I’d love to run a string of autoracks on my layout. Unfortunately, I’m not blessed with the wide radii that these monsters look good on. I was thinking about shortening them the length of one auto - down to 72-75 feet, but I just can’t get it in my head what they would look like.
Has anyone performed this surgery ??? I’d really like to know / see the results.
Mark.
Never did it but all you need is a cheap photo edit software or something like that too cut and paster a photo of one. If your not going for proto here i doubt it would look all that bad.
AUTORK? 
I had the same problem as you did.
I solved it by converting to N scale…
Athern made 50’ double deck auto transporters. #1485 & 1494 were UP, tuscan & yellow colored. They looked a little funky, but were actually made after a prototype that saw very limited production, I believe were used on the NYC during the 50’s-60’s. There’s a prototype for almost everything!![8D]
I just tore out my last two 18" and 22" turns and replaced them with 24" and 26" so I could run my 89’ers. They look better on at least a 30" though. That would be a lot of splicing and peicing to shorten them.
The other problem with autoracks is that where there’s one, there’s usually many.
Hence my conviction that N scale, rather than HO, is ideal for modern big-time railroading.
While N allows me the long drags of 2- and 4-bay hoppers of the 1950s, I think I could still do, with a good-sized basement, some reasonable representation of 1950’s railroading. But, if I wanted to do present-day Class I, no matter my basement’s size, I’d have no question in my mind but to go N.
Your opinion may differ!
Actually, not as much as you might think. I’m using Accurail KITS which would make the shortening process rather simple. By removing about 15 feet from dead centre, there is really no visual effect to the relative positions of the uprights. I have eight kits to do, and when intermixed with some other equipment should look very reasonable.
A bit of research on autoracks shows that racks from the mid to late 60’s were considerably shorter than the now norm of 89 feet. The picture below shows something similar to what a shortened 89 footer would represent …
Mark.
Life-Like in their standard Trainset Line makes a very convicing auto rack in 50’ length. I know its not prototype. BUt it does look like correct as can be for a short version of an open Bi Level Auto Rack.
James
… oh, NOW I get it !!! [banghead] … [(-D]
Sorry. Thought you where talking about taking a modern RTR autorack with the sides and shortening it. THAT would be a lot of work. Accurail kits would be EZ. (great photo!)