# Longest train I have ever seen!



## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

154 cars !!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9rAIREy91I8

Length of train is 115 meters, about 380 feet
Half the cars are equipped with ball-bearing wheelsets.
Couldn't equip all of them that way because on a downslope cars are pushed off the track


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## Tom Parkins (Jan 2, 2008)

That's impressive. BUT think about this.

150+ cars x $60 per car (w/ ball bearings) = $9000
+ 2ea Dash 9 $500 ea = $1000

*Grand Total = $10,000*


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Since when does 150 cars equal 115 meters....??

...modern math...?


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

yeah, that should be about 280 feet, not 380. 
there is a wide variety of cars..some shorter, some longer..
but if you assume an average of 50 foot cars in 1/29 scale, plus locomotives, and some extra width for couplers.. im getting approx 280 feet.

Scot


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## Vinny D (Jan 25, 2013)

The OP said 154 cars, not 150.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

115 meters divided by 154 = 0.7467 meters... converted to inches that is over 29 inches. What cars are over 2' 5" long?


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Vinny D said:


> The OP said 154 cars, not 150.


Basically irrelevant to the discussion.. we are estimating.



Semper Vaporo said:


> 115 meters divided by 154 = 0.7467 meters... converted to inches that is over 29 inches. What cars are over 2' 5" long?


None, which is why the original train length was questioned, and why its clearly wrong. 

Scot


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## Dr Rivet (Jan 5, 2008)

So... I laboriously watched the video. There were 154 cars including 2 cabooses. Most cars were 40 and 50 ft 1:29 box cars, a standard mix of LGB house cars, hoppers, and flats. There were some of the modern well flats for containers, but their length may have been offset by the long string of tank cars. If we assume an average length including couplers of 18 inches [1.5 ft], the length of the train is 154x1.5 = 231 feet plus about 6 ft for the locomotives. I am at approximately 240 feet, much closer to Scot's estimate. Even at an average of 20 inches per car we are at 256 for the train.


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Tom Parkins said:


> That's impressive. BUT think about this.
> 
> 150+ cars x $60 per car (w/ ball bearings) = $9000
> + 2ea Dash 9 $500 ea = $1000
> ...


Due to operational issues only half the axles on each car were equipped with ball-bearing wheels and the owner of that train makes his own, converted from regular metal axles.
But still a ton of coin.


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

The 115 meters comes from a comment by the owner of that train in the link I posted, the 380 feet is just a straight conversion.

But you guys are right - 115 meters is overstating it.
An LGB US 4-axle car is about 0.5 meters long, give or take depending on type - plus the two locos adds up to about 80 meters total.


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Semper Vaporo said:


> What cars are over 2' 5" long?


This type is close - 28 inches 
http://www.gbdb.info/details.php?image_id=2576

It's just not on that train


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

The two locos are only 45 meters ..in full scale real life....

Get some fresh batteries for yer calculator young man!!

;-)


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

SD90WLMT said:


> The two locos are only 45 meters ..in full scale real life....
> 
> Get some fresh batteries for yer calculator young man!!
> 
> ;-)


 What does the length of two locos in 1:1 scale have to do with anything????


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

The over all model train run here was approximately 72-75 meters overall, including those two locos!

Its nice to see others in the world trying to run longer trains, in G model form.. 

Yet Dennis Sirrine pulled a 152 car train several years ago with a single Big Boy...on grades up to a peak of 2.4%!!


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Who cares if his math is wrong. That is one long train


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

SD90WLMT said:


> The over all model train run here was approximately 72-75 meters overall, including those two locos!
> 
> Its nice to see others in the world trying to run longer trains, in G model form..
> 
> Yet Dennis Sirrine pulled a 152 car train several years ago with a single Big Boy...on grades up to a peak of 2.4%!!


The video in this thread is also over four years old - it was posted on a European Large Scale forum after someone posted Dennis' video clip there.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I paid more than $60 per car and I have no ball bearings on them.

I guess I got ripped off.... or my grand total is more impressive.

I make sure I NEVER total my expenditure in public... the wife will find it and insist on a new car.

Greg



Tom Parkins said:


> That's impressive. BUT think about this.
> 
> 150+ cars x $60 per car (w/ ball bearings) = $9000
> + 2ea Dash 9 $500 ea = $1000
> ...


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Greg Elmassian said:


> ... the wife will find it and insist on a new car.
> 
> Greg


By "car" I assume you mean automobile 
Not a new railroad car


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes, a new automobile. Every so often she "inventories" the trains or the cigar collection and assigns a value coincidentally equal to the cost of what she wants to buy.

Luckily, she never gets the right totals ha ha!

Greg


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