I’ve seen the pinewood derby stick on weights used and I’ve seen shot buried in JB Weld stuck in the under side of a simulated steel beam.
Personally, I’ve never explored this in large scale and Fred’s question has just started the conversation or interest for me. And Bruce, I don’t know if I even have the calculations right, let alone the premiss. 
Bruce Chandler said:
What do you use to weigh your cars?All of my cars have steel wheels, but I notice that some cars are much heavier than others. I haven’t been able to determine any pattern of problems.
Bout the only car I have a problem with is an old Delton boxcar. I suspect it’s a wheel gauge thing, but haven’t looked into it. It sure wasn’t the weight that had anything to do with it as it’s a heavy car. All my other rolling stock is equipped with metal wheels and this seems to be enough weight. I have no idea what any particular car weighs, but some are heavier than others and I just attributed this to thicker plastic being used.
Well, all my tenders have electronics and batteries in them, so no need to add anything.
Anyway, the English language leaves room for misinterpretation. How do you know how heavy your cars are?
My Bachmann baggage car will “pop up” at the front end if I pull three cars behind it.
It is much lighter than the combine or observation car. I didn’t add any weight. I run two cars behind and it works fine.
Ralph
Now that the new week has begun, maybe the good Fryer can quit (actually just slow down) on the socializing and give an opinion as to whether we are on the right track (get it?). I even included the gram cracker weights, but have no clue if they are close.
Fred, comments please?
Don’t you mean friar?
I just take a small sandwich bag, and add my extra ballast I have laying around, and put one in each end of the boxcar!! Seems to work good and besides Greg E. said it was good so it “shall be good” 4# he said “so let it be written so let it be done” in the famous words of Yule Brenner" in the “Ten Commandments” hah lol The Regal
Ralph Berg said:Bruce Chandler said:
What do you use to weigh your cars?All of my cars have steel wheels, but I notice that some cars are much heavier than others. I haven’t been able to determine any pattern of problems.
I use pennies. Supply is plentiful.
I’ve had to add weight to all my Bachmann tenders. Probably because of my steep grades and sharp curves, unweighted tenders will “pop” up at the locomotive coupling.
Ralph
We been using about the same scale on wt. from our Ho days with club members… But we go time approx 3 times the Ho Wt. scale. Sure helps with long trains for non-derailments… the scale seem to works…
But on my Aristo HWT cars I cut it down some, depend on the type of truck under them…
Good idea tho with some type of a around scale to go by Ric… Tks for the post… Very interesting…Noel
Ralph Berg said:Bruce Chandler said:
What do you use to weigh your cars?All of my cars have steel wheels, but I notice that some cars are much heavier than others. I haven’t been able to determine any pattern of problems.
I use pennies. Supply is plentiful.
I’ve had to add weight to all my Bachmann tenders. Probably because of my steep grades and sharp curves, unweighted tenders will “pop” up at the locomotive coupling.
Ralph
We been using about the same scale on wt. from our Ho days with club members… But we go time approx 3 times the Ho Wt. scale. Sure helps with long trains for non-derailments… the scale seem to works…
But on my Aristo HWT cars I cut it down some, depend on the type of truck under them…
Good idea tho with some type of a around scale to go by Ric… Tks for the post… Very interesting…Noel
I’ll put my two cents in for what it’s worth…
My own findings over the years.
I don’t weigh my cars at all. I’ve never found it necessary as long as the following criteria is met, assuming reasonable track.
All cars have free rolling metal wheels.
Low center of gravity (supplied in my case by the metal wheels).
Everything with Kadee couplers. I found that early on when I first changed over to outdoors and largescale that the knuckle couplers supplied with Bachmann, Aristo, Delton, etc., fit too tightly together not allowing for enough movement vertically or laterally between them. If a car derails and pulls all the others over with them then the couplers are too tight fitting to each other.
In extreme cases a car going over a small hump in the track can raise its coupler enough that if grabbing the coupler on the next car can lift the wheels high enough to allow them to leave the track. Too if lateral play is restricted wheels can be forced hard over against the rail and if there is a small height differential force a derailment.
The vast majority of derailments I had early on were because of the couplers. Derailments I have now are few and are almost entirely due to running through an open switch or a piece of unnoticed debris falling on the track. Of course with some working over the stock couplers can be made to work pretty well but not out of the box with any size train long enough to put substantial load on the couplers.
Outdoors track is going to be uneven unless it’s anchored in cement. I know the conventional wisdom is that your track should be “perfect” and then you won’t have derailments but that is a fantasy in the long run even though some are able to construct and maintain better track than the majority of us.
I lube my Kadee coupler pins and wheel bearings once a year in the Spring, that’s it and everything works fine. I also cut off the gladhands hanging down from beneath the couplers so they won’t catch on anything as I don’t use the magnetic ramps outdoors.
In conclusion I’ve found no need whatever to weight any of my rolling stock for my operations. I can easily push 10 or 12 cars with an empty flatcar first in line through even LGB 1600 switches. There might be a need to add weight however for those that run long trains of over 30 or 40 cars. I can’t address this as my RR can’t handle such long trains. Perhaps this is a separate issue as far as weight is concerned.
Hello, Ric;
Well, to start with; if enough heat is put under my butt, then I guess I’ll soon become a “Fryer”…and I can see you just turned that heat up a notch…!!!
Fred Mills said:
Hello, Ric;Well, to start with; if enough heat is put under my butt, then I guess I’ll soon become a “Fryer”…and I can see you just turned that heat up a notch…!!!
I started this thread with the idea of trying to help improve any type of operation on a railroad of the model type, that is subjected to the real out-of-doors.
Weight, as I have stated, is only one of about 5 “Things” involved in keeping our rolling stock, on the track, so that we all can enjoy any kind, or reason for movement of our toys along our track.
I think I can safely say that rolling stock, with too much or too little weight, can adversly effect operation.
I’m leaning towards a minimum weight, that should be used as a standard on the IPP&W. The minimum weight for our purposes here, seems to be falling in the 600-650 gram range. (22-24 ounces). To start with; if a car is below this range, applying metal wheels is the best way of increasing the weight. If more is needed, then we have to resort to methods mentioned by many on this forum.
I do not advocate using loads as weight on open cars, as this limits their good operation to only when loaded. This of course implyes that a person wants to use open cars in either a “Loaded” or “Unloaded” state, as in an operation that includes “Loads and empties”. (Nothig worse, visually, to see loaded hopper cars being delivered to a mine, where the loads, you would think should originate)
Flat cars are in the same situation.
There will always be those that just want to run in circles, and don't much mind, as long as the whole train stays on the track, and doesn't disrupt their enjoyment, of a cold drink, while they sit some distance from the pike. Those people will usually content themselves by placing light weight cars nearer the rear of the train, and loading flat cars with permenant loads. (This is not meant to say that they are wrong, in any sense)
There are others that dream of running 100 car models of modern unit trains…again this leads to basicly running in circles, and 100 car trains must have cars of some minimum weight in order to run successfully, along with body mount couplers. Good track and wheel standards are of great help too.
I do not want anyone to think that I’m against running in circles. Anyone can do what they find pleasing.
I only observe that people looking at our hobby, seem to ask, after watching a train run in circles; "What else does it do ?" Even the guys around here would soon pack up and leave, if all we did was run in circles. I want people that join in this hobby, find that the hobby grows with them, and doesn't die out through eventual boredom.
These are my opinions, and are not meant to be forced on anyone…have fun…
Our only basic rule in the OVGRS is: “If you feel obliged to be here; you have missed the point”…
Let me try this again.
What do you use to find out how much your cars weigh?
A home postal scale seems more appropriate for weighing HO scale cars.
We have been using an electronic postal scale so far, and it works fine.
Fred Mills said:Fred,
We have been using an electronic postal scale so far, and it works fine.
What is the maximum weight of your scale? Grams or pounds, now that I know the formula, I can convert.
Ric; I don’t know. It was not my scale, and I didn’t do the weighing…
So, did you have a problem to start with? Did putting weights in the car fix it?