36. Weight of Freight on McKinley Railway

With hundreds of wagons on McKinley Railway, we need to ensure their smooth running. Here we explain our wagon acceptance routine and how weights are calculated for individual wagons.

[@thomashinerman2626]

Good day to you David and the whole McKinley team. As per what Malcolm Crabbe has commented, I too find some of the videos very short. I wish they were longer. The amount of knowledge contained in them is immense. And as my Grandfather once told me, " It never hurts to know something new". I just like watching them for the information and seeing the layout Please keep the videos coming. I am waiting for the next one. Have a good day gentlemen.

[@briandunning2974]

Thomas Hinerman. I agree. We need to be shown how the weights are added, not just the easy flat wagon; how is the resistor added; etc. This happens on many of the videos.

[@thomashinerman2626]

Good evening Brian. I agree with you. I fortunately have watched a good number of videos on "how to". It sure doesn't mean I know how to do it "Right". Any new or "novice modeler" is I am sure happy to be able to get good information, It is how the hobby grows. And the videos are just more help. Have a good night.

[@SimonHP]

Technical stuff just for a wagon. Amazing and great work

[@hovermotion]

Wow...this is model railways at its highest level...

[@markstafford5586]

Thanks again.team McK! I always look forward to your videos. Thanks very much for the effort to produce them men.

[@andreasknierim413]

Great compliance job!

[@leilacentral1883]

Most interesting. I really need to get one my models running off kadees. This was very informative. Clint

[@ainsleyperry5192]

Mckinley team, How lucky you are, wheel's on today's model's must be to a correct standard. Years ago we had plastic wheel's, steam roller wheel's, dinner plate flanges ( used to bounce on the rail ties) no standard back to back. In the end I settled for MayGib 00, finescale wheel's as a standard. MayGib also sold 00 wheel set's which had a wider wheel tread and a slightly deeper flange. I was using S.M.P. scale bullhead track at the time hence the need for a finer scale wheel. Cheers, Chris Perry.

[@paulnorval9646]

Well done Tony.

[@sylphil51]

Consistent with other processes on McKinley, this is a very well thought out and structured approach to ensure reliability.

[@TheDaf95xf]

Great stuff Tony 👍🏻

[@Chatterisdotbiz]

I'm not a modeler, but I do enjoy watching these videos, for the uninitiated, why is the weight of a wagon so important?

[@gibsonethirty2836]

Helps to stop it from derailing and to track better behind any other wagon or loco. See if its to light it can easily just bounce right off the tracks at say a set of points or a crossing. To heavy and its to much drag on the rake which with any other wagons that are also to heavy makes the loco stall on an incline when by all rights it should make the climb. But a tad on the heavier side is better than too light, hence why Tony added that amount of weight he did to the flat car.

[@Chatterisdotbiz]

@@gibsonethirty2836 Thanks it all makes sense now, all the best.

[@PetesvilleRailway]

Complicated Railway. Can’t wait to see it all in full ops mode with faultless running.

[@dattouk]

We will get there... Just not sure which year! :-)

[@darrencarter7305]

Can you please send me a copy of your wagon checksheet as I would like to do similar.

[@dattouk]

Hello Darren, Sorry for the late email. Contact me on mckinley at mckinleyrailway.com

[@petercusden200]

In the track cleaning video previously you had a peco rubber attached to a stick. How did you achieve that as to not damage the rubber or track. Cheers Peter

[@dattouk]

Glue Watson Glue. Works a treat.

[@EssexThameside]

Good morning David and Team. Would your wagon weight formular work for N gauge? Brian Essex Thameside in N

[@dattouk]

Hello Brian, The principles are exactly the same, but the wight would be different. I imaging that the NMRA RP-20 shows the US weights per inch in ounces for all scales. You will need to figure out what works for you. We found we had to reduce the overall weight to about 60% of the NMRA standards for the wagons to allow our steam locos to be able to pull the trains reliably in the HO/OO world. The key thing to remember is that the weight along the train should be even. I hope that makes sense. David

[@EssexThameside]

Thanks for the information David. I think the basic aim of most layout builders is to create sustained interest with problem free running. Good track laying is THE best way to achieve the secon especially if hidden areas are incorporated to create the first. If it is'nt right then rip it up and relay it. Adding weight will only be a sticking plaster but helpful to reduce problems over points and to equalise mixed wagon trains. Brian

[@mickster04]

Would you recommend that weight / cm ratio for N gauge too? it does about match?

[@dattouk]

Hi Michael, I don't know n-gauge. Take a peek at the NMRA standards. Consistent weighting would be valuable, but I don't know what would be appropriate.

[@9501599]

Hi team how did you come to a 5g per centimeter for each wagon? And why is 45g an ideal weight. Cheers

[@terryflynn8830]

I was the author of the Australian Model Railway Association Weight standard (0.55g/mm for goods wagons, 0.4g/mm for passenger cars) which is close to the 5g/mm linear weight standard used on the Mckiinly layout. 0.5g is also within the NEM weight standard (0.4g/mm, tolerance +15% for H0 scale). My experience is a linear formula around these values means the train is not to heavy for small steam engines and maximum train length before derailment is achieved. Mixing light and heavy wagons can result in light wagons derailing on long trains.

[@dattouk]

Terry, your reply was technically excellent. Thank you. That exact what we found. When we tried the NMRA standard on McKinley the steamers failed on long trains. I was unaware of the NEM standard. Thank your for the enlightenment.

[@MalcolmCrabbe]

these videos are far too short