A a newbie and trying not to overspend, bought a rake of used "n" gauge box vans - mainly Peco I think. They are very light indeed - pulling no problem but pushing, especially over points, and bad things happen! They are easy to disassemble and adding weight is easy. Same goes for open trucks - need a load in my opinion. I run fairly short trains and don't want to overstress the engine.

What would you recommend and how much?  I have heard of the evils of expanding lead but I'm not thinking of a permanent fix until I find an optimum. Currently my experiments are with Blu-tac and some old nuts and bolts; What do you experienced modellers do? Are metal wheels a help?

I sometimes use a brass pin from a mains plug or
an old steel nut, usually sunk into a piece of
Milliput which can be shaped so it doesn't rattle
in the truck. Not sure if steel wheels make a difference.

To be more scientific you can get weights for model aircraft in - I think 1/4 oz  "ingots" with self adhesive bottoms.  A 1/4 oz, or less, would be a good starting point.  It makes shunting more satisfying as the extra inertia makes coupling up smoother and more reliable.  But nails, nuts etc are fine; gravity works just the same on these!

More weight is definitely worth trying.  You won't over-stress the engine, but you need to be judicious, and keep all your vehicles similar in weight.  A heavy train may cause problems with the leading vehicles, and if you have gradients will reduce the length of train you can get up.

Metal wheels are generally better and worth swapping if you don't have too many wagons (i.e. the expense!)

Cheers Jon   

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Weights-for-Wagons-Coaches-etc-3-Strips-of-60g-12x10g-12x5g/253328583549?hash=item3afb8f6b7d:g:cDUAAOSwUn9aAtIZ

on ebay

Thanks guys, things definitely run better with weight. No idea that actual weights for models existed. Fe 5 and 10, I'd guess that's grams.
for permanent loads in open wagons Milliput would be a good bet.

Fe is for iron(not lead) and weight in grammes

Quote from: Old Crow on February 19, 2018, 12:20:19 AM
Fe 5 and 10, .

Excuse, I missed something where did Fe5 and 10 come from ? Fe chemically is Iron, Pb is lead. but isnt that all ott a bit.
CofG I think is maybe more important and if using Peco wagons with ferrous plates in em, then a neo magnet or two underneath is worth a try (easily removed)

Hi, this is what the N-RE guys recommend for rolling stock at their meetings:

    To improve the safety against derailing, especially of inhomogeneous, long or pushed trains, the mass of all cars is increased to unified 7.5 g per a axis. Removable freights are allowed to add additional 30 %.

hope it helps...
Gerard

In fact some of my peco wagons are still held together by a neo top and bottom because I didnt want to use that stupid steel? nut on a plastic spigot excuse for an engineer's nightmare.

Quote from: Old Crow on February 18, 2018, 09:00:26 PM
I have heard of the evils of expanding lead

I dont think it is the fault of the lead expanding, more to do with its interaction (chemical by-products expanding) with pva. Maybe with other water based products as well, ?  but pva is often a weapon of choice so maybe gets a bad press in this respect ?

Somewhere down the line, I was given an A5 sized sheet of lead.  This has lasted me a while, gluing chunks in some loco body kits to get a better weight distribution and gluing to the floor of goods vans.  Open wagons can be more of a challenge, especially empty flats, one plankers etc.  Sometimes I can get a washer or two under the floor without it showing too much at viewing distances - painting it back helps.  More recently a mate who once worked with the Electricity Boards gave me a supply of those lead seals they use to seal our meters.  He has loads of these.  These can be cut or squashed as required.  But yes I have found that traditional 4 wheelers can be an issue - they bounce on less than perfect track.  Many of my open wagons now carry loads from 10 Commandments.  That helps.

Worth bearing in mind when choosing a material to give extra weight to a wagon, whether you use, or are likely to use, Dapol Easi Shunt uncouplers with magnets on the track (or other brands). If you do, you won't want the wagon to move because of the attraction with the magnet.

Quote from: Old Crow on February 19, 2018, 12:20:19 AM
Thanks guys, things definitely run better with weight. No idea that actual weights for models existed. Fe 5 and 10, I'd guess that's grams.
for permanent loads in open wagons Milliput would be a good bet.

I think they are just adhesive weights for balancing car alloy wheels, they don't look too expensive, but if you search for 'adhesive alloy wheel weights' on eBay, there are better deals.

Have a read if you haven't seen these:-

https://www.nmra.org/beginner/weight

http://www.mill-lane-sidings.co.uk/mlswagonweight.html

Thanks guys. Of course Fe is iron but interesting that that E-bay outlet sells it for modelling. Looked at the links and the Mill Lane one sells adhesive lead strip and recommends sealing it with pva!!!! Says he's had no issues with lead but I think the "health and safety" is a bit ott - "wear gloves?" Yes it's poisonous, but just don't suck it and wash your hands afterwards. I agree about the need for perfect track but points are bumpy by nature and light wagons misbehave when pushed.