Passenger Consists...How Many Cars?

Five or six are my limit, due to layout size.  But sometimes I like to run a local, as you mentioned, of two or three cars.

On my semi scale PE, I run 8 baby madisons.  On the scale PE I will be running 7 heavyweights this year.  My MTH Crescent Limited pulls 6 heavyweights.  

My layout is only 16' by 5', and so I never run more than 6 18" coaches. I normally run 3 or 4 coaches, but I still dream of the day when I have a big enough layout to be able to run a 12+ coach express. 

Paul:

 

The longest consist that I run is twelve 21" K-Line Lightweights. Interestingly enough, this train represents one of your favorite railroads, the Milwaukee Road.

 

However most of my passenger trains consist of 8 passenger cars. The next addition will be the Wabash Blue Bird that ran prototypical with 6 cars.

 

On my 88 sq. ft. layout, I have a Williams Santa Fe passenger train with 5 aluminum cars pulled by a powered and dummy set of FA-1s.  I use an MTH Z4000 and power it up to 14 volts and the train goes around the layout as a high-speed streamliner effortlessly.  If I power it up any more, it would fly off the curves.  Could probably add a few more aluminum cars, but this seems the ideal size for this layout.

 

I've had better luck using Williams FA-1 engines pulling the heavier aluminum cars than with the newer Lionel F3s.

 

 

Vern

I run six to nine depending on the train.  I don't like the look of less than five and more than nine seems too long: I've run up to fifteen 15" aluminum cars just to see if I can do it (yes, but . . . ).  

My 20th Century Limited has 7 streamlined cars on it.  When with the locomotive it is 11 feet long.  Most of the time I run a mixed of 5 freight cars, a caboose, and two heavyweight passenger cars on the end.  That's all I have, for now.  A PRR passenger train is planed for a future purchase, as well a Daylight.  I'd want both to be at least 6 cars long, if not longer.

When I am running at the museum, I try to be as prototypical as possible. The steam Hiawathas started out with seven cars, raised to nine for the 1936 and 1938 trainsets. So, that's what I run. The Olympian Hiawatha operated with a dozen or more. That's about how many 21" cars I have, so I run them all with the Atlas Erie Built ABA set (all powered) or the MTH ABBA  F units. With heavyweights, I run anywhere from 6 to 13 depending on the pulling power of the locomotive. Heavyweights go behind steam power. 

 

At home it's a different story. i've got a small layout (13x13), so I typically run no more than two diesels and five 18" or six 15" cars. 

I have broad curves O-144 and love the passenger trains of the NYC and the Santa fe as came and went from the Chicago area in the fifties

 

The NYC are pulled by all hudsons, a J1e ,J3 and J3 super Hudson with 7 to nine heavyweights. The Santa fe chiefs and super chiefs are pulled by an ABBA F3 and a Pecos River ATSF Hudson with 7 to 15 cars depending on whether  we are including refrigerated cars.

The ATSF passenger cars are all 18 to 21inch Budds except one heavyweight mail car.

9 car consist for the AMT Santa Fe and a 10 car consist for the MTH Spokane Portland & Seattle.

From viewing many, many historical videos, there is no "right number" in a consist. I've seen 1 as well as over 12.

I seldom run more than 4 but I have a small layout. While I'm on my high horse, not all passenger cars were 84'. Many were 60 ' (15"), 72' (18"). So run what looks good to you.

Dave G. 

'

We had 34 cars behind NKP 765 in this video, "Runnin' That New River Train."

7 18" Pullman cars, the loop is about 43ft. Other rolling stock is added from time to time. Currently there are 6 military cars tagged to the last car.

 

Brent

My Super Chief consisted of 14 MTH 18 inch cars.

My El Capitan will consist of 12 full scale cars most are 21 inches long.

My Golden Gate Depot SP Daylight train is 12 cars, mostly 21", plus some articulated chair cars and the three section articulated dinning car set.

 

My CB&Q heavyweight train is made up of all Golden Gate Depot 21 inch long cars, and generally is 12 cars long, without headend equipment.  

I run my Lionel K4 Red Arrow with the four passenger cars it came with.  And my MTH DAP NS Executive train with the ABBA and 8 cars.  All are 18 inch cars.  I still need the 2 sleeper cars, Pa. and AL. cars that just went off on e bay for a wopping $600 buckeroos.  Ouch gotta wait for those two some more.

depends

Are you modeling actual consists?

Back in the day of tinplate and postwar it was three to five cars

North Coast Limited with the 14 cars of the maximum sized trains run during the high summer rush season.  Power it with ABBBA ... or to be really correct ... AABBA ...

 

When my "extra" cars arrive that is ... until then, it's the regular 11 car train with ABA power.

I enjoy watching the nice photos that everyone does share, I'm content with that. In my tinplate world the consists are "old world". These are mostly one Pullman & one Observation. There are times I add in a Combine Car or maybe a Baggage Car/RPO. I will never be able to run the long consists, however, this does not hinder ones imagination.

My only passenger train ,the Daily Excitement, is pulled by a 4-4-2 Atlantic. The consist is one Weaver baggage car followed by one Lionel 18" coach. They all have Texas and Pacific markings.  This type train operated all over the US until the end of the steam era, they were not fancy, sleek, or impressive, they just got the job done.

 

Douglas

I run either my Lionel Texas Special FT or PWC F3 with ABBA + 6 - 9 passenger car consist.  I run these sometimes with express cars also.  My layout is about 11' X 17' so any larger would be inappropriate.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

Well, I do run a one car Doodlebug train?  Sometimes I run my PRR 4666 with a Weaver B60 bad, Weaver ROP and MTH R50.

 

I can run 6 15" Willliams TS cars with my UP Katy Heritage SD90MAC, and 1954 2245C F3B.  If Lionel can import a NYC SD90 and Superliner passenger train.......

 

Or 4 of the above cars with the 2245AC sewt due to the fact the 2245 has one motor.

 

UP does run UP 1988 on special passenger trains!

My 20th Century Ltd train also runs 7 cars in its consist. Its pulled by a scale Hudson, then Baggage,  coach (2), dining car, dome (non-typical though), sleeper, and observation lounge car. If you want operating realism (and have the space); IMO,  6-7 car passenger trains look nice.

PRR - modern smooth side has 5 cars with A-B-A engine (E-3).

 

Daylight Special Heavyweights has 8 cars with 1 G-4.

 

NY Metro North  commuter has 6 cars including motorized car.

On the club layout I prefer to run at least 9 cars, but have run up to 23 depending on the makeup of the train.  To be fair, my 23 car train consisted of a lot of head end cars, about 8-10 if I recall that consisted of baggage cars, mail and express reefers.  Most of my trains range in the 12 car range typically.

 

At home, I am currently running 10 cars, but it is way too long for that layout.  I really prefer 5-6 21" cars there.

 

When I rode the Broadway Limited in the early 90's the consist was three express mail cars, a heritage baggage, three to four coaches, the lounge, a diner and three sleepers.  The commuter trains on the NY&LB typically had nine coaches prior to the electrification to Long Branch and an increased frequency of trains.

Here is John's (rattler21) consists:

 

          Passenger Consists by Track

                March 23, 2014

 

          Track One (1)    133”         

 

MTH Texas 2-10-4

American Standard 60’ baggage car*                  15

GGD Pullman 8-1-2 Fairmont Park                   20

GGD SF Pullman 12-1 St. Alexis          20

Lionel Santa Fe Dining Car 1461 w/sounds          18

K-Line Pullman Night Route*                             17 ½

K-Line Pullman New Orleans*                   17 ½

Williams Santa Fe observation car Lake Louise*    17

 

          Track Two (2)   130”         

 

Lionel Hudson 4-6-4

GGD SF REA 54’ ice bunker exp reefer  4000          13

Weaver SF express reefer*  3075                   9

MTH SF R50B 1352                   13

Williams REA baggage car 4107                             17

K-Line SF baggage car 93* w/messenger window   17 ½

K-Line Pullman dining car                   17 1/2

K-Line SF Pullman Jonathan*                                 17 1/2

K-Line SF observation* Chief Red Cloud                  17 1/2

 

 

              Track Three (3)           

 

MTH Northern 4-8-4

Lionel REA milk car                   12

Lionel American Railway Express milk car                 12

Weaver SF PS-1 express box car                               9

K-Line SF baggage car 1821                                    17 ½

MTH SF baggage car                                                17

Williams NH baggage car*                                        17

K-Line NH baggage car*                                           17 ½

MTH Western Maryland heavyweight baggage 136    17

 

Cars 17” or longer are heavyweights with three axle trucks

Asterisk(*) denotes some modification; weathering,

  interior paint, exterior paint and decals,

  roof, added windows or custom built

 

Jan

I like branchline/short line trains, and the layout will only have a connection to

Class Ones, so "passenger"  trains include railbuses, gas electrics, combine cabooses,

and combine coaches.  A lot of reefers and RPO's will be moved,  as one of its "industries" is to switch a large city postal center.  Most of the RPO's will just be switched, in and out of the post office docks, and then shuttled to the nearby Class One connections.   Most over the line trains run will be mixed, with a combine or combine caboose on the end, and an RPO or RPO/baggage added to the early morning and late evening run.  The reefers will be from a brewery and a packing plant and their loaded cars will get priority over freights made up of beet gons, coal hoppers, and log and lumber cars, and so run with the evening "mail" trains.  Empties will be returned on the regular mixed freights.  Slow traffic times will mean a rail car will make the run, but might be tasked to bring back a priority reefer, if up to the job...the railbuses won't be able to.  the packing plant and postal center remain to be built.

I've run N&W consists with as few as "2" behind my N&W 4-6-2 E2a for a local. For grins I've thrown everything I own behind my N&W 2-6-6-4 A and have pulled 26. All the lighted cars put a real load on the Z4K. The engine doesn't seem to care. It would probably pull 10 more if I turned all the lights off.

 

Gilly

It's nice when you can.  I like to run ATSF stuff including the Super Chief which was ABBA plus twelve cars (or more).  I've done that several times but I have incandescent lighting in all my ATSF cars and the only matched ABBA F3 set I have has four Pullmor motors in it: it is very difficult to get it started and up to speed  within the 10-amp limit on the Z4Ks or ZW-L's breakers.  Normally I have to open up a baggage and one other car and disconnect the lights so get the 12-car train down within the 10-amp limit.  (Yeah, I know, I really ought to convert them to LEDs, but I want to leave them original): I plan to get a modern can motor ABBA set someday - been waiting hoping Lionel would bring out a Legacy set.  An ABA set with eight or nine cars looks pretty good, instead, and leaves me a couple of amps within my 10-amp breaker limit.

Dave is right.  A single PRR K4s might pull passenger trains of up to 15 cars on level terrain, but a more practical (common) number would be 12-13.  Many of those could be head-end cars (RPO, baggage, etc.), too.  Not unusual to see a mix of heavyweight and streamlined cars in a variety of paint jobs, either.

 

On my layout, I'm using a Williams K4s to pull 6 K-Line 18" heavy-weight cars (6-wheel trucks).  This is a Broadway Limited train, which isn't correct for the Panhandle (the Trail Blazer would be correct).  But I like the look of the heavy weight cars.  I have an additional 4 Williams cars that I can add, but to pull 11 cars would mean running them with the M1a.  I have a 3-4% grade to deal with; no problem for the M1a.

 

George

Passing sidings on my railroad are designed for steam trains with a maximum of 8 Rail King 027 passenger cars. The mainline is more than half single-track, so running two or more trains necessitates the use of passing sidings.

 

I can run much longer trains on the mainline, but more than 8-car trains on my layout doesn't fit the image I enjoy seeing. The longest train I ran had over forty cars.

 

I run a 7 or 8 car passenger train with the Williams F-7 ABA set I have, the passenger cars are the Williams Crown Edition Santa Fe "El Capiton" six car set with an added one or two MTH passenger cars. I upgraded the second F-7 A unit to a powered unit and can pull about 12 passenger cars before the engines reach their limits. I have 031 curves with a few half curves thrown in as well to make it look better on the curves, and the layout is 8 feet by 11 feet.

Another passenger set I used to run was the King Coal passenger six car set by Williams with a Williams GP-9 pulling them, and I was able to run them on 027 curves and a few Gargraves 032 curves.

 

Lee Fritz

While I understand the desire to run a long consist unless you have a large club layout like the NJ Highrailers, to me they look out of place.  Sort of like a dog chasing it's tail.  I never run a passenger train that is longer than 4 cars, preferring to have the train leave the area and not return for a bit.  My baby trainmaster pulls a 3 car consist, my RS-1 and kline tank locos each have 2 car locals.   That being said, if I had the space i would certainly run longer trains.

Just for the fun of it from last night on my layout....

Possibly the longest consist I ran as a passenger train would be my version of Amtrak's Three Rivers:

(the above train has since acquired two more Amfleets. There might even be a couple more material handling cars for it too.)

 

My Amtrak Auto-Train is more proof-of-concept than a serious runner--I did get it to move with a single locomotive after converting the passenger cars to LED lighting, but it will require four motors and a significant amount of fine-tuning get it video-worthy. At present it consists of nine Superliners and twelve auto-carriers. (I could have made it fifteen, but decided not to use the cars with Phase III striping.) 

 

---PCJ

I like to run a GP 9 followed by a combo car only. 

I know, I really ought to convert them to LEDs, but I want to leave them original

 

Why not just get the screw-in or bayonet LED bulbs to replace the incandescent? Several vendors sell LED direct replacements for Lionel bulbs, with the resistors built into the base. They even come in warm white, the best of which at least approximate the appearance of incandescents. That way you can cut your current draw without any permanent modification to the cars. That is on my to-do list for all my Weaver Hiawatha cars, as it would just be too time consuming to install LED strips in 30 or so passenger cars.

Here are representations of the N&W Cavalier and Pocahontas.