had an article about this in an issue last year. Tungsten is available in various configurations, including stick-on weights and BBs.
Thanks, James. I've been thinking about trying tungsten products. I have to re-investigate it and then give it a try. Maybe I'll be able to do a follow-up about it. I appreciate the reminder. ...Roy
Great video Roy! I am going to have to look for the lead tape. That would really help on the flat and open cars! - Jason
Thanks, Jason. The lead tape is very easy to use. The only trick is knowing how much tape you need to use to add up to the desired weight. ...Roy
Great info Roy! I have never seen that scale before. Thanks for sharing. Dave
Thanks, Dave. A pleasure. ...Roy
Another great video Roy. Please keep them coming....
Absolutely, Mike. I'm already working on the next one. ...Roy
Great informative video Roy. I have left over pieces of plastic drinking straws from when I was building my first 4 water towers. I put them in one of my empty gondola cars. I also have some mechanical pencil leads that I could used in an empty gondola which can be a partial load & added weight.
Thanks, Christopher. That's a great idea. ...Roy
Great video Roy. Lots of great info. Thanks.
Thanks, Norman. It was fun to put the video together. ...Roy
Hi Roy. Thank you for the great tutorial. In my opinion, you may want to stay away from the BB'S in your tank cars unless you were gluing them down. To get an even distribution of weight use sand. Take care. Sean.
Absolutely, Sean. I didn't really mention this in the video, but the BBs definitely need to be glued down, regardless of the type of car they are used in. ...Roy
Great Tips Roy! Now I’m gonna start popping (or attempt) to pop the ends of my tankers, I hope they come off that would make my life easier. LOL
Thanks, Ronald. Indeed, it would be great if the ends popped off of all tank cars. ...Roy
When I was a kid I was into BB guns so I used steel BB's to add weight to hopper and coal cars , my Dad also had a bunch of steel nuts on his work bench which also work on every other type. An easy formula to remember is HO = .5 oz per in, N = .25 oz per in
Great video. I am currently converting a few Tyco rolling stock, and weight is an issue (among other things). I agree that, other than boxcars, other rolling stock can be quite tricky to add weight. Happy Modeling Roy!
Thanks, Matthew. I am now learning about two more products that might be useful for hard-to-weight rolling stock. The two are Liquid Gravity and tungsten putty. I may do an update after trying them. ...Roy
i like the cheaters chart you show. that makes it super easy.
I see you have the big blow out and making her earn her keep.
some of my tank cars, I am not even sure how to open them up to add weight
Sparky, I consistently use the cheaters chart myself, to avoid having to do all of that math. It's so much easier. Of course, the chart is based on the recommended NMRA practices. Yep, I'm loving the Big Blow, and run it whenever I get a chance, which unfortunately isn't as often as I'd like. As for tank cars, my opinion is that all manufacturers should make them so that they open, but apparently most of them don't. ...Roy
Hi Roy. A great video indeed. Many thanks for all the helpful information and useful tips that you shared. Looking forward to the next videos in this series. Cheers, Brad.
Thanks, Brad. It's always a pleasure to share the hobby with you. Now it's time for me to get busy on the next video in the series about trucks and couplers and maybe metal wheels, too. ...Roy
Good tips, Roy. Thanks!
Thanks, Thom. It's a pleasure. ...Roy
This is a very good video Roy, no matter what scale someone models!!
Makes for smoother operations and more fun!
Thanks for sharing Roy!
Muse
Thanks, David. I model in N scale, but I hope the video will be useful to modelers in all scales. ...Roy
thanks Roy, I just got my new scale on Sat. I can easily do my upgrades in my spare time.
So true, Craig. Freight car upgrades is a life-long task, as we continue to add to our fleets indefinitely and as we finally get around to doing rolling stock that we had for a long time. ...Roy
@@n-scaleunionpacificevansto6569 I will have to do some research on passenger cars, however, I usually don't have any trouble with my Katos. A couple of the other brands need help.
Since you are on the subject of adding weight to cars, you should do a survey on how many people add weight to the pilot trucks of their steam engines. Pilot trucks are very light and sometimes will pop up/bounce over the frog or appear to pick a switch. I add moldable weight to my On30 pilot trucks to keep those down on the rails. I have flatten small fishing line weights and glued those in place on my N scale steam engines. The weights added to the pilot truck do help the steam engines track better through turnouts and crossovers.
Deluxe Materials markets a bottle of Liquid Gravity that can be poured into the chassis frame of flat cars and gondolas. It is sold on Amazon. You can flip the car over to add the fine pellet weight and glue it into place. When the flatcar or gondola is on the track you can't see the weights. Some added extra weight is better than no added weight.
Good suggestion, my friend. Those pilot trucks can definitely be a problem. I know from experience. Perhaps we'll get to locomotives later on. First, we'll be discussing freight cars for the next few episodes. ...Roy
@@n-scaleunionpacificevansto6569 Take a look at the Liquid Gravity. It is tiny balls of metal. You can use any CA to hold it in place. Check out this video ua-cam.com/video/YtfsWZ7LnvU/v-deo.html and then look under one of your gondolas or flatcars think about where you can put this product.
@@dkaustin98 Liquid Gravity is a product that I somehow missed in my previous investigations. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I've begun to look at it, and it sounds ideal for adding weight to flat cars, gondolas, and such. I'm going to order it from Amazon and try it out. I think I will then try to do a follow-up, in which I can identify Liquid Gravity and other products that I didn't mention in today's video. ...Roy
Interesting as always great video👍keep up the great work!
Thanks, Christopher. It's always a pleasure. ...Roy
Thanks for the tips Roy! I've ordered some of the products you shared, so I can use them on my underweight cars.
Roy, I'm now learning about some other products that might work well, especially for difficult-to-weight cars. These products are Liquid Gravity and tungsten putty. I'm going to try them out. Maybe I will need to do a follow-up video. ...RoyS
Roy, Good stuff. Regards Stephen.
Thanks, Stephen. It's always a pleasure. ...Roy
Nice video Mr. Roy Good info👍😉
Thanks, Kevin. It's a pleasure to share these techniques. ...Roy
Great tips there Roy
Thanks, my friend. It's a pleasure to share the hobby with you. ...Roy
hi Roy..i use the BB's 2when i weight my hoppers... great tutorial ... thx 4 sharing.. vinny
Thanks, Vinny. Yes, my use of BBs was inspired by your video about using them. ...Roy
Hey Roy! Thanks for addressing this weighty subject. Some very useful tips!
Thanks, Collin. Ha! "Weighty subject!" I love it. LOL! ...Roy
Wow! That mid and end DPU consist looked great! How stable was the train around the track with a total of four powered locomotives? This is what I want to do with my future layout! Cheers! 👍👍
Thanks, Piero. It was surprisingly stable. No derailments. A big thanks to Kato Unitrack. ...Roy
Roy, thanks for the very interesting and informative video.
Rich
My pleasure, Rich. It's always a pleasure to share the hobby with you. ...Roy
Thanks for sharing the Wesley template, Roy. I’ll start getting the weights adjusted with my railcars.
I think you will find that it makes a big difference in how well your cars run, Drew.
@@n-scaleunionpacificevansto6569 Cool.
Love these videos
Thanks, Amanda. It's a pleasure to share the hobby with you. ...Roy
Good Tips Roy. Thanks
Thanks for the info.
Stephen, it's always a pleasure to share the hobby with you. ...Roy
Today I'm running 50-60 car mixed frieght with 5 of those 73' ft refrigerator boxcars up front. Boom, boom I hear over the switch. The couplers are dropping making a very cool sound. HO scale of course.
I think you need extra weight for just the 1st cars like 5 or so on longer trains.
Great video Roy! Will definitely be trying these methods to weigh down my rolling stock
Thanks, my friend. One of the brst things about model railroading is how we get to share our methods and learn new techniques from each other. ...Roy
Hello Roy, thank for this video and that helped me to resolve my newly arrived Scaletrains auto rack derailment (over the Kato double crossovers) issue.
I've followed your recommendation and using golf lead tapes to add weight onto the cars. I'm now in the process of testing the optimum weight ...the heaviest are at 64gms (those at the front) and now working on those in the middle front at 60gms. I'm waiting for the next batch of taps' arrival before keep going.
Thanks for making this video and we'll talk soon.
All the best
Louis
Thanks for your very kind comment, Louis. It's a real pleasure to share my thoughts about adding weight to cars with you. ...Roy
Thank you Roy for the info. I found this video very helpful and thank you for the link, Chris
BTW I use Tungsten putty, a little pricey but it goes a long way, it’s heavier than lead.
I'm going to try it, Ronald. ...Roy
Fishing weights are another to add to your list. Pennies is not a bad idea. I could cut them down to fit N Scale. Shhhh don't tell the gov'ment I defaced their precious penny.
The railroad police might come looking for you, Nick. LOL. ...Roy
Hi Roy. I have used an idea which has worked ok for me so far. I remove the kingpins and replace them with a small metal screw. It adds a little weight and maybe I'm imagining it, but it offers a more stable mounting for the wheel assembly? A longer screw adds more weight and a very short one very little. I use different lengths depending on how light the car is and what I think I need to add. Puts the weight right over the wheels which is the best place for it. Darrell (New Zealand)
That's interesting, Darrell. It sounds like a good idea. Thanks for sharing this tip. ...Roy
Thanks!
I'm starting early with my HO Scale equipment. I'm not looking forward to swapping out all of my N Scale stuff to metal wheels. I have a LOT of N Scale packed away in boxes and it's going to be time consuming and expensive but worth it in the end.
You are so right, my friend. It takes time and costs money to swap out your plastic wheels for metal wheels. Even so, I feel that this investment is well worth it. ...Roy
Thanks Roy, I've been having issues with derailments around curves and this might rectify that issue. Also when backing up a string of cars without an engine at the rear.
Yes, indeed, Mark. Underweight cars might just be the cause of your derailments. ...Roy
Great tips, Roy!
Thanks, my friend. It's a pleasure to share the hobby with you. ...Roy
Nice video looking forward to video on metal wheels!
Thanks, Jason. Metal wheels - coming soon. ...Roy
Roy, it's been my experience that the entire train seems to track better when the cars are weighted.. eliminating much of that jerky pulsating motion so often seen when they are too light.
That's been my experience, too, my friend. It makes a big difference. ...Roy
I agree 0.1 over for weight
Thanks, Allen. Yes, 0.1 over seems to work best. ...Roy
I had a bit of a laugh when you started to talk about 'doing the math'. Since most of us model railroaders are not American, we have to do some math anyway, since we don't weigh our cars/wagons in ounces... 😉
You make an excellent point, Robert. In fact, I understand that it's possible to be much more precise when measuring in grams instead of ounces. I just went with what I know best. I really appreciate your comment. ...Roy
MTY flat cars and hoppers are the most difficult to add weight.
Those types of cars are definitely difficult to add weight to, my friend. Right now I'm studying and will order some products that I haven't used yet, including tungsten putty and Liquid Gravity. These may help in weighting those difficult cars. I may need to do a follow-up to today's video. ...Roy
@@n-scaleunionpacificevansto6569 I have used tungsten putty before in cavities in N scale locos before and it works o.k. Just make sure it doesnt get near the gears. In the pasted I have also used lead shot and glued them down with the blue label Loc-Tite gel CA glue. Then I paint the shot black in order to hide them if any of them are visible underneath the cars.
I am new to the hobby. My concern is...
If every car is 1oz, 16 cars will be 1lb.
Isn't a pound a lot for these little locomotives to pull? And you may run more than 16 cars. That wieght can add up fast.
Does nmrs make scale weight chart for o gauge rolling stock
Would adding glue work, it dries clear? Good video!
Not heavy enough.
Did I hear a Back to the Future reference?
Spanky, I'm not sure I understand, but thanks for commenting. ...Roy
Can't have too many engines.
As they say, Bob, there's no such thing as "too many." ...Roy
Fans of the UP and BNSF know that when in doubt, the answer is always to add power.
@@thomasboese3793 Very true, Thomas. ...Roy
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