Does anyone make modern articulated or corrugated auto carriers that are standard or scale? I looked through some past Lionel catalogs and found nothing but their tradional line or flat cars with vehicles. MTH archived catalogs on their web site were loading too slow or not at all.
thanks, ai
Lionel made some TTGX auto racks in 1992; but, since the prototypes are quite large, they are very much undersized. The three types I have are BN-16217, UP-16228, and GTW-16242.
Atlas, articulated, scale. MTH, covered, near scale (75’), modern non-articulated are 89’ long, aka about 4" longer.
NEW ROAD NUMBERS!
O ARTICULATED AUTO CARRIER
(Please Contact Your Atlas O Dealer)
Built in 1997 by Thrall for TTX, the Articulated Auto Carriers were designed to haul new trucks, vans or SUVs from assembly plants and distribution facilities to dealer lots. Fully assembled and ready-to-run, Atlas O’s true 1/4" scale models stretch at a whopping 35" in length and are packed with many realistic details.
Features:
Four road numbers are available per road name.
|
3-RAIL |
DESCRIPTION |
2-RAIL |
|
6291E |
7291E |
Those Lionel O Gauge Auto Carriers with Corrugated Screens are about the same length as a Walthers HO Scale Auto Carrier with Screens.
The MTH Premier O Scale Auto Carrier with Corrugated Screens has a design very similar to the Walthers HO Scale Model.
Andrew
This is one of the pages of MTH Premier Auto Carriers released over the past year.
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Premier Erie Lackawanna Corrugated Auto Carrier
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Premier SOO Line Corrugated Auto Carrier
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Premier Canadian National Corrugated Auto Carrier - Canadian National Car no
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Premier Canadian National Corrugated Auto Carrier - Canadian National Car no
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Premier Amtrak 75’ AutoTrain Auto Carrier
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Premier Amtrak 75’ AutoTrain Auto Carrier
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Premier Auto Train 75’ AutoTrain Auto Carrier
| < |
The Lionel Trains Inc. Auto Carrier with Corrugated Screens is just over 12" Long. This Auto Carrier would measure about 64’ Long in S Scale and about 87’ Long in HO Scale. The height of the Lionel Auto Carrier with Screens is right for S Scale or Traditional O Gauge Cars.
Andrew
thanks for the info. I understand that these auto carriers are going to be big, but do you think they would look silly if say 2 or 3 of them were behind a single SD40 or Dash-8? My layout is on the small to average size, O54 curves, 5.5 feet by 14 feet. the MTH carriers look possible.
ai
MTH racks are 18" long. They will have severe overhang problems on O-54 curves. The Lionel products are not to scale but will look better on O-54 since they are shorter (aka not to scale).
If you like generally Scale proportions, then the MTH Premier Auto Carriers will work on O54 curves. Three behind a single SD40-2 or DASH 8 will look fine if you have a unit train of 5 to 6 Gondolas or Hoppers also on the layout. Many short trains pulled by one locomotive is a way to create the frenzy of a busy mainline.
Andrew
I dragged out a section of Gargraves O-54 and set one of my 18" near scale passenger cars on it for the following two snap shots. While the cars are perfectly capable of navigating O-54 (and quite possible O-42), I personally find the appearance a little disturbing.
If the over/underhang aren’t an issue, go for it. In general these types of cars really need O-72 to look “right” and the tightest curves you would find on a real railroad that would accomodate cars like this works out to O-120 (yes, 12 feet in diameter). Typcal protype curves are more like O-240 (aka 24’ in diameter).
That is why I decided to buy O-72 Track. Less equipment restrictions. but it takes space.
Andrew
Actually Chuck, no 0-120 is only 10 feet in diameter, and 0-240 would only be 20 feet in diameter, still one heck of a big curve, wouldn’t we all love to have room for a layout with 0-240 curves.[#oops][:D]
Too many conversions, too tired. Thanks.
An F3 could handle a 274-foot radius, which works out to O139.
To properly use the Auto Carriers on O54 curves the sound effect of wheels scraping on rails has to heard each time the cars roll past.
Andrew
By itself. F-3 is pretty short, 50’ 8", shorter than most modern era box cars. The auto carriers are supposed to be 89 feet long.
That’s my point, Chuck, that even something as short as an F3 needed curves so gentle that most of us couldn’t possibly fit them onto our layouts.
I love when I see posts about wanting something like a GG-1 or a Big Boy to run on O-54 or tighter curves. Maybe if they made them with shells/body castings like a slinky you could pull this off[:)]
There is now a posting on another web site about folks wanting 18" scale Budd RDC cars. You could have scale cars (that would be 21" long) or you could have near scale (aka 18" cars), but you can’t have both unless you want a really rare/odd Budd RDC combine baggage/RPO car.
O gauge 1/48 is big. If you want to run modern scale stuff, you need a lot of real estate.
I recently attended a Greenberg Model Railroad show in Raritan, NJ. On one of the operating hi rail layouts they had a unit auto carrier train running on it. I am still trying to find out who made these auto carriers I thought they might be MTH but the couplers had the air hose’s on them. I thought Atlas made an autocarrier that was not articulated that had 3 positions that you could locate the trucks depending on the curve radius of your layout.
