Poole Farish locos pulling capacity?

[Gremlin]

I have built an N scale test track with a 4% incline (8cm rise in 200cm travel) up which I want to run some express trains.  I have a rake of 5 Mk 1 carriages (old Farish type) and have tried various Poole Farish locos (A4, A3, Princess Coronation, rebuilt Merchant Navy, BoB class etc) and none will pull the carriages up the incline.  I would, ideally, like to run 8 carriages behind locos on the incline.  Out of interest, a Minitrix A4 and A3 wouldn't do it either.

 

Each carriage weights 36g, so it appears that trying to pull 180g of load up 4% incline is not happening.

 

[edit]

It is pulling on a 4% incline around a 600mm radius curve

 

2nd edit - measurements were wrongly written down, 8cm rise in 200cm travel...

[end edit]

 

For comparison, I tried the same load behind a "new" Dapol A4 and A3 and they pulled them without raising a sweat.

 

Any thoughts about what I can do to make the Farish locos more tractable, or is it a lost cause?

 

Cheers

[Kris]

That doesn't surprise me, older steam locos were generally poor at haulage up slopes. Newer loco's tend to have traction tyres which does help. Diesel and electric outline locos were / are much better haulers. 

 

A 4cm climb over 200cm is a 2% gradient. 

 

As to improving the haulage. If they all stop in the same location then it is possible that the slope is not constant and that you have a much steeper section. 

 

Other options would be to see if you can get some more weight in the loco which does help, but there is not a lot of space to do this.

[grahame]

8cm in 200cm (your edited re-measure/quote) is 1 in 25 (or 4%) which is usually ridiculously steep for N gauge model railways (and real railways). In N gauge the recommended steepest is 1 in 40 so it's probably best to try and reduce the severity of the slope.

 

G.

[Les1952]

One in twenty-five is very steep to try to run main line trains up, especially on a curve.

 

There were a few steeper gradients on railways in the UK, but not on main lines.  I'm thinking mainly of former rope-worked inclines worked by powerful tank engines pulling a small number of wagons- or in more extreme cases pushing uphill and descending with the loco at the lower end and every wagon brake pinned down...

 

Les

[Only-Me]

You could try adding some "Bull Frog Snot" to some of the driving wheels, when dry it creates a kind of traction tyre on them... Its a little 30g pot available from online or ebay for about a fiver...

[oreamnos]

I don't know what your track plan is like but if you need the 4% grade (which I agree with the others who state it is too steep) to cross over another track and your track plan allows, you could slope your lower track down 2% while the flyover slopes up 2% and you'll attain the same height above the lower track in the same amount of space, but with each track only at a 2% grade.

 

Matt

[Gremlin]

Thanks...trying to get a Goathland at the front and a viaduct at the back in a 8x4 layout, which in a simple oval gives me 4%...may have to fiddle and do a figure of eight with crossovers which is, sadly, unrealistic and up the centre of the board where the scenery was going (towns, loco sheds, canals/locks) but does give an overall 2% grade.

[lilchris]

I have a small gradient on my N-Gauge layout, to be honest I have not  measured it. I initally tested it with a early GF tank which has been converted to dcc and that pulls 3 coaches up the incline no problem. I also have a early 4F and that will pull 4 coaches up the incline. The new 4F I have just purchased will not even pull 1 coach and likewise A black 5 looses it traction tyres too,I also have a early 4mt tank and that is ok. I have come to the conclusion there is not enough weight in the new loco's. The new 4 F is a superb looking loco but unfortunatley does not have the pulling power to match.

[PatB]

It's probably too late but, for the arrangement you describe, I'd be more inclined (scuse the pun) to drop the baseboard under the viaduct than lift the track over it. Or maybe a bit of both.