Silly Question, But I have My Reasons

[rbrpguy]

Hi Ya'll! Anybody have any Idea what the lightest (weight) Bachmann locomotive/tender is? My Cow Catcher locomotive/tender weighs in over 7 pounds. If you know, I appreciate the feedback. Thanks!

[Greg Elmassian]

Well, I thought the "Big Hauler" was pretty light... but lightest is the "Little Big Hauler" tender



Available? Well, that may be another kettle of fish...

Greg

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Well the Little Big Hauler loco and tender is available but only in a set.  Not sure it matters but the LBH tender is a four wheel tender.  The Big Hauler 4-6-0  including tender might be the lightest 8 wheel tender but I think it could be the Columbia loco and tender.  If you want to go crazy it might be the 3 truck shay tender, and oh I forgot about the 2-6-0 industrial locomotive & tender.

I am not willing to go on a weighing spree to find out though LOL! 

Anyone willing to go on a weighing spree, have at it and let us know what you find.

Why not share your reasons?

Have fun,

Loco Bill

[rbrpguy]

Hi Bill! Reason is I am working on an experimental suspended track system and even though I am designing it to be strong, I would like to keep the weight down to help accommodate speed, additional cars, scenery etc. Remember, I am a novice at model railroading but was a prototype model maker for 42 years(retired), so my mind tends to drift to the seemingly impossible, to the probable, to the doable and done.   Thanks for the recommendations, I will definitely look into them all!

Thank you as well Greg Elmassian! I appreciate the picture, I didn't even know there were Lil' Big Haulers!

[Greg Elmassian]

Yep, and as bill says you need the set to get it.

BUT!!!!

A suspended system needs to be DEAD RELIABLE, and super light cars and locos are no good. The worst case for too light is (funny you are asking) the TENDER... all the pulling force from the loco goes "through" the tender, and often people need to have a reasonable weight in the tender to keep it from derailing.

Get a good reliable loco, and put ball bearing wheels on the rolling stock (including the tender if you can) and then you will be miles ahead in reliability AND longer life of the loco drivetrain AND the wheels and the track.

Get the wheels with a ball bearing in BOTH wheels on the axle.

Greg

[RailMan63]

 Have to totally agree with Greg on this one.
I've seen for myself just how big problem light weight cars can be.
For example:
A light weight car(think gondolas, and flat cars with no loads ,and especially if they have plastic wheels on them(plastic wheel sets are very light!), will often derail no matter where they're placed on your train when under load.
My solution to that was to add quality metal wheels.
The extra weight was more than enough to solve the weight problem for me.
So, Greg is spot on when he advises you to think more weight in the cars in order to avoid a disastrous derailment especially on a suspended rail line.
Mike.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Having had some experience maintaining a suspended layout for a children's hospital, track will wear heavily depending on use. The track on the layout(brass) wore badly using metal wheels.  A push button allowed the kids to start the train.  the button was functional for about 10 hours per day. We estimate actual running was 3 to 4 hours per day. It was double track so the button started two trains.  The hospital controlled our access.  The layout used diesels, primarily the LGB F7 and various USAT GP-7, GP-30. Steam locomotives had been tried, but were not reliable enough and wheel replacement very expensive. We had to replace the wheels on the diesel locomotives about every four months.  and curved track every six months.  I wish I had saved pictures of the locomotive wheels with groves so deep that they ended up derailing, and shutting down the layout. Same true with rolling stock metal wheels.  Sometimes we would find the curved track outer rail worn paper thin with the train derailed on it. Sometimes we found a locomotive stalled but with the wheels running when the button was pushed. This ground the rails down to the ties.  We ended up switching to plastic wheels which helped a great deal with track wear, and were cheap to replace compared to metal wheels.  Trains were usually the loco, 4 to five cars(All tank cars, boxcars or stock cars) and a caboose. Since most members of our club converted to metal wheels, we had plenty of plastic wheels donated. 

I mention this for info and to show how extensive running can be tough on an overhead layout. Maintenance on overhead layouts can be difficult when working on ladders to change out track and retrieve derailed trains. 

So enough of my two cents. Keep it simple, minimize running time, never leave it un-atteneded and have fun.

Bill

[rbrpguy]

Thanks to you all! Your input and advice is most welcome and valuable especially to us novice train enthusiasts!

[Loco Bill Canelos]

You are most welcome, and I did fail to mention your 4-6-0 locomotive from the Cowcatcher set has the latest version 5 chassis.  This chassis has proven to be extremely reliable and with proper care and maintenance can be expected to be long lasting.  It should also work very well on your layout. The key to any large scale layout enjoyment is the track. You will have a flat layout and this is an advantage to running.  Time spent making sure track connections are tight and properly aligned with absolutely no kinks will be critical to your enjoyment.  I always recommend using rail clamps, this especially true on a suspended  layout. Also remember that the little power supply that came with your set is only 1 AMP. If your suspended layout will be considerably longer than the track that came with the set and you add more cars to your train I would recommend getting a 5 AMP power supply and controller. The steel alloy track that came with your set is hollow and subject to rust and will wear quickly.  Brass or Stainless Steel track is a must.  in your design efforts if it is at all possible try to use wider radius curves than the curve track in your set. While track cleaning is always a less enjoyable part of model railroading it is a must For reliable running.  As a result I always recommend stainless steel track for great conductivity and needing less cleaning than brass track.

Remember there are also no silly, dumb or stupid questions just questions.  Most of the members of this forum are more than happy to respond to newcomers questions. 

Having passed on my old man's advice, I would love to see how your layout progresses and especially love to see how you as a model maker will integrate scenery.

Happy Railroading. 

Bill