# Whats your best pullin' Diesel?



## Box Car Steve (Feb 21, 2011)

I've collected several diesel engines and thus far my CF diesel can pull 20 rolling stock box cars....... But my Baltimore & Ohio Athern can pull 25 rolling stock. Which engines do you have that can pull more then 20 rolling stock? Keep umm tight!


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

One of my Athearn DD-40 can pull 20 cars on my layout. That is the limit though since there is a 3% grade to climb. It takes all it has to climb that. Running both of the Athearn DD-40 together makes it climb much better .


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

That would be my Athearn BB DD-40's twin motors 4 flywheels and 8 pulling axles, 40+ cars. But I usually run them in a consist of 5 or 9 and that pulls more than 150+ cars.
Pulling ability really depends on your curves my average is 44 inch radius curves min. and long straits!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, I have an O-Scale K-Line ABA with six motors, I don't know how many cars it can pull, but it pulls my trigger pull scale to 8#, more than I've ever seen by a bunch!


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## concretepumper (Jan 2, 2011)

My best puller was recently RAOKed to me by another member here who knows a little about pulling power than me!  It is a Atlas Union Pacific.

I have ran it up my little Helix with 20 cars super slow 1/4 throttle and it did it with ease! Who knows what this little guy could pull?  

Here's a pic because I don't know any details about it really. All I know is I really like it!


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## Bman (Aug 24, 2010)

So, after reading this thread just for fun I gave the old C&NW Alco C425 a little workout. This was my very first engine I every got, I was 9 years old at the time when my parents bought it for me in 1986. I have 22'' radius curves that go into a 3% grade that transitions into a 4% grade up to my bridge over the river. She pulled 23 cars all by herself, I think I might be able to get 24 or maybe even 25 out of her but she was working pretty hard and I decided to stop at 23. Love that ol' engine :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Wow!
Can't wait to show this thread to the Mrs. 
She regularly gives me grief because I'm pulling 13 or 14 cars on the level.
She claims I'm gonna "burn up my engine" if I don't shorten the train.:thumbsdown:
I think long trains look pretty cool so I just keep adding cars.
Thanks for the true skivvy guys. :thumbsup:
Bob


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'm going to do a lash-up of two DASH-8 engines, that'll give me four motors and sixteen driving wheels. Should give the K-Line a run for it's money.


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## jzrouterman (Nov 27, 2010)

Box Car Steve said:


> Which engines do you have that can pull more then 20 rolling stock? QUOTE]
> 
> My best pulling engines are my two Atlas GP38s. Exactly how many either one of these could pull, I don't know because I don't have a big enough layout to find out. Any engine though, no matter how long a train it can pull, can be made to pull an even longer one, up to 20% longer. The secret is not in the engine however, but rather in the cars themselves.
> 
> ...


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

I would have to say my best pulling locomotive would have to be my Bachmann GP38 engine i got from my Silver Streak train set. It is not the most detailed, not to great at slow speeds, just now DCC, uses traction tires but my god can this thing pull. I have never put it to the test but this thing will derail itself before it will slip. As a single engine it would have to be my best puller with the most power thanks to those traction tires that don't harm its electrical pick-up.

Second would be my newly upgraded to DCC+sound Bachmann SD40-2 also a very powerful puller.

The Bachmann engines may not be the most detailed,smoothest runners, or most up to date but when it comes to pulling power they are far up there. IHC and Rivarossi makes some very good pulling steam engines as well but I still think the Bachmanns can pull an awful lot before slipping.


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## concretepumper (Jan 2, 2011)

gc53dfgc said:


> I would have to say my best pulling locomotive would have to be my Bachmann GP38 engine i got from my Silver Streak train set. It is not the most detailed, not to great at slow speeds, just now DCC, uses traction tires but my god can this thing pull. I have never put it to the test but this thing will derail itself before it will slip. As a single engine it would have to be my best puller with the most power thanks to those traction tires that don't harm its electrical pick-up.
> 
> Second would be my newly upgraded to DCC+sound Bachmann SD40-2 also a very powerful puller.
> 
> The Bachmann engines may not be the most detailed,smoothest runners, or most up to date but when it comes to pulling power they are far up there. IHC and Rivarossi makes some very good pulling steam engines as well but I still think the Bachmanns can pull an awful lot before slipping.


I have a Bachmann that is the same way. Only problem is it has to be wound up full throttle!  My new little Atlas pictured above will do the same at a Turtles pace if I want it to. I only recently experienced the difference! The Bachmann will look good up on a Shelf!


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## MTHACEFAN (Mar 9, 2011)

i last month got an mth SD70ACE my all time favorite loco i have it with proto 3 sound it is BNSF #9371 i love it it is such a power full loco it just drags my athearn geneses mp 15 ace across the layout the mth is a nice loco the automatic cupplers are great people say they hate them i love them and people are always saying u cant consist them with any thing other than mth locos but i found its wrong i can link the ad70ace to my athearn mp15ace and it works fine but i am using the digi trax zepher but all and all great loco


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

MTHACEFAN said:


> i last month got an mth SD70ACE my all time favorite loco i have it with proto 3 sound it is BNSF #9371 i love it it is such a power full loco it just drags my athearn geneses mp 15 ace across the layout the mth is a nice loco the automatic cupplers are great people say they hate them i love them and people are always saying u cant consist them with any thing other than mth locos but i found its wrong i can link the ad70ace to my athearn mp15ace and it works fine but i am using the digi trax zepher but all and all great loco


What exactly is a mp 15 ace

Are you refering to an MP15AC switcher engine, or a SD70 ACE?


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## cabledawg (Nov 30, 2010)

My Bachmann F7 can pull everything I have (16 cars) but not very fast. It isnt slipping, it's just slow. It wont even start to roll until 50% on the throttle where by about 20% the other locos are already moving. I ust need to tweak the CV's some more.

On a side note, my Bachmann Thomas cant pull nothing! Maxed out at two cars and they have to be fairly light. He's got the steam, but the little wheels just spin


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

cabledawg said:


> On a side note, my Bachmann Thomas cant pull nothing! Maxed out at two cars and they have to be fairly light. He's got the steam, but the little wheels just spin


Time to try some Bullfrog Snot.


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## cabledawg (Nov 30, 2010)

I've seen that advertised. How does it work and will it mess up the other locos?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

It's really just some thin rubber coating for some of the driving wheels to increase traction. Similar in concept to traction tires. You can read all about it on their site.

http://www.bullfrogsnot.com/


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## concretepumper (Jan 2, 2011)

Kinda like Belt dressing?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Yep, it's probably a little like belt dressing.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Time to try some Bullfrog Snot.


I advise against using Bullfrog Snot or traction tires on locomotives. The problem is that it does what it claims by stopping the wheels from loosing traction. This is a big issue when it comes to protecting you loco's drive train. Under load if the loco is stressed to much the drive line will break at the weakest point. Normally the weakest point is the steel wheels on the steel track, thus what is effectively broken is the tractive connection between the wheels and the track. Simple fix for this is to remove a few cars. With the snot or traction tires on the weakest link may become the gears in the engine. There is no simple fix to that. 

If you need to ad tractive force to a locomotive try adding weight, preferably over the drive wheels. This will increase the pulling ability of the loco and allow the wheels to slip if there is to much stress.

As for Thomas, you are right that he cannot pull much. Surprisingly though he can pull Annie and Clarabell up a 3% grade without slowing. Emily on the other hand can pull more on a flat but cannot make it up a grade pulling much of anything. I think that has to do with the wheel configuration in addition to the light weight.


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## Nolackofwanna (Mar 10, 2011)

Hi
So far my best pulling loco is an early Mantua Tyco F9 (around a '66 vintage) this things amazing....35 cars no sweat!


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

My Atlas Rio Grande SD40 and CP GP38 pull 16-20 cars at a time and because they are better geared they could pull more. I agree with Tkruger...added weight not Traction tires or BF snot will better amplify the pulling power of a Loco with less stress on the drive gears. It may run slower but it will pull heavier payloads. Bachmann trains are higher geared and have a tendancy to slip under stress.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'm somewhat confused about the issue of weight vs. other forms of increasing traction. If you add more weight to increase traction, thus allowing you to pull more cars, you're putting the same strain on the gears as if you did it with traction tires or other means, given the same load. It's pretty hard to buy any new O-scale engines that don't include traction tires nowadays.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I'm somewhat confused about the issue of weight vs. other forms of increasing traction. If you add more weight to increase traction, thus allowing you to pull more cars, you're putting the same strain on the gears as if you did it with traction tires or other means, given the same load. It's pretty hard to buy any new O-scale engines that don't include traction tires nowadays.


With HO adding weight will still allow the wheels to slip when the locomotive is pulling too much. When traction tires are added to a locomotive that they were not designed to be used on then the wheels will never slip. The smaller gears used in the HO locos will break before wheels with traction tires can slip.

On many of the entry level HO locos traction tires are used as a substitue for weight. Most of these locos can get away with safely using the traction tires because the motors that are in them are not strong enough to snap a gear like in the better locomotives.

Just to let you know this is not only from what I have been told but from experience.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, I've seen traction tires slip on O-scale stuff, so they're not foolproof.  Don't have enough experience with HO to know what will happen there. Most of my O-scale engines have metal gears, so I'm guessing they'll stand up to anything the motor can dish out.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Weight Distrabution!*

You are centralizing the weight over the drive wheels which will obviously make the loco move slower,work harder but with less strain on the smaller gears. Its kinda like pushme- pullya......there is more pressure to the track with the weight and less pull from the cars on end.....physics.


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## Box Car Steve (Feb 21, 2011)

*pulling power*

I'm sure learning alot on this forum! hope to have my second board built saturday! So much to learn.................. also found out my Mantua/ Tyco will pull 23 cars....


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