H0 Scale Powered freight car

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mrconductor55

New Member
Hey guys,

I'm planning a new layout right now, featuring a detailed Proto 2000 SW9, serving a handful of industries in an industrial district in Chicago. The real life line features a steep climb to the BNSF main. I'm thinking of doing the grade in 2-3%. I want to be able to run 15-20 cars up the hill, something that the real line does in real life on busier days. Problem is, a single end cab switcher isn't going to cut it, maybe two, but one, no way. It would sure look cool though.

So I've been thinking about it, then I came across a few articles on it. A hidden drive mechanism, hidden inside of a boxcar. It seems to have been done in N scale, for steamers that can barely pull their own weight. There is even a kit for it. But how about H0 Scale?

http://modeltrains.about.com/od/glossary/g/ghost_car.htm

http://modeltrains.about.com/gi/dyn...0&bts=0&zu=http://www.randgust.com/prod04.htm

This is the only thing I can find on it, I'm sure its been talked about before. With that thing well ballasted, I could pull some unreal loads up that hill. Plus I could drop cars on a grade without them rolling down.
Thoughts?
Comments?

Frank
 
Frank, check that line on Google Earth and measure out the length of the run compared to the elevation climbed. I'll bet you that the grade, although it might appear steep, is no more than 1.5%. A real SW9 is not going to pull 20 cars up a 3% grade either. My best advice is to find a way to lower the grade. If the real line switches on this grade, it cannot be that steep or they would face the same problems you would on your model railroad. I'm sure you could rig up a powered box car (they have them for track cleaning) but, assuming you're running DCC, you're now faced with consisting two very dissimilar power units together and making them work well together...on a steep grade. It's possible but, if you need to stick to the steep grade, just use a pair of SW9's. The real railroad would have to do that with a 3% grade and 20 cars.
 
I bought a proto 2000 RS2? and turned it into a powered box car. I used and athern box car shell and it fit perfect over the frame. (minimal trimming) All I had to do was drill and tap the frame so that I could secure the shell on the frame. I added lots of weight to the car roof added a decoder and it works well for what I do. one thing that I noticed is that the RS has a smaller motor in it and is not as strong as some of the larger Proto 2000 motors. It will still pull 20 cars all by itself but it drops alot of speed on grades. regardless it has allow me to pull 50 cars with a little 2-8-0 steamer on 2% grades. Not that I run that many with my small steam but I do like to pull 70 cars with it with my larger steam engines. Its also fun just to mess with people at the club. park the car in the yard and then let it roll past confused onlookers.

I will post some pics for you if you would like me too?

Trent
 


@UP2CSX
I am thinking of omitting some of the hill, and making it less steep, I need the track to raise about 15 scale feet to go over a busy street. On busier days, they usually work the line, drop their cars at the bottom of the hill, run to the top of the hill, then back down the Domino Sugar Spur at the top of the hill, then they bring the sugar cars down the hill and drag the whole train uphill, on less busy days they usually just shove their cars up the hill.

They have 2 other SW9's in the area, one is in rough shape, and out of service for about a year, the other is on another line, and rarely sees use, if they abandon the line(they plan to) they will bring it over, and run them together if they get a contract with a nearby large construction firm. So 2 SW's is a possibility.

@lmackattack- what club are you a member of? does your boxcar helper still have diesel truck faces?


Thanks guys
 
Frank, whatever you can do to ease the grade will make operations a lot easier. It's called selective compression, where you make the line look steeper by using background elements but the real grade is not as steep as it appears. It will fulfill the look you want without the penalties of a steep grade where you have to shove cars up the hill.
 
here are the shots of the box car. and yes the loco trucks are still on it. some freight cars that were pulled with on passenger trains had high speed trucks simmilar to the trucks commonly found on SW locos. see the link below to the club I belong to.

Trent
 
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2989922901_8017cdff0a.jpg

Here the SW9 is at the bottom of the hill, it curves and becomes extremely steep just behind where I was standing.

2990764858_f9d78253c1.jpg


Then here she is roaring up the hill, she is near the top of the first here, she has 14 cars behind her, and is doing a pretty good impression of an Alco. So yeah, Time to work on this trackplan some more
 
is that a belt railway loco? its smoking like one LOL

Adam
a few weeks ago at the club I was pulling a mixed freight with one of my steam engines. I pulled into the yard with it and then proceeded to switch with the box car. confused alot of people as the yard was full and you had to look to find locos hiding in the mix.

another time on an open house I put both of my powered box cars in the forward mix of my train and used my little 2-8-0 to pull a 90 car train. lots of impressed onlookers!

trent
 
hahaha, ex BRC 520, She is now owned by Cnetral Illinois RR, t the old CB&Q branch that runs along Cermak and Blue Island Ave. west of Halsted, She is pained in a Q themed scheme
 


is that the spur that services all the scrap yards south of Cermak. I think Metal mangement or Acmes yard is over there?
 
Yep, Metal Management/Kozy's Iron on Paulina ave. is one of their bigger customers. Last time I chased them(back in January) They had 28 loaded scrap gons from Metal management, and had to borrow a BN GP53 to pull the train up the hill, it got stuck too, and they banked the train w/ the switcher. Very fun, watching both engines smoking and spinning their wheels, crawling up that hill, fun day, but cold.

They also serve Domino Sugar, a brick company, a few cold storage places, plus one or two others that I can't think of.
 
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Regarding a "powered" boxcar in HO, this was done commercially many decades ago by Lindsay Products. Referred to as the "Lindsay Ghost", I believe it was a take-off on a car John Allen had on the G&D. In addition to being used as a mid-train helper, John employed it to startle the heck out of visiting operators when, under John's control, it would suddenly take off down a siding as if a runaway! As I recall, the model was powered by a single old bulky Walthers power truck of the sort used on their MU cars. The Lindsay kit for this wooden craftsman boxcar is rare today and highly collectable.

http://www.hoseeker.org/lindsay/lindsayghostcar.jpg

NYW&B
 
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