What is a MTH "Test Car" for?

The railroads would use these to test weight scales.

Scale test cars

Roving Sign posted:

https://mthtrains.com/20-98251

Were these real - or O gauge accessory?

What were they for?

Absolutely they were real.

They ran at the end of the train right in front of the caboose.

Gilly@N&W posted:

They ran at the end of the train right in front of the caboose.

Yes they did. That is until one had a broken knuckle!
These little things have no air brakes. The test car and caboose broke away from the train, the two sections separated a distance and the train part stopped before the test car and caboose, which then slammed into the stopped train. The collision was hard enough that the conductor was injured and did considerable damage to the cab interior.
After that, the N&W amended the timetable to where these little cars were required to be the second car ahead of the caboose. The buffer car acting as extra braking effort in case the break in two happens again. 

This happened on my line about a mile from my house.

The railroads still have these.  Scale test cars rotate across a railroads’ system and are set into rail shipper sites for use in calibrating the scales.  The railroad has nothing to do with the testing though.  

Speaking for my own employer; we use third party scale services to visit our plants when a scale test car is onsite and perform any repairs necessary to calibrate and recertify the scales.  It goes without saying that true scale weights on our outbound shipments are important to both the railroads and to our customers.

Curt

                           Clem's test car in transit...

Curt posted.."The railroads still have these.  Scale test cars rotate across a railroads’ system and are set into rail shipper sites for use in calibrating the scales.  The railroad has nothing to do with the testing though."

Not so with our railroad. Ours own their own scale test car. At least annually our crew use these to calibrate the scales at our various facilities. Its an all day process and a real PITA I can tell you.

Here's my Western Maryland scale test car by MTH.  As I understand it, the WM had two of these cars to service their entire system.

trumptrain posted:

Here's my Western Maryland scale test car by MTH.  As I understand it, the WM had two of these cars to service their entire system.

I have a few of these - including 2 of the above Western MD

Thanks for all the replies - I was pretty sure it was a real train device - but wasn't quite sure.

I assume the Test Cars were used in the yard and did not travel with the train?

  Train crews were not big fans of scale test cars...  having one on your train meant a speed restriction of 30 per (even slower on some subdivisions) . Train crew were paid by the mile, (apparently now it's by the trip) the  faster you got over the road  , the faster you make your money..

Fortunately movement of the scale test cars were  usually on a switcher , weight freight  but every now and then a main line freight would have one next to the caboose.. Slow trip today.  No air brakes on the thing  but there was a hand brake .

Interesting to learn that the test car was cut in in front the caboose instead of being placed behind the caboose.  I'm not a professional railroader.  Perhaps some of you who are professional railroaders can share the logic of this placement.  

Placing the test car in front the caboose, at least to me,  would indicate  there was no brake air line to the caboose meaning the caboose had no brakes and the rear end crew would not be able to read the air gauge inside the caboose.  If so the conductor/rear end brakeman had no information as to if the end of the train was receiving adequate air for the brake system to function.  Not unless the there were some sort of  jumper air hose long enough to bypass the test car and thus supply air to the caboose, placing the test car in front of the caboose seems like an awfully dangerous practice.... at least back in the day when cabooses brought up the rear of the train.   

Thanks ahead of time for sharing your information.  I'm curious. 

What was once a UP is now an N&W awaiting warm weather to get its final touch up & clear coat.

trumptrain posted:

Interesting to learn that the test car was cut in in front the caboose instead of being placed behind the caboose.  I'm not a professional railroader.  Perhaps some of you who are professional railroaders can share the logic of this placement.  

Placing the test car in front the caboose, at least to me,  would indicate  there was no brake air line to the caboose meaning the caboose had no brakes and the rear end crew would not be able to read the air gauge inside the caboose.  If so the conductor/rear end brakeman had no information as to if the end of the train was receiving adequate air for the brake system to function.  Not unless the there were some sort of  jumper air hose long enough to bypass the test car and thus supply air to the caboose, placing the test car in front of the caboose seems like an awfully dangerous practice.... at least back in the day when cabooses brought up the rear of the train.   

Thanks ahead of time for sharing your information.  I'm curious. 

You didn't read my first post did you?
Just because they didn't have air brakes doesn't mean that they didn't have a "trainline". 
The last car/s in a train cannot be without air brakes.

Placing the test car in front the caboose, at least to me,  would indicate  there was no brake air line to the caboose meaning the caboose had no brakes and the rear end crew would not be able to read the air gauge inside the caboose.  If so the conductor/rear end brakeman had no information as to if the end of the train was receiving adequate air for the brake system to function.  Not unless the there were some sort of  jumper air hose long enough to bypass the test car and thus supply air to the caboose, placing the test car in front of the caboose seems like an awfully dangerous practice.... at least back in the day when cabooses brought up the rear of the train.   

Thanks ahead of time for sharing your information.  I'm curious. 

No air  brakes on the car  but there was a train line  complete  with hose bags just like any other rail car...  

Tail-end crews certainly didn't want anything behind the caboose especially something with no brakes... Can you imagine what would happen if it came uncoupled  on steep grade   ?  Tail-end crews   were always  lining  switches back behind  themselves... No need for that little extra walk. It also would be in the way of  rear track inspection  from the caboose.

Big Jim posted:

trumptrain posted:

Interesting to learn that the test car was cut in in front the caboose instead of being placed behind the caboose.  I'm not a professional railroader.  Perhaps some of you who are professional railroaders can share the logic of this placement.  

Placing the test car in front the caboose, at least to me,  would indicate  there was no brake air line to the caboose meaning the caboose had no brakes and the rear end crew would not be able to read the air gauge inside the caboose.  If so the conductor/rear end brakeman had no information as to if the end of the train was receiving adequate air for the brake system to function.  Not unless the there were some sort of  jumper air hose long enough to bypass the test car and thus supply air to the caboose, placing the test car in front of the caboose seems like an awfully dangerous practice.... at least back in the day when cabooses brought up the rear of the train.   

Thanks ahead of time for sharing your information.  I'm curious. 

You didn't read my first post did you?
Just because they didn't have air brakes doesn't mean that they didn't have a "trainline". 
The last car/s in a train cannot be without air brakes.

Big Jim - thanks for the clarification!  Much appreciated!  I did indeed read your first post and found it to be very interesting.  There was no mention of a train line in your first post, nor did I take into account that these test cars may have had a train line.  As I stated I'm not a professional railroader.  I do appreciate your expertise.

As stated above the scale car goes in front of the caboose. Nice  picture though

Gregg posted:

Placing the test car in front the caboose, at least to me,  would indicate  there was no brake air line to the caboose meaning the caboose had no brakes and the rear end crew would not be able to read the air gauge inside the caboose.  If so the conductor/rear end brakeman had no information as to if the end of the train was receiving adequate air for the brake system to function.  Not unless the there were some sort of  jumper air hose long enough to bypass the test car and thus supply air to the caboose, placing the test car in front of the caboose seems like an awfully dangerous practice.... at least back in the day when cabooses brought up the rear of the train.   

Thanks ahead of time for sharing your information.  I'm curious. 

No air  brakes on the car  but there was a train line  complete  with hose bags just like any other rail car...  

Tail-end crews certainly didn't want anything behind the caboose especially something with no brakes... Can you imagine what would happen if it came uncoupled  on steep grade   ?  Tail-end crews   were always  lining  switches back behind  themselves... No need for that little extra walk. It also would be in the way of  rear track inspection  from the caboose.

Thanks so much Gregg!  Your detailed explanation makes total sense to me. 

Hey you're welcome. I have to  ask..... What type of music do you like to play with your trumpet? 

What is in the "vault" door on the side?

Cool gif Roving. I know a true story that would shed some prototyping light on that action if you are interested 

Here’s a real one.  Used regularly at my work.  Here it is being moved around by a New Republic switcher.

Gregg posted:

Hey you're welcome. I have to  ask..... What type of music do you like to play with your trumpet? 

 I like all music from all over the world old and new.  Actually, I'm a trained classical trumpet player.  I used to perform strictly classical music, and have played with many orchestras and chamber music groups over the years.  Over the last 20 years though, I've explored and performed many genres including jazz, commercial, bluegrass, rock, avant guard classical, and freely improvised music ... which can be jazz or any style  of music really.  This week I'm off to Appalachian State University in Boone NC to perform with my  5 person free improv group " The Momentary Ensemble".  We will perform a concert this Friday night and lead masterclasses for students all day Saturday at the Appalachian State's Hayes School of Music.  When I get back I'll be rehearsing with my classical music group for upcoming classical performances.    

Grand Trunk Western was a paint scheme never produced. 

Andrew

Here is a photo of a BN scale test car from RailPictures.net

Andrew

Adriatic posted:

What is in the "vault" door on the side?

 

Access for adding/removing weights.  The car must be recertified after any change.

Rusty

It just so happens that the MTH test car provides perfect spacing between two Traditional Lionel gondolas when they are parked at the Culvert Loader and Unloader.

Thanks for confirming that Rusty

"Interesting to learn that the test car was cut in in front the caboose instead of being placed behind the caboose.  I'm not a professional railroader.  Perhaps some of you who are professional railroaders can share the logic of this placement."  

A "train" is operationally defined - it has a number, maybe a name - has an actual birth and death. A group of freight cars coupled together and sitting in a yard is not a "train". But, when a caboose is attached to the rear and a loco to the front, the crew reports for duty and the conductor (he's the boss; the "foreman" of the crew - the engineer is not; he works for the conductor) takes charge, "Train NN" is born. It will exist until the end of its run, even if cars are dropped off or picked up.

Part of the very definition of a "train" back in the day was a caboose - as the last car in the train, carrying the markers ("taillights", if you will). When there was a pusher loco - with a crew, of course - behind the caboose, it became the last "car" in the train and carried the markers. Scale cars were not typically equipped for any of this, and certainly could not carry a crew.

I got up close and personal with the scale test car currently at our site today.  The hatch doors on both sides have been removed and plates welded over.  The top hatch looks like it still works but has been locked.  I hope you like the pictures.

Built date says 1929.

Bob Shaw posted:

It just so happens that the MTH test car provides perfect spacing between two Traditional Lionel gondolas when they are parked at the Culvert Loader and Unloader.

Ditto,

Another thing to love about the OGR Forum...I never thought about owning one of these cars but learning about them I realize this would be a pretty cool car to add to my railroad....thanks for posting this roving and thanks to all those who gave us a history lesson on 'test cars'

Thought I'd add a couple photos of my Nickel Plate version

Between the rain and the snow there was a brief break and a warm day to finish the N&W Scale Test Car project. This car was originally in UP silver w/red lid.
Since there are no specific decals made for this car, I used three different scales of N&W hopper car decals (www.greatdecals.com) to piece things together. You'll have to accept the lack of "Do Not Hump" and "Scale Test Car" lettering as "implied details".