Trouble with consistent speed


M

Meggadeth

New Member
Guys I have an elevated figure 8 that is a 4% grade...Of course the train speeds downhill, but I almost have to run full throttle up hill, engine is only pulling 4 cars, anymore it won't go..I tried adding feeders to the bottom of the hill but it didn't do anything...Help please..
 
A 4% grade is WAY to steep. You will never get trains to run reliably on it. Sorry to be the barrer of bad news.
 
4% Gradient is pretty steep your engine is probably just not powerful enough for the load. I have a bachmann plus J-Class that can only pull 4 coaches up a 3.3% grade before getting wheel-slip
-If its a steam engine does it run freely or are the mechanisms binding giving jerky running and reducing the power?
-Are the cars free rolling?
-Do the Cars have weights in them that could be removed?
 
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Meggadeth said:
Guys I have an elevated figure 8 that is a 4% grade...Of course the train speeds downhill, but I almost have to run full throttle up hill, engine is only pulling 4 cars, anymore it won't go..I tried adding feeders to the bottom of the hill but it didn't do anything...Help please..
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I would say that is totally normal situation. Has nothing to with electrical supply to the rails.

I would start by making certain the cars are super free rolling and as light weight as possible. Then make certain the locomotive is a heavy as possible and has an efficient motor, and consider re-gearing to a lower ratio. Maybe traction tires or bullfrog snot.
 
1 of my engines slip up hill, but it makes it.. 1 wont even go up, and 1 makes it up and around without any trouble...Maybe I just need new engines, all 3 of mine are 25 plus years old. none of my engines are steam..but sadly the brand of all 3 is life-like...would a different make of engine be better or just a newer one??
 
I should also say that the elevation starts at 0 and goes to approx 5 inches, then back down, maybe it is not 4%, but it was a woodland scenics incline set.
 
Meggadeth said:
1 of my engines slip up hill, but it makes it.. 1 wont even go up, and 1 makes it up and around without any trouble...Maybe I just need new engines, all 3 of mine are 25 plus years old. none of my engines are steam..but sadly the brand of all 3 is life-like...would a different make of engine be better or just a newer one??
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Unfortunately straight Life-Like models are at bottom of the model train hierarchy along with Tyco, Model Power, and a few others. Yes, I think a new locomotive of a better brand would amaze you with how well it runs. Perhaps something like this Atlas yellow box.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KATO-HO-Sca...650685?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item3f21e5d77d



But even then a 4% grade is killer.
 
Meggadeth said:
I should also say that the elevation starts at 0 and goes to approx 5 inches, then back down, maybe it is not 4%, but it was a woodland scenics incline set.
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Ok, and what is the length of track from 0 up to the 5" point? Anything less than 110" of track is more than 4% grade and probably more when ya take away the transition from level to incline.
 
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90"..there are 10 9" curve pieces of track with a 12" straight at the bottom of the incline..Looks like I am stuck with this for now, everything is glued, and the track and roadbed is down and ballasted.. Guess i will have to search for a good engine to make the climb..
 
Our scale engines have the same limitations, more or less, as those of the real world 1:1 scale locomotives. For every 0.5% of grade, the horsepower requirement triples! You need 24 times the horsepower to lift a train up a 4% grade as you do to pull that train on level tracks. That is why real world railroads had helper districts. Locomotives would shove from the rear or hook onto the head end power and work to get the consist up and over the grade. The heavier the work, the more locomotives it takes. Your layout is no different because the engineering and physics are highly similar.
 
Meggadeth said:
90"..there are 10 9" curve pieces of track with a 12" straight at the bottom of the incline..Looks like I am stuck with this for now, everything is glued, and the track and roadbed is down and ballasted.. Guess i will have to search for a good engine to make the climb..
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Yikes. Your are in excess of 5% grade. Probably closer to 6% depending on the length of your transition. I think that would almost qualify as a cog railroad.:cool:
 
I thank you guys for the info on my apparent rookie mistake on this incline, I do however have 1 loco that makes it semi-easily up the grade, so for now I guess that will be my thorn in the side..I just wonder why woodland scenics would make a set like that if no engines can climb it..
 
Meggadeth said:
I thank you guys for the info on my apparent rookie mistake on this incline, I do however have 1 loco that makes it semi-easily up the grade, so for now I guess that will be my thorn in the side..I just wonder why woodland scenics would make a set like that if no engines can climb it..
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Ummmm, maybe for slot cars?
 
Removing ballast and taking out the track is not that hard to do.

Just spray the ballast with with 75% water and 25% alchohol. And then vacuum it up using a shop wet/dry vac. Get a flat spackle and lift up the track very carefully.

Might as well do it now so you can USE your layout that you built.
 
Well guys, I got a new engine today and it climbs that grade like no-ones business, I guess those 25 yr old life-like engines just wouldn't cut it...I'll use use those on the flat lower level,lol...Thanks for all the info..
 
Reminds me of the Bachmann 4-4-0s I used to mess around with... when they were new they could barely pull a few cars up a grade, but pretty quickly they got so they couldn't haul themselves. Miserable little things! But my cheap Life-Like split-frame GP-3something would just about pull stumps.

Anyway, good to hear you got some proper equipment. :)
 
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