# Double Heading Diesels



## BobS (Jun 18, 2015)

Is it feasible to double head diesel locomotives in N Scale? I was thinking about running two Kato #176-9241 EMD SDP40F Type IVb, BNSF Maersk #6976 locos at the head of a freight train that I have put together. I'm not sure if I can run two of the same locos together on DC or not. I am using an MRC Tech7 780 power supply to power the track.

I believe that one loco alone will have enough power and weight to pull the load, but I thought it would look way better to have two at the head end.

Any thoughts?


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## rrjim1 (Mar 12, 2015)

Put the two locos on your track a few inches apart and run them. If they stay the few inches apart at least for several feet they should run together. If you have one that is slightly faster than the other put it in the front.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Yes it is.*



BobS said:


> Is it feasible to double head diesel locomotives in N Scale? I was thinking about running two Kato #176-9241 EMD SDP40F Type IVb, BNSF Maersk #6976 locos at the head of a freight train that I have put together. I'm not sure if I can run two of the same locos together on DC or not. I am using an MRC Tech7 780 power supply to power the track.
> 
> I believe that one loco alone will have enough power and weight to pull the load, but I thought it would look way better to have two at the head end.
> 
> Any thoughts?


BobS;

Certainly you can run double head diesels in N-scale, just as you can in any scale. I have run triple diesels and seen N-scale trains running with more locos. The only problem would be exceeding the maximum amperage of your power pack. With N-scale locos drawing about 1/2 amp each. Your power pack can certainly handle multiple locos.

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

It's fairly important to have the speed of your
consisted locos to be as close to match as possible.

If yours are close when you do the suggested speed
test but not really the same, put the faster one in
the lead. This should eliminate much of the jerking
and bobbing.

Don

Don


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## 89Suburban (Jan 4, 2017)

DonR said:


> It's fairly important to have the speed of your
> consisted locos to be as close to match as possible.
> 
> If yours are close when you do the suggested speed
> ...


Yes faster and lighter engines in the front, slower heavier towards the rear. Always worked for me on my N's. N's are real picky too, some run better in one direction than the other in my exp. Once I figure out their nuances and personalities I consist them accordingly.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Advantage*



89Suburban said:


> Yes faster and lighter engines in the front, slower heavier towards the rear. Always worked for me on my N's. N's are real picky too, some run better in one direction than the other in my exp. Once I figure out their nuances and personalities I consist them accordingly.


 This is one of the many advantages DCC offers. As 89Suburban says, many model locos have slightly different speeds. Also he is correct about some running better in one direction than the other. Murphy's law seems to dictate that model steam locomotives always run better backwards than forward! :laugh:
The consisting feature of DCC can let you fine tune the speed of any locomotive to match that of the other locos in the consist. Nice feature, but there's nothing similar in DC operation.

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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