NEWBIE!!!!! to ho Help

[mfs1220]

Just bought my first train set! (I'm over 70)
Ho Bachmann chatanooga 47x38 track.
Has 5 cars plus the engine.
My question is how many cars can
I add to this without messing things up?

[plas man]

hi mfs1220 , you could safely buy another couple of car's , also may be a turnout / switch point and a few extra bits of track , to make running and switching trains more interesting
whatever have fun 

PM

[rich1998]

Welcome.

Search You Tube for HO Layouts, maybe Bachmann layouts. Even a general Internet search for Bachmann Layouts, assuming Bachmann track or just HO layouts about your layout size.
You Tube will have many videos. The Internet should have just about all the info you need.
I am over 78 and have been searching the 'Net for some years out of curiosity.
There is an HO forum here also.

Rich

[Trainman203]

You don't have to own only the number of cars your engine can pull.  You can add or subtract any number of cars at will.  Join the rest of us model railroaders!  Lose rational thought when buying stuff!!!!! 😂😂

Many of us have large numbers of cars stored away that get swapped on and off the layout. My layout can comfortably handle 4 engines and around 30 cars.  Do you think that stopped me from buying equipment?!😱😂. Of course not!😂😂. I've lost count but I have about 80 engines and 1000 cars! 😂😂. On real railroads equipment comes and goes and I do that, changing out out at least 5 cars every couple of days.  Out of all those engines, there's about 15 steam engines I run a lot, no diesels allowed.  But did that stop me from buying diesels?  Of course not!  I have maybe 15 that I run on other layouts.

Your budget is your only constriction.  You only live once.  Get what you want !  In the immortal words of the late great Linn Westcott, "Model railroading is fun."

[rich1998]

The sharpness of the curves on your layout might determine how many and how long some cars can be.

Rich

[Trainman203]

You add cars until the engine can't pull anymore.  Then you take off cars until it can.  Addition and subtraction!  At least until we got "new math." 😂😂😂

[bbmiroku]

By new math, I suppose you mean calculations?  XD

[rich1998]

loll

Rich

[Maletrain]

The number of cars your engine can pull is easy to determine by simply adding cars and running the train around your layout.  When one more car causes the train to stall or derail by stringlining, you know that you have one too many of those cars to make it around your layout.  

But, not all cars are equal in their resistance to motion (drag/friction), and different track arrangements (curve radius, "S" curves, grades, etc., etc.) create different amounts of drag in various areas of the same layout, with the limiting configuration differing from layout to layout.  So, it is difficult to get exactly the right number for the maximum number of cars on your layout by asking for that information on the Internet.  At best,  you will get something like "My XYZ locomotive can pull 15 of my [Bachmann or Atlas or whoever's] hopper cars up my 2.1% grade." But, your results might be substantially different with different cars and a different curvature, even on the same grade.

One other point that is important: if you run your train for an extended period of time with the maximum number of cars that can make it around your layout, you will probably have the traction tires come off you locomotive, if it has them.  The problem is that you are most likely having the locomotive's wheels slip on at least one part of your layout, and maybe a lot of your layout if it is flat and has large curves.  The train keeps moving, so you need to try to watch for the wheels to slip.  That is a lot easier to do with steam locomotives than diesels, because you can watch the valve gear moving on the steamers. And, many diesels don't have traction tires, plus they are easier to replace on the diesels that do have them, compared to replacing them on steamers.

[Len]

A couple of things to consider:

The maximum number of cars that look right behind your loco will likely be less than the maxium number your locomotive can pull.

The maximum number of cars the prototype of a particular loco could pull is generally less than an HO model of that loco can handle.

Len

[Trainman203]

New math analysis of issue.

Where:

Set A = cars provided in train set.
Set B = extra cars on hand.
Set C , the actual maximum number of cars possible, is the "intersection of Set A and Set B"

HAWHAWHAW!!!!!! 😂😂😂😂😂.

Or!  In simple 7th grade algebra!  If A = total number of cars that can be pulled , and B = number of cars that came with the train set, then C = number of extra cars that can be added to the train.  A - B = C!   HAWHAWHAW!!!!

[Terry Toenges]

Or the relative percentage of horsepower of the model loco combined with the diameter of it's drivers combined with it's tractive force combined with the strength of it's coupler combined with the degree of rolling resistance of each car combined with the radius of your sharpest curve plus some things I'm probably leaving out should tell you how many cars you can pull.

[jward]

All of y'all  have failed to mention that upgrades drastically affect pulling power. This is one very good reason to make sure any built on is perfectly level.

For example, if you use the Bachmann trestle set as configured, your locomotive will pull less than ten percent on the upgrade what it will pull on the level.

[Trainman203]

Of course.  Grades are not relevant to this particular conversation.  The OP said he had an oval on plywood.