Do You Limit the Length of Your Trains?

In the past my layouts were usually just 4x8 feet, except my last one which was a 8x8 foot "L", so I tried to make them no longer than the straightaways, if it was on two opposite end curves at the same time, it didn't look right to me.  This usually meant running only 3 15" passenger cars instead of 4 behind my k-line mikado or SF F3 AB.  Even running on friends' layouts, it was always just judging by visual appeal.  Although also consider I run mostly postwar lionel and I'm not into the real prototypical look.

Nope!!

I once had a continuos loop train that went all the way around the board. The back coupler of the last car hooked up to the front coupler of the lead locomotive. I had 2 other helper locos within the train. One Lady stood there for about 10 min, realized there was NO caboose and said, "hey there is no end to this train"!

Good observation lady!! you win!!

Yes, I limit the length of trains to 8 cars plus a steam locomotive so they fit into passing sidings on the single track mainline of my railroad.

We try to limit train length so we can keep good spacing between trains on the mainlines. We try to keep them at around 15 feet of cars. Usually there's another three feet of locomotives for about 18 feet. It's a loose rule, but we tend to avoid very long trains as they're sometimes a hassle operationally.

I used to belong to an HO club in the area. I still have some of my HO trains.

Anyway, the rest of the guys in the club used to run passenger trains with 1 maybe 2 locos and 6-8 passenger cars. I thought, If you are going to have a passenger train, have a passenger train. So did a little research, found out Santa Fe used to run 4-5 locos with 20-25 passenger cars. Soooooooooo, I put together a passenger train with 6 locos and 22 passenger cars. It took up six moduels when stretched out. it was a Santa Fe PA units ABBBBA, That's right 4 (count em), four B units with 22 passenger cars.. It made for an impressive train. I even opened up the observation car and put a light in the drum head and a blinking light above in the end of the car.

It depends on the Layout size most of the time.

Right now I'm running the 10th Anniversary Polar Express on the short loop and a Challenger with 6 Christmas theme boxcars and a Thomas Kinkaid caboose on the long loop. Majority of the loop is common.

In the old house I ran a 58 car consist behind the Big Boy several times. only about a 3 foot gap on the main loop then. Looked odd from the side but made a decent video.

My passenger trains at 7 or 8 cars long are prototypical in length. On the other hand my freight trains are only 10 cars in length which is not prototypical. Limited by layout size 14'W x 28'L and steep grades; trains longer that those that I run look out of place and don't climb well.. My passing sidings also limit how long the trains can be.

What AGHR Matt says. If we had more room (old lament) I'd run trains long enough to warrant additional power.

However, my rule of thumb is, if you can't see both ends of a train without turning your head, it's long enough.

I currently only have a 6'x16' layout, so that's the limit when playing around with my grandson. We have almost done as Popi did with the 'dog chasing it's tail' so to speak. For normal operating I try to keep them to the length of the yard tracks, about 6-7 cars plus engine. Passing sidings only allow 4-5 cars plus engine. Engines are all diesels.

My layout is 13 feet square, so the length of trains is sort of self-limiting. 4-6 short passenger cars or 8-10 steam era freight cars is the maximum to look halfway proportional. The Standard Gauge loop on the outside will accommodate a 4-car Lionel Hiawatha or a 6-car freight train. 

I try to keep things above a minimum instead of below a maximum. I run at least 5 cars per locomotive and end all trains with a caboose.  So a double headed train has a minimum of 10 cars, and 'mallet' locomotives, like the Big Boy, are treated like 2 locomotives.  As for max length, that's determined by how much room I have.  I have nothing against a train chasing it's tail.  But then I've never had much room to do otherwise.

With my new layout underway, I am planning to intentionally keep my everyday trains short. I really like the look of an 0-6-0 or an SW1500 pulling just a few cars and a rickety old caboose.

No; the longer the better.

As of right now, I only have six freight cars, plus one caboose, and four American passenger cars (seven total, but the three British coaches stay with the Hall-class).  I run trains up to those limits, but once I can get some switches, I intend to reduce freight train lengths to three or four cars, plus caboose.  Passenger trains will most likely stay at three to four cars.  The purpose for shortening trains and keeping them short would be to allow for switching.

I remember reading an article in one of the train magazines that stated a layout with more but shorter trains will look busier than one with fewer but longer trains.

I am limited by the length of my passing siding. I'm running Bachmann On30 ten-wheelers which each could probably pull every freight car I have (just short of 40) but the mainline isn't long enough for that and when it got to the other end there wouldn't be anything to do but back the whole train to the starting point anyway as my layout is a point-to-point layout designed for op sessions...

It all depends on the layout size for me.  At my operating club, the Paradise and Pacific, I've run up to 75 scale freight cars with either two or three powered locomotives.  Usually two as the grade is minimal on the loop I run them on.  The total train length was about 80'. 

 

However, yes, there can be some operational difficulties with a train that long.  the biggest is simply being vigilant to make sure that cars aren't derailing which can lead to messy crashes.  I find that 25-40 cars can run for hours without a lot of concern. 

 

Of course, I run quite bit of old Roco-Atlas, old Weaver and other lighter cars at the back of the train.  While the modern offerings are so much better in terms of detail, they can make a train a lot heavier real quick. 

 

For passenger I've run over 20 cars, but prefer to keep my trains to about 12 cars and two powered locomotives.  It looks about right for that layout. 

 

At home, it's a different story.  On my modular 16x7 layout I have about 20 cars on the freight train now and an 8 car Canadian set on the other mainline track.  I'll be switching those out though for shorter trains.  Both trains are a little too long for that layout.

 

Finally, if I ever get my 2 rail layout built, I'll limit the passenger trains to about 5 cars total and the freight trains to 10 or less.  That's just based on the room size I have.

 

Here's 47 cars operating for about 4 continuous hours from a few weeks ago in Scottsdale.

 

My wallet limits the lengths of my trains. 

Train length for me depends on size of the layout and powered units to pull it.

I only have four passenger cars and a express reefer attached to the Big Boy, and I have about 25 freight cars that I split between the GP55 and ES4400.  I could run longer trains, but that would mean I would have to unpack more.  Being I havent started on the scenery and finished the base coat on the layout, just means more stuff to move out of the way.  I have another 27 cars behind the bar when I'm ready.

I don't, but the size of my layout (4'x10') does...

Passenger trains 8 cars top. Freight cars is a different story, as many as my engines can pull !

Yes • Passenger trains, 8 cars.• Freight trains about 15 cars.

Longest straight track about 21 feet.

Hope this helps with your survey. 

Not really. Generally passenger trains don't exceed 12 or 13 21" cars, and depending on what the freight equipment is, 25 to 50 cars seems to work OK.

My only limitation is the size of the passenger train I am running. Our longest passenger train is a 21" K-Line Hi-Level set with 13 cars and a ABBA F unit combo up front. This is a little over 27 ft. Long, but looks really nice under power.

With a small 9x16 attic layout I generally limit passenger combines to 4-5 80' cars and freights to 8+ cab.

 On my large layouts of days gone by I typically ran 13-14 passenger with reefer and 30 freight with cab car.

And, I run slow nowadays.

On my 11x17 "test track"...

 

Freights are limited to...however many I can stuff on it and still shoot runbys without the locomotives appearing in the shot as the last car passes from view.

 

Passenger trains generally I don't observe limits until I got into extreme cases like the Auto-Train. There I stopped at 9 Superliners and 13 autoracks. If I decide to risk repainting the three 'carriers I have with the older Amtrak striping, I'll bump it to 16 autoracks, but no more.

I agree with you on this.I used to live in a moble homefor a year or 2.I would loved operating long freight trains.Now I have had to move again.Lets space now so my trains are cut in half about 22 to 24 cars.Which suchs that is until I get more track.

Also affects my layout size! (I mean my wallet here, but very similar effects.) Wife and rolling pin or cast iron skillet can also have great influence here.

Love to run long trains......here's two monsters pulled by two monsters:

 

 

Here's another.......luckily, there's a "helper engine".   

 

 

 

Peter

Let's not forget the "juice train"!

 

 

Peter

14 foot passing siding???  Not in my basement.  Because I built a single track main I am limited by the return loops.  It looks kind of silly having the caboose juuuuuust clear the turnout as the loco pulls through the other way.  Anyway, I find keeping the trains relatively short (3 - 4 coaches max on passenger trains and 8 cars or so on freight) gives the perception of a much larger layout.  After all, most real RR's are vast tracts of unoccupied real estate. 

I am normally limited by couplers. On the club modular layout, 20-40 is pretty typical.

 

Gilly

Never heard THAT limitation before. What are your "coupler problems"?

Seriously, I meant it somewhat what I said earlier - my wallet does limit the length of trains I run.  

 

I usually run no more than 20 cars at one time on freight trains.  Often only 15 which makes for a good looking train.  But I like to run one company by itself as was done long ago.  I have only 20 PFE reefers and only 14 map-slogan ATSF reefers so I generaly run a train of no more than 20 PFEs and no more than 14 map slogans, maybe with a couple of

 

The other day i posted a picture of my Legacy Berk pulling 30 scale reefers (mixed PFE and map-slogan) and a caboose.  I have 34 scale reefers is all, and was going to add the other four, but any more than 30 and I could not get the train to start - I have no straight that long and it would stringline the portion around a curve when starting.  So thirty is a practical limit.

 

I have run up to 12  passenger cars at one time - there, until I convert mine to LED lights, I run into a limit on current with the incandescent lights

They start opening up when the string hits 50-60 cars. Yes, I can/will give them the 'ol rubber band treatment but that takes time.

 

Gilly

Only when the engine touches the caboose.....

 

Well, perhaps a little before that,I prefer to see the whole train so the length of that tracks straight away is really the key.

 

Surprising, in my opinion. Have a 60+ car MTH C&O 2-bay coal hopper train, all with loads by St Charles Model Works, and have NEVER had a problem (it is the only freight equipment I own that does NOT have Kadee couplers).  When we still had our modular layout group, we have run 100 cars, all equipped with Kadee couplers, and never had a problem.

These super long trains, to me, gets boring after awhile.  I only have a loop of track up.  It's about 20' x 10'.  But, I keep my trains to 10 cars plus engine or engines.  Except for my Amtrak Superliner to which I add 3 mail cars and about 5 roadrailers.  So, with 7 Amtrak cars that makes 15 cars plus 2 engines.

 

Rick

My longest passenger train is a Milwaukee Road F-7 ABBA power with an express boxcar, 3 heavyweights and six streamlined. My longest freight that I run has 15 freight cars although I could add about 35 more cars. What I do instead is have 4 trains running on the same loop with relatively equal freight loads.