A little bit of Colorado

[Dave V]

  @Cajonpassfan   I've got a couple of their C-19 also and a 4% grade  . 1 loco will pull 2 cars & a caboose probably pretty much what the real locos would do IMO . Double heading I can barely pull 5 cars & caboose .  Now I have a couple brass 2-8-0
's that pull much better , I can get a C-21 or a C-25 to pull 4 cars & caboose .   If you change the speakers in your C-19's look for the Scale Sound Systems speakers . They are drop in made specially for this loco and the sound is better than the stock speaker . They also make 1 for the K-27 .     Mike

I was thinking this as I typed my reply about my tonnage limits (and it should be noted that my HOn3 RGS has no grades) that they "scale" insofar as on a grade they pull marginally less than their prototypes could (they perform more like C-16s than C-19s) so of course the K-27s can pull so much more. In that respect I'm not too upset with their performance as on my RGS, the five cars and a caboose is about right on the grades I'm essentially pretending to have.

[Cajonpassfan]

  @Cajonpassfan   I've got a couple of their C-19 also and a 4% grade  . 1 loco will pull 2 cars & a caboose probably pretty much what the real locos would do IMO . Double heading I can barely pull 5 cars & caboose .  Now I have a couple brass 2-8-0
's that pull much better , I can get a C-21 or a C-25 to pull 4 cars & caboose .   If you change the speakers in your C-19's look for the Scale Sound Systems speakers . They are drop in made specially for this loco and the sound is better than the stock speaker . They also make 1 for the K-27 .     Mike

Yes, thanks for the suggestion Mike, I already have one on order. A friend just put the SSS speaker/enclosure combo in his and the difference is quite astonishing. And inexpensive, too. Kudos to them.

We kept the grades to mostly 2% with just one 2.5% section, so the pulling power of my #41 is disappointing. I like double heading, and pushers, but only on longer trains. A double header with only four cars just seems not right to me. And my friend's Rio Grande 345 handles the same train without difficulty, so I need to figure out why...they are essentially the same locos.
A little more weight wouldn't hurt, either.

Dave, I enjoyed running on your flat layout, and it didn't "feel" flat; the setting and scenery more than make up for that. You've done a great job in the space you have, while saving room for a finely stocked whiskey bar😎
I find it interesting and challenging that some of my much smaller N scale steam locos pull well (and other larger ones, like the Athearn Challengers do not). It's a continuing struggle, but we like it for some reason...
Thanks for following this.
Best, Otto
Otto

[Cajonpassfan]

Otto,

  I have to agree with you on the K-36s and K-37s.  I've always thought they were to big to be real narrow gauge engines, they look more like what they really are, standard gauge engines adapted to run on narrow gauge track.  I think the K-28 was the pinnacle of narrow gauge engines that looked like they belong on a Colorado narrow gauge train.  I wish the RGS had been able to use them as I would love to have a couple on my layout.
  On your passenger train the helper would most likely be cut in on the head end.  Another thing to consider since you built all those great trestles is ensuring the helper is cut in so as not to have both the road engine and the help on the trestle at the same time.  Additionally it was common practice in Colorado narrow gauge to cut the helper off when running down grade and then cut it back in when climbing the next grade.  I'm not exactly sure why and I've never been able to get a good answer to that question.
  Please share your experiences with your modifications to the engine.  I for one would be very interested in what you come up with.

Scott

Thanks for the helper operations info, Scott, very interesting and much appreciated. I do run helpers on my own N scale Cajon layout, passenger double headed and freights with pusher(s) ahead of the caboose. Don't have any flimsy trestles though😁
As I noted in my other response, while I love helpers, I don't think they belong on very short trains. Something about the right balance and my sense of aesthetics, so I need to figure out why my loco is not performing as well as the other one. Again, more weight somewhere?
Fun stuff, mostly. Thanks for following,
Otto

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, it's been a rough rough several months, no modeling. But meanwhile, our "rock artist"Gary made some progress on my bridges, see pics. It's looking good, I'm thinking, just some more shrubs and Aspens to throw in...and guard rails, of course

[Cajonpassfan]

...and a couple with a train. Btw, it's the Knott's engine, from days ways before the berry farm...
I just put a new Scalesound speaker/enclosure combo in it and added a Run-N-Smooth....much better sound and performance

[Hawghead]

Awesome looking scenes Otto.  Great work.

Scott

[Cajonpassfan]

Thank you Scott, it's been fun to do something not in my scale.

[dcarrell8]

Absolutely fantastic!  I hope I can achieve something half as good some day!