# Car Weight ?



## zeethtrains (Jan 2, 2016)

Have I got this weight thing correct ? A 70 foot passenger car (9 1/2 inches long) should weigh 5 3/4 ounces ?


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Assuming we're talking about HO, the NMRA standard is 1 oz plus 0.5 oz per inch of car length. So yes, 5-3/4 oz is the recommended weight.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

You can find the answers to all of your
car weight questions at NMRA.

http://www.nmra.org/beginner/weight

Don


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## zeethtrains (Jan 2, 2016)

*thanks*

Thanks for the answers !


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## ggnlars (Aug 6, 2013)

Lots of people saying that more than the RP is better. Some double it, some increase it by 50%. For mostly level track, more weight improves operations.
Larry
www.llxlocomotives.com


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

ggnlars said:


> Lots of people saying that more than the RP is better. Some double it, some increase it by 50%. For mostly level track, more weight improves operations.
> Larry
> www.llxlocomotives.com


But, if you have grades, more weight will shorten the maximum length of your trains. I suggest that you try the recommended weight first and see if you need more. But keep in mind that most derailments are NOT caused by inadequate weight. The most common causes are track issues and issues with wheels and trucks.


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## Stultus (Mar 24, 2014)

/this is not a bookmark
//oh no, not at all
///a question I was about to ask too


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## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

MtRR75 said:


> But, if you have grades, more weight will shorten the maximum length of your trains. I suggest that you try the recommended weight first and see if you need more. But keep in mind that most derailments are NOT caused by inadequate weight. The most common causes are track issues and issues with wheels and trucks.


*Consistent* weight is best, or lightweight cars at the front of a heavy train could definitely cause issues by being pulled off the tracks. The NMRA RP is one good "standard" to go by, but you can use a lighter or heavier "standard" for your own fleet.

Most open cars (gondolas, flatcars, hoppers) can be quite difficult to get up to the full NMRA weight sometimes.


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

MtRR75 said:


> But, if you have grades, more weight will shorten the maximum length of your trains. I suggest that you try the recommended weight first and see if you need more. But keep in mind that most derailments are NOT caused by inadequate weight. The most common causes are track issues and issues with wheels and trucks.


Excellent advice!
Weight is really only part of the equation for any rolling stock. If you don't have your couplers, wheels, truck pins or screws, bolsters, rolling resistance correct,and even whether the car sits level, your not ready to start dealing with weight
I put mine in strings of 5, and run them around the layout going through crossovers and different turnouts to weed out the trouble makers.
That gives me a good starting point.


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

cv_acr said:


> Most open cars (gondolas, flatcars, hoppers) can be quite difficult to get up to the full NMRA weight sometimes.


...Unless you make a custom load to get them up to weight.


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## dinwitty (Oct 29, 2015)

our club used 1oz per 10 foot of car (HO feet), would put it 7 oz. The rule is better trackability, so its heavier than the NMRA standards.


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## mjrfd99 (Jan 5, 2016)

MtRR75 said:


> ...Unless you make a custom load to get them up to weight.


That's half the fun - coming up with interesting loads adds to the overall look. We have a heavy equipment dealer on our layout- machines delivered on their own siding. Lots of CATs on flats here


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Weight down low*



zeethtrains said:


> Have I got this weight thing correct ? A 70 foot passenger car (9 1/2 inches long) should weigh 5 3/4 ounces ?


 zeethtrains;

As said, check the wheels, track etc. first. That's all excellent advise. When you do get down to car weight, It's most effective when the weight is mounted as low on the car as possible. My models are N scale, which makes weight even more of a challenge than in larger scales. There often is no convenient place to hide the extra weight. Weight mounted higher up tends to make the car top heavy and therefore less stable, than weight mounted low. Assuming equal overall weight, a flat car will stay on the track better than a box car when launched fast, by hand, through a curve. why? Lower center of gravity. The same thing happens, in a more subtle fashion, when the cars are pulled by a locomotive. If the wheels are correctly gauged on all cars, you may find that longer, and higher cars tend to derail more than their low-slung brethren. This to is caused by a higher center of gravity.
So what do we do about it? Try to add as much weight as you can cram in to the center sill, and floor of each car. Back in the day, when moldable lead was available, this was easy. Now, our esteemed nanny government has decided to outlaw this product, in order to protect us from ourselves. You can mount thick brass strip, or other weight* in a center sill, and flat brass, or steel weights* on the floor. Headless(finish) nails*,or solder(cold, un-melted) can also be glued into a center sill. By all means, replace plastic wheels with metal ones. Since you are using HO scale, you may want to use metal trucks, like those available from Kadee. Sadly,(for me) metal trucks are not available in N scale. If the appearance of a car's axles does not bother you, you can also coil some solder around them to add weight where it will do the most good.
In some cases(flat cars and gondolas) I've made brass floors, or even scratch built all brass bodies, to get the car weight up to NMRA recommendations. Weighted loads, as suggested, are also useful, even though most of the weight is high mounted, it's better than an under weight car.

Good luck;

Traction Fan
* If you plan to use uncoupling magnets, on, or under the track, avoid steel weights. They will tend to move the car toward the magnet, and interfere with uncoupling. Note: Most factory installed floor weights are steel. You can test with a small magnet, and replace them with non magnetic weights if you want to.


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## SBRacing (Mar 11, 2015)

So my question is weighting intermodals. 99% of them are loaded so who do I weather container it's self do I stick with NMRA formula, bc if I do then not all IMs will have weight unless I put say 3.5 Oz in each container so they will combine to 7 oz?


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

traction fan said:


> * If you plan to use uncoupling magnets, on, or under the track, avoid steel weights. They will tend to move the car toward the magnet, and interfere with uncoupling. Note: Most factory installed floor weights are steel. You can test with a small magnet, and replace them with non magnetic weights if you want to.


So, would lead weights be the only thing we can use that is not magnetic (other than gold and silver, of course )?

I guess epoxying pennies together would work....but they are magnetic as well now-a-days...

If lead weights are used, care must be taken to wash hands thoroughly after handling.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

This option might get a bit more expensive, but if you have an aversion to lead you can also get bar stock from online suppliers in brass, copper, even bronze. I get a lot of supplies from onlinemetals.com, who offer lengths in 1-foot increments, or you can get cutoffs (the leftovers from the end which are usually in the 10-12 inch length) even cheaper. And of course you can order the width and thickness of metal strips that you need, usually within 1/8" increments (sometimes within 1/16").


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## NAJ (Feb 19, 2016)

If being magnetic is not a concern I just bought stick on wheel weights to use as ballast for a couple of my cars that are top heavy.

They come in 1/4 oz squares, I got 24 for $3.95 shipped.


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## santafewillie (Feb 13, 2016)

> I guess epoxying pennies together would work....but they are magnetic as well now-a-days...


US pennies have no iron/steel in them whatsoever. Use them instead of those Canadian ones, or use a Canadian one from prior to 1999.
Willie


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## NAJ (Feb 19, 2016)

santafewillie said:


> US pennies have no iron/steel in them whatsoever. Use them instead of those Canadian ones, or use a Canadian one from prior to 1999.
> Willie


Except for the 1943 Lincoln Cents, due to Copper shortages during the war effort 99.9% where steel, a couple of 1943 Coppers did get through and were released.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

santafewillie said:


> US pennies have no iron/steel in them whatsoever. Use them instead of those Canadian ones, or use a Canadian one from prior to 1999.
> Willie


Canadian pennies are getting hard to find....we took them out of circulation a few years ago, and don't use or make them any more....turns out it was costing 6 pennies to make one, not a smart thing to do....


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Ours don't quite cost that much to make... something like 1.7 cents. Still, I think we ought to do the same thing.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

NAJ said:


> Except for the 1943 Lincoln Cents, due to Copper shortages during the war effort 99.9% where steel, a couple of 1943 Coppers did get through and were released.


Wasn't it 41, 42, and 43? I collected pennies as a kid, I seem to recall there were three years of the steel pennies. I should dig up my books some day.


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## NAJ (Feb 19, 2016)

Shdwdrgn said:


> Wasn't it 41, 42, and 43? I collected pennies as a kid, I seem to recall there were three years of the steel pennies. I should dig up my books some day.


Ahh, another old time coin collector, one of my first hobbies as a child, have not done anything with my little collection in 25 years.

I think you are confusing those with the wartime Jefferson Nickles from 1942-1945 where nickle was not used in minting due its scarcity during the war effort.
The wartime nickles used Silver in its place.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Non-magnetic weights*



Old_Hobo said:


> So, would lead weights be the only thing we can use that is not magnetic (other than gold and silver, of course )?
> 
> I guess epoxying pennies together would work....but they are magnetic as well now-a-days...
> 
> If lead weights are used, care must be taken to wash hands thoroughly after handling.


Old Hobo;

You could use any Nonferrous (a.k.a. no iron in it) metal. I use brass. Bronze, copper, tungsten, even titanium, or aluminum, though getting enough of such light weight metals inside a car would be a problem. 
Non-metal weights, like sand, fine gravel, etc. can also be used. Some have used BB's, or bird/buck shot. Though these are lead. Basically anything heavy that won't stick to a magnet.
One extremist example was the "Cotton Brute", an N scale locomotive filled with depleted uranium. Uranium is denser, and heavier than lead. The "cotton brute" was built, years ago, to haul very long trains. These days, trying to get uranium might win you a free trip to Guantanamo! I'll stick to brass.hwell: 

Traction Fan


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Actually, those wheel weights with the adhesive backing do work well, if the car has the room inside (boxcars, cabooses, etc).....

Flatcars present a challenge tho.....


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

NAJ said:


> I think you are confusing those with the wartime Jefferson Nickles from 1942-1945 where nickle was not used in minting due its scarcity during the war effort.
> The wartime nickles used Silver in its place.


Nope, I never collected anything but pennies... However your picture clears up the confusion - I forgot that there were three mints.


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