# trailing car for battery power



## ewaldbee (Jan 5, 2009)

Is there a particular car that works best for containing the batteries and receiver for a trailing car.


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## HaBi Farm (Aug 28, 2011)

I've used both box cars and passenger cars for my steam era locomotives. A box car is nice because it gives plenty of room for a speaker and the sliding side door can be used to replace batteries, but might look out of place for a modern diesel. Another possibility would be a gondala with a lift off "fake" load cover. 
The best answer might be: what car would you usually put right behind the loco and does it have enough room in it. You can get around needing easy access to change batteries by wiring in a charging input jack.

the other Rodney


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## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

Agree, use a car that fits you style of train. The battery does not have to be accessible, use a DPDT stitch and a charge plug. I just finished one with everything in an Elimy tender.
http://www.reindeerpass.com/2-wire--female-male-ends-1-2.aspx


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## Great Western (Jan 2, 2008)

A lot of useful and informative help on this web site:

http://ovgrs.org/

Look under the locomotive project tab.


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

I have not seen it mentioned as yet, but I would think that any car you choose for a battery car should be rolling on high quality ball bearing wheels. After all, it will probably be the heaviest car in your train.

Best,
David Meashey


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## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

All of my locomotives are battery powered, and all have the batteries in a trailing car. I do this so that I can change out my batteries when they become discharged. I have used all sorts of cars for battery cars: box cars because as others have said they provide a lot of covered space, covered gondolas, and hopper cars for my coal trains. All have worked satisfactorily for me, and in fact I am currently using at least one of each of the above described cars on various engines.

Ed Headington


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

First, let me say that at my home railroads I almost always run analog DC through the track, but I have several engines set up for battery and RC. This is so I can run as a guest on non track powered layouts.

I am using a Nimh in the tender of a K-28. That is my only non Li-ion battery setup. The tender is full and it will be a PITA when I have to replace the batteries. It works fine and I have not had any problems, so far.

All of my other setup have removable Li-ion battery packs. For the engines, Bachmann K-27, Aristocraft Mikado and Mallet and a USAt Hudson the batteries are in a trailing box car. I can easily remove the roof or open the door to exchange a dead battery for a charged one. For charging I remove the battery and charge it in a safe place. I chose a box car because my engines are assigned to pull both freight and passenger trains. A box car at the head end of a passenger train isn't all that unusual. A reefer would be equally valid for a passenger train, but it might look strange behind my Mallet pulling a string of 32 iron ore cars.

I don't envision other types of freight cars in Passenger service.

D&RGW train pulled by a Bachmann K-27 with a trailing 1:20.3 box car with batteries.









USAT Hudson pulling a rake of mixed streamliners with the 1:29 USAt American series box car behind the tender.










Mallet pulling iron ore train with the same battery car seen in the picture above.










I have two Geese that rely on battery and RC. The roofs are not attached and are easily removed to exchange the battery when necessary. This picture shows the traveling Goose on the Alan's (aka Fyrekop) Sky Island railway in Sierra Vista, Az.










I am a cautious person. I will not charge a Li battery, no matter how much built in protection it is supposed to have, in an expensive model. Box cars are easy to use, either by lifting off the roof or opening the door, when a battery needs to be removed for recharging.

I like box cars, because they can be used in just about any train you can think of. Other types of cars can restrict you to specific consists.

Chuck


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## Trains (Jan 2, 2008)

I have used box, gondolas, and hopper cars. I now run engines with battery and sound in the units.
Don


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Everyone seems to run whatever they like for a trailing car
I typically use a stock car, as I thought the ventilation was good for any heat that may be generated by the ESC board, but maybe that is just not an issue..

Jerry


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## Great Western (Jan 2, 2008)

Naptowneng said:


> Everyone seems to run whatever they like for a trailing car
> I typically use a stock car, as I thought the ventilation was good for any heat that may be generated by the ESC board, but maybe that is just not an issue..
> 
> Jerry


You have a valid point Jerry. The battery trailing car produced by Aristocraft (for the 27Mhz. TE and presumably equally good for the 2.4GHz. REVO) was a stock car for the very reason you suggest i.e. ventilation.
Living a moderate climate where it never get much above 80F I have two double door boxcars and a coal hopper in use as battery cars at present. However the changing of a box car body for that of a stock car is simple enough I guess - providing that they are both Aristo. 

There maybe some suppliers, such as Star Hobby that still have the Aristo battery cars.


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## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

Seeing those passenger trains, made me remember that I put my batteries in the combine car on my passenger trains. That works well too. When I use these, I leave the roof removable so I can exchange batteries easily.

Ed


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## ewaldbee (Jan 5, 2009)

All great ideas and thanks for the pictures.
Ewald


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