does anyone run real full length rakes on there layouts or have a model train that matches a picture taken

Quote from: BROADTRAIN1979 on January 24, 2011, 06:20:53 PM
I bought two rakes but, they were only good for the grass IM LOOKINGT AT A 5 COACH FORMATION MK1S OFCOURSE

I tend to use 4 or 5 mk2 coaches as this was common in the 80's & 90's on diesel hauld trains

My HST sets are only 5 cars in length as my fiddle yard is only 6ft long :'(

I've run up to 11 coaches behind my 37 to signify a charter and both my 37 bodies are detailed (and one repainted) to currently running locos not available RTR, being 37218 in DRS Compass, and 37425 Pride of the Valleys (although currently without nameplates).




I also run an engineers train behind my 66 and these can be any length in real life so I run 4 converted Farish container flats as track panel carriers and 5 OBA/OCA opens with sleeper loads and other bits and pieces. I plan to add further track carriers to this.





I also have a full rake of Network Rail test train coaches which will be a complete formation once I have another 37 to repaint into DRS.

Although you cannot see it in its entirety in this picture, our container train is full length - in this case 19 flats.



The layout is big enough to run full length trains, although this will vary from single car units, up to the container train, via 8 or 9 carriage units. The 16 wagon M250 FMU (basically a container EMU) is an impressive sight...

My old Heysham layout featured 9xMk3s on the crack Eustons. This rake fitted neatly into the longest platform and fiddle yard. Semi-fasts were 8xMk2s.

newer trains seem to be alot shorter. cross country ones used to have 7 mk2`s virgin/intercity.
i think i remember being at new street early to mid 90`s and the 87/86`s down to london used to run 12 coach mk2/mk3s + dvt in intercity.

whats the longest and heaviest freight train that runs in the uk at the moment?

not sure but this seems to be very long


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvTZMBR28z8

Quote from: Zunnan on January 25, 2011, 10:16:25 PM
The biggest freight train I can find reference to in the UK was a Foster Yeoman stone train 1650m long and weighing 11982 tons, but that was a one off. I've seen oil trains leaving Kingsbury in the past with 24 100t tankers, I'm not sure of the length or weight of them nowdays though. The iron ore trains in South Wales were pretty big as well, originally tripple headed by class 37s, then double headed by class 56 and later the ballasted class 37/7.

Think Ive seen this on the Big freight DVD series

Class 60's regularly run with 27 and as much as 30 of the 100ton TEA tankers. The Foster Yeoman stone that Zunnan refers to could run up to 40 90tonners behind a 59 (video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Kq1oQ0Wnc) don't stand on a bridge when it goes under though!

The HOBC in findus's link it one of the longest regular services that I know of and this video confirms both T&T 66's power this train.

My personal favourite has to be the Daventry to Coatbridge intermodal running 28 intermodal flats (14 pairs) behind two DRS 37s.

Good photo's everyone.  I'll try and get some pictures of mine this weekend.....if I'm allowed!   

This is my Railtrack set on my old layout.....

A couple more from our layout in its early days immediately prior to it conversion from UK outline...

A full length series 100 Shinkansen Grand Hikari set. Perhaps my favourite Bullet, this includes four double-deck carriages and is about 6 foot in length.


This is the M250 FMU I mentioned in an earlier post; again, 16 cars in length. Both this and the Bullet run perfectly smoothly with only a single motor coach; for the M250 is it one of the driving cabs, whereas for the Bullet it is somewhere in the middle.

Claude......

You are a bad man . 
The more I see of this layout the more crazy idea's I have