Does Cleaning the Rail Actually Change Pulling Power?
We measured drawbar pull on dirty, cleaned, and lightly abrasive-polished HO rail. Cleaning raised adhesion enough to add several cars of capacity.
Read the experimentExperiment log
Measured, Not Assumed
Model railroading runs on a lot of “everyone knows.” This log tests those claims with a scale, a stopwatch, and a few dozen repeat runs — does cleaning the rail really pull better, does weight change how far a car rolls, does back-to-back gauge decide turnout reliability? Each write-up gives the hypothesis, the method, the raw numbers, and an honest read on what they do and don’t prove.
Small samples on home equipment — the direction and rough size of each effect are the point, not lab-grade precision. Every experiment says so.
How Much Does Car Weight Change Rolling Drag?
We rolled the same boxcar down a fixed ramp at four weights and measured how far it coasted. Heavier ran farther — rolling resistance is a fraction of weight, as predicted.
Read the experimentDoes Back-to-Back Gauge Really Decide Turnout Reliability?
We ran 50 passes through one turnout at three wheelset back-to-back settings. A few hundredths of an inch moved the derailment rate from zero to constant.
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Predict it first
From measurement to model
Each experiment feeds a Lab calculator — measure your own μ, car drag, or gauge, then let the tools turn the number into a prediction for your layout.
When it goes wrong
See the failures
The forces these experiments measure are the same ones that derail trains. The case studies trace what happens when they go unchecked.