I am thinking about building some ramps to create a scene for my auto carriers. Does anyone have any history, thoughts, how they worked, PICTURES [:D] , or any related information?
The HO scale model ramp that Walther’s sells has a lot of this kind of info included in the instructions.
I should have mentioned I am doing N scale, I didn’t think it was available anymore?
I ended up Google’ing Autorack, Autocarrier and added ramp to the search, I guess being lazy at times is a Bad Thing® , I think I found 20-30 different sites and images on the web.
Amtrak’s Autotrain has one of the best and fastest operations anywhere.
Both the Lorton VA and Sanford Fl locations would offer 2 different approaches to the same operation.
Auto distribution centers adjacent to large yards or near larger metro areas are another good source to investigate loading ramps.
If you’re friendly with an auto dealer who knows more than just what’s on the showroom floor, he or she might be able to help point you in the direction of their shipping sources and whether they come by rail.
HTH,
Mark
The December 1994 Model Railroading Magazine has great article on how to kitbash an HO scale Walthers ramp, but it has a drawing of the chassis portion that can be scaled to N with a little work on a copy machine. It also has step by step instructions and picture for upgrading the Walthers kit that might be helpful for scratch building a ramp in N.
dthurman
model railroader also did a 2 part article on auto distro facilities in 1999 or 2000 i dont have mine handy right now, but if you do a xearch of the magazine index wiil provide you with the proper information. 1 thing to consider is that tri and bi level racks CANNOT be loaded/unloaded from the same track. Trilevels were on 1 track(s) and bilevels were on another track(s)
hope this helps
tom