Im curious to know if there are any model freight or passenger cars (not engines) that are over 100 feet long scale. If so what radius do they need and who are they available from.
the automax of Athearn Genesis is about 140 feet long I would say. I have 4 and they recommend a minimum of 24 inch radius. Overland makes a 20 axle schnabel car and God know what the radius for that would be. Likely the same for the automax; I would be more comfortable running thease guys with a 30 or better radius minimum personally.
I’m not with the modern crowd, but Athearn makes a giant articulated auto rack called the Auto-Max(?) its over 100’ long. And I would think it needs min 24" radius.
Dont forget 5 unit well cars or spine car sets. These articulated cars get close to 300 ft in total length![:0]
You took my answer [:)][;)][:0][^][8)]
I can think of a couple of other examples - Lima made a rail-mounted gun that has to be over 100’ long, it’s a model of a WW2 German artillery piece and has been sold in a set with a loco and crew/supply cars and as a single item. Marklin/Trix have also released a set of hot metal cars for an ironworks that might well be this long. I agree the articulated spine cars and double-stack cars are well over 100’ long - they’re over twice as long as the 85’ hicube boxcars I have a couple of.
Plus there are the 190 foot flat cars that are actually two 89’ flat cars that are permanently connected by a drawbar. This allows them to carry three 53’ trailers (the middle trailer straddles the gap and drawbar between the two). Walthers made this kit in the past. I think the minimum radius is 22".
Hey guys, I don’t think articulated units should count for this question. The longest rigid piece that I’m aware of is 89’. A single flatcar like Bill was talking about. The rail guns and specialty cars might beat that. Usually that really big stuff has articulation in the trucks to help on the curves.
[:D] My longest not articulated railcar is a German 32 axle Schnabelcar with a transformer. I have seen the prototype for one time in my life, this car real exist!
Made by Maerklin / Trix in 2002. This was my last european model until today
Length: 72 cm = 28 1/3 inch in 1:1 = 62,64 Meter =
205 1/2 ft
[:p]My one is the old DB in lightgrey / darkblue with black trucks Photo in the old paint scheme
Here is a link to this car in the today DBAG red paintscheme schnabelcar
They write that a radius of 36 cm = 14 1/4 inch will work - GOOD JOKE !!!
When you move the car on a single line on a table with absolute nothing at the side of the track this will real work but I tried to run the car at a club layout with 100 cm (39 1/3 inch) radius but trees, bridge handrails and most important signals, catenary poles and tunnels limit the real use of this model also at this radius, the schnabel with the transformer swings out to extreme into the second track or beside the track.
Courious is that in real such transports have similar problems! Such trains runs as extra trains only at night. And the remove of signals, the use of the wrong track (left instead of right) is also normal.[:D]
So, the car stand only in the station with the train. And was not shown in operation because the steering does´t allow the use of the wrong direction of a track - [:(]
BTW: The most important car in such a train is a former passengercar with a profilgauge at the sides. This runs in front of the
Now that one counts. What a mons
The DB buyed two or three of this schnabelcars (we call them TRAGSCHNABELWAGEN) - type Uaai 839 - sometimes between 1970 and 1972. The cars were built by KRUPP at Essen.
This cars are maximum loaded (something between 660 and 700 tons) the heaviest RR cars in Europe until today. We need in Europe more axles because the maximum weight per axle is only about 25 tons at mainlines.
BTW: I know that a similar car, also built by KRUPP, was delivered to North America , don´t ask for the road
I found a webside - think comes from UK - with much photos of this real monster in the old (like my one) scheme.
http://www.polar.sunynassau.edu/~fanellis/schnabel.html
More about the prototype:
And when the final destination isn´t reachable with rails, in sometimes about 90 minutes the schnabel´s with the load can be uncoupled from the railtrucks. They will be replaced by a special designed diesel-hydraulic selfpowered heavyload streetcar built by SCHEUERLE, named LS250 “HEULER”. At the end of this year Maerklin will bring a modell in the new red DBAG scheme
Photo
And one or the prototype consists was rebuild into a 24 axle car - Type Uaai 838 -:
The bridge between the two outside spanbolsters at each side was shortend and modified so that outside is only a 4 axle truck. then the schnabel was shorted.
A model of this car - with a MAN shipdiesel - was produced by Maerklin in 2003. Picture of Uaai 838
