Locomotive Weights
I have struggled a bit with the trackwork on Tony’s Forest, particularly with the isolation gaps. I tended to lay a continuous length of rail and cut the gaps later but in some instances the ends of the rail have moved vertically. It’s not much but enough to affect the running of some of the lighter locos. I have tried to add in as much weight as possible but it is difficult with some of the smaller 3d printed locos. I have also found that getting the weight distributed helps and I try to gauge this by placing the loco on a thin bar in about the middle of the driving wheelbase. If the loco doesn’t tip forward or back too much then I consider the weight evenly distributed. It’s not exact but a back-heavy loco is very obvious.
I ended up weighing all the locos to help determine a minimum weight for reliable running.
| David Malton Ruston | 57g |
| Pepper 7 O&K | 61g |
| FK3d Hudson Go-Go | 64g |
| Bill Flude Ruston | 64g |
| FK3d Randsom-Rapier | 65g |
| David Malton Simplex | 68g |
| Nigel Lawton Simplex | 70g |
| Roy C Link Lister | 73g |
| KB Scale Hudson Hunslet | 74g |
| Locos n Stuff Ruston | 74g |
| Hesketh Models O&K | 76g |
| Locos n Stuff Brush Battery | 81g |
| Grandt Line Battery | 88g |
| KB Scale Ruston LBT | 99g |
| Nonneminstre Battery | 109g |
| Henrik Laurel Simplex | 117g |
| Bachmann Una | 119g |
| Roy C Link Simplex KB Scale Chassis | 122g |
| Roy C Link Simplex LnS Chassis | 123g |
| Foufdees Diana | 125g |
| Nonneminstre O&K | 125g |
| Tom Bell Ruston | 130g |
| Nonneminstre Hudson-Hunslet | 130g |
| Wrightlines Ruston open cab | 136g |
| EDM Fletcher Jennings | 141g |
| Nonneminstre Muir Hill Fordson | 144g |
| Wrightlines de Winton | 153g |
| Worsley Works Dick Kerr | 158g |
| Henrik Laurel Manning Wardle | 159g |
| Wrightlines Ruston with cab | 167g |
| Neil Sayer Baldwin 50hp GM | 174g |
| Chivers Diema | 176g |
| Roy C Link Bagnall | 185g |
| Branchlines Manning Wardle | 205g |
| S&D Andrew Barclay | 219g |
| Wrightlines Fowler Marshal | 225g |
| Wrightlines Tin Turtle | 225g |
| Wrightlines Andrew Barclay | 231g |
| S&D Dick Kerr | 263g |
| Wrightlines Peckett | 270g |
| Wrightlines Bagnall with cab | 277g |
| Chivers WDLR Hunslet | 350g |
| KeyKits Kerr Stuart 4415 | 361g |
| Peco Hunslet | 395g |
Not surprisingly, the heavy locos run the best. However, locos as light as 64g run remarkably well – especially after a bit of work trying to even out the track. If I could, I would like locos to be at least 80g to 90g but that is difficult with the small 3d printed bodies.