I have read on several forums where people from time to time comment on how a lot of the new N scale locos are lighter than in years past. I'm assuming it's because of space for decoders, and some because of lead free lighter alloys? Anyway, I am going to be purchasing an Atlas GP38-2 (newest version) for my first loco and I won't have anything to MU it with for a little while until I get some other railroad items purchased. I was wondering if it is common for people to add weight to their locos for better performance and if so. How would I go about adding weight to the GP38-2? I was thinking from my fishing days that there were some small square adhesive backed lead weights that people would use to weight down some of their crankbaits and other lures to make them work deeper. I have no idea if they are still available, but I thought maybe there would be a place between the frame and the body they might attach??
Try this. It's 50% heaver than lead, and is non-toxic: http://www.tungsten.com/orphan.html Tungsten strip, 0.020" thick, 4" long, width between 0.5" and 0.62"
There is a guy on Ebay hocking powdered tungsten. Presumably you mix it with a resin then pour into the shell. I have worked with tungsten in the past, and you will find that the bars are very brittle. be caseful changing the dimentions. I have no experience with the powdered tungsten kits on ebay, but I have used powered tungsten extensively when working with firearms. It is NOTICIBLY denser than lead. Oh...and Dremel cut-off wheels don't work for a flip on tungsten. I think that you will find that grinding on a table grinder works better.
I thought powdered tungsten was available for purchase at golf shops. It is used to weight golf clubs.
Lets say I had some of this powdered tungsten. How do I get the stuff to form into a shape or lets say pour some in a sand dome and get it to stay?
I mix tungsten powder with white glue to make a very thick putty like material that I can cram into any void. It does shrink a little when it dries and it does conduct electricity so be careful that you don't bridge across split frame loco chassis. I bought a small jar of coarse powder from Golfsmith and another bottle of fine powder from a friend.
Yeah...that doesn't suprise me. I have used it for two purposes in firearms (I'm a retired police officer, and a licensed FFL dealer). One is to make VLD long range bullets, and the other is for H&K based weapons. Tungsten is used in the bolt carriers to cause a delay in blowback. This system was used in the WW2 German machineguns & modern MP5's. Here is the listing I was talking about..... http://cgi.ebay.com/Model-Railroad-...ryZ19127QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Fishing shops also sell a moldable tungsten putty. Tungsten is the heaviest of affordable metals. It's heavier than depleted uranium, but not as heavy as gold. There are a few exotic metals that are heavier, but they are more expensive than gold.
Tungsten putty Haven't tried it but, found this at cabelas.com when I was researching the info in this thread. OK, tried to put a link in here but it wouldn't work so, go to Cabela's Official Website - Quality Hunting, Fishing, Camping and Outdoor Gear at competitive prices. and search for Tungsten Putty. Or, just Google Tungsten Putty.
Any of the moldable putties - tungsten or lead - are remarkably less dense than the base material. You're better off using the pure stuff than the putties. For the tungsten powder, I am going to try using ultra thin CA to secure it. Tungsten is available in multiple forms (powder, pellets, blocks, cylinders, flat plates etc) from hobby shops that carry pinewood derby materials for the boy scouts. Pete D.
Tungsten Putty Pete D. is correct. The putty I mentioned from Cabelas even states that it's 30% heavier than lead as opposed to 50% for the Tungsten powder.
