How many rail cars would a 1869 Steam engine pull

[playmofire]

Thank you for your very useful and detailed answer, Marco, and I look forward to hearing how things go with your further testing, Walter.

[The_Mad_Hadder]

I will be using the train engine that came in set 3033, 3034. Yes I want to make sure that I do not strip the gear but at the same time I am not looking to pull 16 cars, only looking at moving as close to a historically accurate train from 1869.

I do not forsee me building a rail set with a grade over .5%

[Marco_4124]

Marco,

Early "American" type locomotives had very low tractive effort ratings - so could not handle very large trains. On the flat (no grades) maybe 5 to 8 cars. On grades, depending on how steep, 3 to 5 cars. The American type locomotives were very popular for quite a long time as lightly built track (like how the original transcontinental railroad was built) could handle them. As the mainline routes were rebuilt for heavier capacity the smaller locomotives went to work on branch line and short line railroads that never justified rebuilding.

Hope this helps. Greetings to you in The Netherlands.


Phil

Colorado Railroad Museum
17155 W 44th Ave
Golden, CO 80403
United States

I could not find a better professional answer  ;-)

[Marco_4124]

P.s.: the transcontinental railroad in the United States was completed on May 10th, 1869.

[The_Mad_Hadder]

P.s.: the transcontinental railroad in the United States was completed on May 10th, 1869.

Marco,

I am glad we could agree on this, if you look back to my first post in this thread lol

[Marco_4124]

Sorry, I was quite busy at work, and did not read all the post.

But I hope the answer of Phil will be of much help.

Greetings, Marco.

[The_Mad_Hadder]

Sorry, I was quite busy at work, and did not read all the post.

But I hope the answer of Phil will be of much help.

Greetings, Marco.

No worries, all the information has been helpful