Weight

I got into a good discussion about this topic with Rob from Texas in one of my recent posts. He's had a lot of experience getting cars to run well, including adding weight. You might find his comments helpful as I did. Here's the link to the post

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/good-news-bad-news-12199161

"My question is do Athearn

    I ran a lot of the old blue box cars with no problems in the old days. I don't know what the current ones use for weight but they had a sheet metal plate running from end to end on the old cars, probably not as much as NMRA standard but was adequate. For a hopper I'd put the weight in the load and run the empty hoppers light since that would be more realistic as it would require the empties to be placed behind heavily loaded cars. It would also save having to fill the bottom with weight so empty cars could still look empty. For weight in general more is not necessary if all the cars are somewhat equal in weight. The main thing to watch for is great variation between heaviest and lightest cars. If you have just a few too heavy it's easier to lighten them up instead of adding weight to all the other cars. If you have some that can't be lightened just make it required that they are placed on the front of the train.Same with extremely light cars, if they can't be weighted to near normal require them to be treated as empties and placed on the rear. Along with having the cars roughly equal in weight it's equally important for the wheels to roll freely and the trucks be able to run true and keep all the wheels solidly on the rail, Tweaked trucks and bad bearings cause more derailments than light cars, N scale cars are very light and have very small flanges but still run in long trains because they roll so well and are easy to pull so there's no excess force trying to pull them off the track in the curves.......DaveB

an alternative

to ball bearings:

http://www.adairshops.com

Check out there underneath the car weights fro Athearn hoppers.  With an extra coat of paint, they disappear just like the athearn metal plates.

I've been adding weight

But unfortunately, on me - not my freight cars!

What ever you do

Keep it symmetric.  The car in the pix will likely lean to one side because it looks like only three of the four wells are full.  I agree with James, adding flat weight to the bottom where the Athearn weight is or was is a good solution.  Then the visual part is free of the weights.  You might mess it up for the sake of realism, but the symmetry won't be as critical.

With uniform weight distribution, the tracking is dominated by the trucks and wheels.  The Athearn trucks are generally good, but they can have extra flash around the axle bearing surface.  You should be sure this flash is removed.  The properly weight car should roll smooth and easily.  If it does not, there is some restriction that is present.  At one time, I would have said to switch to metal wheels.  However, the metal wheels you can get today weigh the same or slight less than the original BB wheels.  The plastic wheels need to be clean, symmetric and unbroken.

I enjoyed the humor Rick

Happening to me too.  Unfortunately if you would have posted this on the "Muddle Railroader" forum site you likely would have been chastised for not offering a serious answer. 

"Unfortunately if you would

    To make it serious Rick could add if the extra weight made him run better? It obviously didn't make him stay on track better?  :> ).....DaveB 

I recently tested a train

I recently tested a train about 45 cars or so and unweighted them so that they only had the weight that came with the cars. The cars are free rolling with metal wheels and properly adjusted kadee couplers. I ran these cars on the club layout which has the usual different grades curves etc. There are the occasional track irregularities that develop as well. The cars that have added weight perform much better than those with out.

I weighted my cars heavier than the nmra standard and they will run reliably in reverse at high speed up grades through yard throats etc. The test I did with the cars at the factory weight showed them to be unreliable over an extended time and that the slightest thing could derail the light cars, but the heavy cars just kept going and stayed on the track.

With the Athearn cars you might try putting the weight under the cars. If you look at the cars from the side you will see some areas that form pockets in the under side of the cars between the hopper doors that weight can be hidden in. A visiting acquaintance uses lead shot attached to the underside of his cars with white glue. White glue has the advantage of being water soluble so it can be removed relatively easily and it dries clear. putting the extra weight under the cars keeps it low and my experience indicates it really makes a big difference.

Thanks for the kind words Paul.

Weight for Athearn 'Blue Box'freight cars

I am a firm believer in using the NMRA tables.  And for flat cars, gondolas, and open hoppers, I have been using #9 bird shot as well.  I fill the underbody with bird shot, and adhere it with Matte Medium(several soakings) to glue it to the underbody of the car.  Painting makes it 'vanish'.  For open hoppers, I fill the bottom of the discharge bays with bird shot, and then add some 'coal' over it - Again I use Matte Medium as the 'glue'.  The nice thing about Matte Medium is that it dries as a sort of 'rubber' texture, and I do not have issues with it the bird shot getting loose and dropping on the track.  Usually I can get very close on the flat cars.  The true 'rivet' counters will not accept this, but many of them do not run long trains!  You can order bird shot over the Internet - I think I paid something like $40 for a bag I can barely pick up.  Still have 24 lbs of this stuff(lifetime supply).

  For enclosed box cars/reefers, I use 'stick on' wheel weights in 1/4 and 1/2 oz.I usually use clear RTV caulking along the sides of the weights to make sure they never come loose.

When I build a 'BB' car, I toss the old plastic couplers, and plastic wheel sets.  I then add I-M metal wheels sets and metal Kadee couplers.  I weigh the car and the couplers/trucks and record the weight(usually under 3.5 oz).  I then drill out the coupler box and tap for a 2-56 screw.  The bolted on couplers get rid of the usual cover dropping off while in operation.  I check the recorded weight against the NMRA table, and add weight as needed.  I then use a 'Truck Tuner' tool to ream out the journals in the plastic trucks and install the I-M wheel sets.  When assembled, the cars roll very good, and the 'heft' is handy when 'making a joint'.  The added weight is not a problem with being able to 'pull' a train.  Usually the improved rolling ability offsets the increased weight by a wide margin.

  I just upgraded a couple of Train-Miniature freight cars and ran them at the club today - Flawless operation first time.  They had old Kadee wheel sets(lots of 'gunk'), and Kadee #5 couplers with worn out centering springs.  I reamed out the journals, and added I-M 33" wheel sets, Kadee #148 'Whisker' couplers and about .6 oz of weight to get them to 4 oz.  I re-use the #5 couplers where the thicker shank 'Whisker' couplers might be a problem.  The thicker shank on the 'Whisker' coupler gets rid of the coupler 'droop' issues on 'BB' cars.

Jim

Weight on Axles

You can also wind solder around the axles on your wheelsets if you can't find another location.. Paint it matt blck and it just about dissapears.

Jim you and I use nearly

Jim you and I use nearly identical methods and I add a bit more weight. I have quit using the stick on weights for the most part due to cost and instead use pennies and glue them to the inside of closed top cars. Pennies work out to 10 to the oz and are much more economical than anything else.

Weight Chart

Here is an HO car weighting chart I made years ago:

I used a spreadsheet program that allowed me to enter the prototype car length, convert it to actual inches, add the NMRA recommended weight formula of 1 ounce plus 1/2 ounce per inch, then allowed for a metric weight conversion.

I found the formula I wrote down at that time.  I am surely not a whiz-bang at math and I really never fool around with spreadsheets, but here is what I used if you want to mess around:

Length                                / 87 x 12                                   * .5 +1                                     *28.35

    A                                        B                                                C                                            D

                                          =(A2/87*12                             =(B2*.5)+1                            =C2*28.35

 "I think I paid something

Yeah a bag lasts a long time. I bought 2 bags at a garage sale about 30 years ago and they are still about half full even after doing some O scale cars.                                                                                                                                  I use pretty much the same procedure for tuning BB cars but I don't worry about adding the extra .5 ounce since I don't have any over weight cars in my collection. The NMRA spec is a good one to shoot for when  cars are way under weight. I've also found that I can scrape the flash off the tabs on the draft gear box and get the metal clips to stay on so drilling and tapping is not always needed.The secret is to undercut the tab  a bit so the clip is working on a negative angle surface and requires deliberate spreading to remove.                                              Tuning the trucks so they roll as smooth as possible, adjusting their tightness so they can swivel , and making sure the couplers have enough motion to not throw the cars off the track will solve almost all derailments ....DaveB 

Weighting railcars

Like Rob, I use pennies with Walthers Goo. Cheapest thing around. I've been told that they no longer make the A-Line stick-on weights anymore due to EPA regs. I had forgotten the "solder around the axles" trick from years ago that works well for open cars like hoppers, gons and flats. Thanks Graeme for the flashback.

Willie

Here is my 2 cents

I had problems running athearn cars with only the standard weight.  Now I add bird shot inside of small Ziploc baggies I found at Frank's nursery & crafts.  I weigh the car, figure what I need to add according to the NMRA standards, and put the shot in the bag.  I squeeze the exceed air out of the bag , roll it into a cylindrical shape, and wrap a small amount of electrical tape around it. I then secure the baggie in the car with electrical tape.

 For gons and flats, I pour the shot into the undercarriage and secure it with elmers glue or matte medium. I have also used ca glue with zip kicker.

By the way, you should have seen the look on the clerks face at Frank's when I was buying small baggies and a scale that was calibrated in both grams and ounces!

Moral of that story...

"By the way, you should have seen the look on the clerks face at Frank's when I was buying small baggies and a scale that was calibrated in both grams and ounces!"

Moral of that story - don't buy both items at the same time from the same place! 

If you had picked that time

If you had picked that time to stock up on some glue you might have just hit the jackpot in the looks department.