Like many of you, I like to make-up trains that 'look' right, which are usually short, given my preference for small engines: 2 carriages or 4 to 6 wagons.
... That said, I occasionally like to see what the engines can pull on level track.... Thomas can pull 15 Lionel boxcars.... Percy can handle 10. 
On our old 10' x 18' Layout, we pulled 45 scale size freight cars. Most of the cars were Weaver scale box cars. There was only three feet between the rear coupler on the caboose and the front coupler on the diesel.
I run 2 engines(1 powered) and 10 to 15 scales cars on the #1 mainline and 1 to 2 engines and 5 (+/-) scale cars on #2 mainline. The 2 mainlines tracks are over 120 feet long so I can run longer trains as needed. I have not tried to see long a train I can run, only have approx. 80 scale cars.
I continue to learn so much reading this forum. Now I am learning about really long trains, and those that need helper engines. So, of course, I had to try it.
My CSX SD80 can pull 37 cars. But, then it needs a helper, or does it?
B&OBill
Originally Posted by jim sutter:
On our old 10' x 18' Layout, we pulled 45 scale size freight cars. Most of the cars were Weaver scale box cars. There was only three feet between the rear coupler on the caboose and the front coupler on the diesel.
your layout is close to mine.. 45 cars? you got to be close to chassing the tail end of your caboose..I did put that weight back into my S1 boiler and man that really woke her up!.. weight had to be about 3 pounds! She really halls when I have the throtle wideopen!
The most I've ever pulled was 53 cars, including a number of PW and several Die Cast ones.
My biggest problems with fixes in order:
1) Popping couplers, Wired some shut, moved others to rear of consist
2) Popping Circuit breaker when smoke on at far end of layout, Added a second power drop at far end of layout.
3) Less than 3 feet Nose of the Big Boy to the end of the consist, Need a bigger layout 
However most of the time I pull 8 to 12 cars per consist.
I don't have long enough sidings for more than that but the Big Boy just looks wrong in front of a short consist to me.
Originally Posted by gunrunnerjohn:
Originally Posted by joseywales:
Gunner,I was wonder. I bet the tubular tracks the tops are round=less wheel covage to the track compaired to like gargaves and fast track the the tops are flat=more wheel suface gripping the track.... would like sombody to do a test with one engine with 2 different tracks to see if im wright about the tracks?Im running on tubula tracks,thats all I can aford for now..until I can buy fast track or gargaves track..
Well, since it didn't do much better on Fastrack, that was the last straw! For a really large and heavy (over 12 pounds for engine/tender), it has pretty small wheels, and it just wasn't all that impressive in performance, at least for me. I did like the looks of it, and it certainly had a different sound, but if it can't pull the freight, it's gone!
Gunrunnerjohn;
I don't doubt that at all.
Fastrack has the same curved top as tubular, just in a larger radius. You still end up in a Point contact not a line contact. A flat top track will theoretically give a line contact resulting in much more tractive effect. Not that I expect the rails to always be parallel and level with each other !!!
Also, you can add a thin coat of Bullfrog snot to a pair of wheels if needed and get a massive upgrade in traction.
Sorry to hear you had such poor results with your engine. Sounds like someone missed the mark on that one.
Originally Posted by Russell:
Originally Posted by gunrunnerjohn:
Originally Posted by joseywales:
Gunner,I was wonder. I bet the tubular tracks the tops are round=less wheel covage to the track compaired to like gargaves and fast track the the tops are flat=more wheel suface gripping the track.... would like sombody to do a test with one engine with 2 different tracks to see if im wright about the tracks?Im running on tubula tracks,thats all I can aford for now..until I can buy fast track or gargaves track..
Well, since it didn't do much better on Fastrack, that was the last straw! For a really large and heavy (over 12 pounds for engine/tender), it has pretty small wheels, and it just wasn't all that impressive in performance, at least for me. I did like the looks of it, and it certainly had a different sound, but if it can't pull the freight, it's gone!
Gunrunnerjohn;
I don't doubt that at all.
Fastrack has the same curved top as tubular, just in a larger radius. You still end up in a Point contact not a line contact. A flat top track will theoretically give a line contact resulting in much more tractive effect. Not that I expect the rails to always be parallel and level with each other !!!
Also, you can add a thin coat of Bullfrog snot to a pair of wheels if needed and get a massive upgrade in traction.
Sorry to hear you had such poor results with your engine. Sounds like someone missed the mark on that one.
Proublem with bullfrog snot is it wears out fast..Been hearing the same complaint about the MTH semi scale S2 turbine what gunnerjohn has mentioned.. I'd thought the bigboy was the largest steam engine until I got more involed into these trains and the PRR S1 is the largest..140feet..while the bigboy 132 feet...I do love the bigboys and challengers and add PRR proto types steamers.. Big trains should have alot of cars to pull because it looks really cooler then a short train..It shows off the power of these locomotives..
Joseywales,
Things could become very interesting on our layout, if someone accidentally bumped a freight car in our 45 car train causing it to derail or uncouple. As Denzel Washington said in the movie Unstoppable, "We will be a wreck on a wreck."
Most I can get is 18 PFE Refers behind my JLC Big Boy, I want to get more to make a long train but layout size
Originally Posted by jim sutter:
Joseywales,
Things could become very interesting on our layout, if someone accidentally bumped a freight car in our 45 car train causing it to derail or uncouple. As Denzel Washington said in the movie Unstoppable, "We were a wreck on a wreck."
Never got to see that movie.. cant remember the name of this movie.. 2 cons hitch a ride on a pair of F3 with the girl.train ran off without the enginer?.think it was called runway?on your layout.. people should be that close to cause any of your cars to bump off..I got cats and a dog that like once an awhile bump into my cars while Im running my train..got one that loves to watch my train running..He started doing this lastyear when I had my BLI PRR Q2..Each time I'd fired off the sound system on the Q2 harely=cat came running in to watch..lol.. I still think big train look the best pulling long cars ..looks impressive..shows off there power.Didnt UP bigboy pulled over 100 cars?
we have 39 cars like below that we run regularly.
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Often, just one fewer than too many:
If you get bored, skip to the very end to see just how close 
My average is 10 but I have a small layout.
