Yes, any test based on hauling vehicles is more of a test of the properties of the vehicles than of the locomotive's power.
It's been my intention for ages to rig up a simple quadrant to link a loco to a cheap electronic balance - one of those things that I might never get round to.
On the subject of rubber and its alleged variance due to being 'a natural material' - other than specifically latex items, there is almost no such thing as natural rubber these days and it would be a rare loco indeed that used anything other than totally man-made plastic as a traction tyre. If you could find a real rubber tyre, I'd warrant it would be well perished and virtually useless. Even brand new tyres made from natural rubber wouldn't last more than a few minutes running and are almost totally defenceless against rotting on exposure to oil. Even if never run, natural rubber perishes in a very short time frame simply due to oxidisation.
Even the best quality synthetic plastic tyres can't be guaranteed against wear and tear or even to resist some lubricants and it's for those reasons and others that I don't much like them personally, though it has to accepted they can do wonders for traction!
It's been my intention for ages to rig up a simple quadrant to link a loco to a cheap electronic balance - one of those things that I might never get round to.
On the subject of rubber and its alleged variance due to being 'a natural material' - other than specifically latex items, there is almost no such thing as natural rubber these days and it would be a rare loco indeed that used anything other than totally man-made plastic as a traction tyre. If you could find a real rubber tyre, I'd warrant it would be well perished and virtually useless. Even brand new tyres made from natural rubber wouldn't last more than a few minutes running and are almost totally defenceless against rotting on exposure to oil. Even if never run, natural rubber perishes in a very short time frame simply due to oxidisation.
Even the best quality synthetic plastic tyres can't be guaranteed against wear and tear or even to resist some lubricants and it's for those reasons and others that I don't much like them personally, though it has to accepted they can do wonders for traction!
