I just picked up two new 89’ flat cars from BLMA.
I got some semi-trailers also.
But I was wondering, if they are all purpose flats, then what other kinds of loads do the railroads use for them?
Intermodal Containers.
Really? I didn’t know that. I have some intermodal containers also.
Is that it though?
I like heavy equipment, & these Wiking JD’s & some LoneStar chaindowns.
However, on local IC&E rails any unusual load may be ‘strapped’ to the car.
Wind Generator components
Steel coils (if there is a gulley plank)
Rebar
Wood Products
Many ‘Crated’ products
Compressed cars from the scrap yard, (supplemented by gons with baled steel)!
&
Your ‘least favorite railroad’s’ accidsent victims going to the rebuild shop!
Aha! Very nice. Thats what I was looking for.
I really like those tie-downs you have for the tractors. Can you tell me how you made them?
Thanks Chad, your help is greatly appreciated as always…
Michael,
Hey, thanks!, you inspire me too! (I really dig thiose Rio Grand ES44’s you are showing us!)!!
For flat car loads, “just” think of anything that can’t load in a hopper, boxcar, & maybe a gon…
Flat loads are endless, also, I enjoyed following the thread on the 737 parts, pretty cool.
The Chain Downs were by Lonestar, Walthers numbers 437-12108 & 12109, I used the brown & shot them in BNSF orange when doing another loco shell. The paint was a little wet, but I hoped it looked a little used, as some of the paint was not even over the chain & the brown showed through. I used latex mold rubber to attach the Wiking tractors to the flat bed with a drop on the bottom of the tires. (If I recall correctly, these are Intermountain/MTH 60’ flats, with the laser cut wood decks). Then I used a tweezer to ‘test fit’ & cut/trim the chain downs to size, & carefully dipped the ends into the latex rubber cement & carefully placed them where I thought looked good onto the flatbed races & on the tractor bodies where they may be a bolting attach point.
Hope that helps!
Chooch makes a wide variety of flat car loads. Try checking them out for some inspiration (or even potential purchases.
89’ flats can also hold auto chasis stacked 10 or more high. I would like to model this, but havn’t not figured out how to build them. If anyone has any suggestions, I would like to hear them.
Years ago the WISE division of the NMRA offered 80 auto frames as a fund raiser. I’m not sure if that 's what you meant by chassis, but they do make interesting gondola and flat car loads. They show up on eBay occasionally.
I don’t see on BLMA’s website that these cars are “all purpose”. The ones they’ve produced so far ONLY carry trailers. NOT containers. Or anything else.
Ed
One of them is Walthers http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/932-40801
And the other one is BLMA http://www.blmamodels.com/cgi-bin/webstore/shop.cgi?ud=BQYABQEMBwcCBxQUEBEcHAIFCAQEBQQFCQkTEQAA&t=main.blue.htm&storeid=1&cols=1&categories=01001-00023&&c=detail.blue.htm&t=main.blue.htm&itemid=F89JHO-1
If you read in the description on the BLMA site, it says the prototype hauls “trailers, pipe, rail, bulk loads”
I’m leaning towards getting two D9 Cat tractors and some crates, but also like the steel pipe loads as well for these.
Here ya go: Auto Frames
Disclaimer: I have no connection other than being a satisfied customer.
I was thinking something like this:
Right. The F89-J as depicted by the existing BLMA models was built for trailers only. An “all purpose” flat for intermodal purposes had retractable container pedestals so it could also carry containers. Some F89-J cars were later equipped for carrying pipe or other things, but that didn’t render them “all purpose” as that language was for intermodal trailer/container service. A Trailer Train all-purpose flat would have had TTAX reporting marks back in the day, prior to the conversion programs for Twin-45 and later modifications.
The cars you’re linking to at the Walthers site are “all purpose” cars only in the sense that they can carry trailers and containers. The TTX cars have reporting marks indicating intermodal use only, and have details consistent with that type of use.
Which BLMA car do you have? Either the as-delivered brown scheme or the Twin-45 is intermodal only, as is the upcoming 70s yellow scheme F89-J, regardless of the generic description of the cars on their site. BLMA announced the PTTX converted pipe cars for future release, but those I think were restricted to pipe service due to the loading devices. The model could be converted and re-painted/re-lettered for other types of service, where at least it could receive reporting marks consistent with how you intend to employ it.
Of course it’s your model to employ as you see fit. I’m trying to supply some food for thought if you plan to use it plausibly.
That’s a 60’ car. My impression is that the 89’ footers usually handle lighter loads than the 60-75’ cars.
Not super-light though. They’ll haul around a few APCs on one. But main battle tanks get moved on the shorter cars.
A D9 weighs 110,447 pounds. 89’ flatcars generally weight from 80,000 to 86,000 pounds. Even with a gross rail limit of 286,000, two D9s would overload the flatcar.
http://www.cat.com/equipment/track-type-tractors/large-track-type-tractors
Oh man. Thanks for the info guys. I guess I’ll rethink my loads then.
I think I’ll just use some long steel pipes now.
“All-purpose” INTERMODAL flatcar. Equipped to handle either trailers or containers.
We’re NOT talking about general service standard flatcars that can handle everything from steel plate to vehicals. There’s a lot of replies here with neat photos and examples which are totally obscuring the correct answer because that’s not the kind of car being asked about.
Looking at the photos on the model manufacturer’s site, the BLMA model is ONLY set up as a Trailer car. The same cars could be used in other services like hauling pipe, but the hitches and deck risers would all be removed, and possibly some cross-bearers. They’re not directly interchangeable between services; the car has to be modified or reconfigured with the specific loading features. Different TTX reporting marks indicate the car’s configuration/service.
The Walthers car is set up as a trailer car and has tracks along the sides for container pedestals. So does the Atlas 89’ TOFC car. These two cars are All-Purpose Intermodal flatcars.
Here’s one of the cars represented by the BLMA model reconfigured for hauling pipe/rail/steel:
http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=pttx600998&o=ttx
Notice the wooden risers across the car.