Yesterday while watching one of my home made rail fan videos I noticed 2 seperate sets of the above mentioned subject. They were married together in the middle & could not be uncoupled with 1 set of trucks in the middle plus trucks at both end. One was a TTX car the other was I believe NS 4024. Are these new of were they just a test to see how they would operate? The video was from 09/04 [:o)][8D]
That is wierd. Never seen that before; where did you see this?
EB M/T on a UPRR train crossing the diamond @ Colton CA. Actually the 1st time I watch the tape I missed it. Yesterday when I thought I saw it I backed up the tape several times & then came forward on slow frame. For sure that is what it was. I can make a d pix of the cars but it will be off the TV & while thumbnail is not so bad if you blow it up it gets somewhat distorted. [:o)][:)]
[quote]
Originally posted by Junctionfan
The Gunderson AutoMAX cars are articulated.
(Google on Gunderson AutoMAX to retrieve all necessary info)
I’ve seen them alot for the last 5 years, usualy yellow by NS or a TTX. They are not AutoMax cars wich are white and bigger in size, but similar.
Thrall Car built close to 1000 of these–there were originally 420 cars in BTTX series 880000-880419, 520 cars in NS series 110097-110141 and 110150-110624, and fifty rather paripatetic cars originally in TR (later NS, now FEC) series 110625-110674. All were in TTX yellow.
The 4000-series number you saw on the NS car might have been a rack number.
The TTX cars are from Trinity. TTX has not purchased or leased any of the AutoMAX cars.
You can tell the difference mainly by the fact that the AutoMAX incorporates a well design to allow three levels for SUV’s. The Trinity car utilizes a flat car base.
These Autoracks are becoming more common now. Just last week I saw a unit train of them from various roads heading south on CSX’s Todelo-Dayton line through Lima, OH.
I’ve seen a lot of the TTX articulated racks, but I’ve never seen a combo rack like you’re describing. It might have just been something they threw together to get the job done…
trainluver1
Because automobiles are relatively light, building an articulated auto rack car makes a lot of sense, since it saves on the cost and weight of a truck and a set of brake gear for each pair of cars. In Australia, Pacific National are having old cars rebuilt (and enclosed) as articulated triple deck vehicles.
Peter
…starting to see a lot of articulated autoracks around here, those things sure are big!
These were around before the trough trains showed-up in the early '90’s…Still have vivid memories of what happens when one set of trucks derails in the middle while shoving against the air. One very long night![|)][|)][|)]
Thanks I never noticed that either. I will look on my tapes to see if I can find one close up! [:o)][8D]
[quote]
Originally posted by Overmod
OK i guess I had seen them before but never noticed it. See what rewatching the tape does? Thanks [:o)][:D][:p]
[quote]
Originally posted by mudchicken
In the train I video their was a NS set & a TTX set. [:o)][:)]
[quote]
Originally posted by 440cuin
OK thanks with all the trains I have seen I must have seen them before but never noticed it until watching the video I took in 04. [:o)][:D][:)]
[quote]
Originally posted by CShaveRR
Yes I have seen KSC & BNSF oversize cars + Auto max ones as well. I also saw a couple of UPRR cars in their marks painted UPRR yellow. Thanks I was aware they were for transport of SUVs. Wonder what the RR will do with them when when the SUV/Dodge Ram market has dried up due to the gas prices? [:p][8D]
[quote]
Originally posted by futuremodal
That is understandable what you posted. Tks. [:o)][:)]
[quote]
Originally posted by M636C
Sorry, Futuremodal, but the BTTX, NS, and TR cars were indeed built by Thrall, not Trinity, between 1997 and 2001 (job numbers available on request). You are correct that these are the only articulated rack cars owned by TTX.
The Auto-MAX cars were built by Gunderson, and are showing up under quite a few reporting marks (but not UP or NS).
UP’s own yellow auto racks, mentioned in a post above, were also built by Thrall. They’re trilevels, and the lower level takes the form of a well, but they aren’t articulated.
I believe Thrall had called this design “Q2”.
Trinity, as far as I can tell, has never built any complete auto rack flat cars such as these. As the successor to Thrall, however, it has been supplying new auto racks for existing (and new) 89/90-foot TTX flat cars.
Carl
Thanks for the correction, Carl, but I didn’t say the current crop of TTX articulateds was built by Trinity, but are marketed by Trinity. Trinity does have the rights to build any new articulated autoracks, being the successor to Thrall, but hasn’t built any since the Thrall takeover. I know this because I had contacted Trinity a few years ago regarding the prospect of using the base of the BTTX as an articulated flat car, and was informed by them that such could only happen if one of the autoracks is returned to them due to a wreck or some other reason, e.g. where the superstructure is damaged but the base is okay. They have had no new requests for more articulated autoracks, at least at the time of our conversation. However, is such were to happen, they would be built and marketed under the Trinity name.