I am looking for plans or pictures of the car floats used to bring railroad cars to and from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I also could use some information on N-Scale suppliers of models of these.
Irv
It seems to me that about ten years ago Model Railroad Planning did a feature on New York Harbor and particularly on the Brooklyn waterfront; if memory serves me they included plans–or at least dimensions–for a car float. If you are looking for a model to take out of a box and plop down on your layout you probably are not going to find one especially in N-Scale. This is one of those items that, if you want it, you are most likely going to have to scratch it.
I am not above making my own car float but plans would be very helpful. The specific car floats I want to model had 3 tracks and carried 7 cars on each of the outer tracks and 5 on the center track. I also know that the aproms they docked with had two tracks with one of those tracks having a turnout to handle the center track.
I have seen some photos of these car floats and the look like they were 300 feet longand something 40 or 50 feet in width. What I haven’t been able to determine is whether they had straight or curved bow sections.
Irv
The Pennsylvania Railroad Tehnical and Historical Society has had several issues of the keystone over the past several years covering the prr “navy”. Individual issues are available from the society web site.
Working from half-century-old memory, you could make a pretty close ‘foobie’ barge with a length of 300 feet, beam of 44 feet, tapering to 32 feet at the ends. The deck edge would parallel the centerlines of the outer tracks, which would be 12 or 13 feet outboard of the centerline of the inner track. Checking whatever photos you can find will provide information on the designs and locations of cleats, fairleads, rub strakes and fenders.
Another variant, on the same hull, had a covered platform in place of the third track. That allowed the barge staff to swap LCL among the cars, so that each car would (hopefully) end up with shipments for a single destination.
Carfloats were usually lashed to the side of the tug providing power, since they were much easier to maneuver that way. A single tug with two floats was not uncommon.
Chuck (former Merchant Marine cadet modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Yes I am aware iof several variations on the theme. But this is not a period type of carfloat. It is modern day and there is no need for the central platform since there isn’t a call for LCL service.
But I am thinking of what I can do if I don’t find what I am looking for. That includes using a plank of wood wide enough to handle 3 tracks and to leave enough room between the tracks and the sides for N-Scale people to walk around and take care of things. I haven’t looked at ship fittings yet but I pretty sure I can find things like bollards, stanchions and other stuff close enough to N-scale to make my stand in car floats somewhat believable.
Irv
As of the 21st century, there are 2 (count 'em) car floats operating in New York Harbor, a 290 footer and a 360 footer. Both are single ended, with a tapered ‘bow’ and a square stern. All three tracks run all the way to the stern, and are terminated by having the rails bent upward to about 24 inch height, then a sharp (160? degree) bend at the top, vertical down to tie height. This is a common sight in Japan, but rather rare in the U.S.
The powers that be want to replace the ferry with a tunnel - under the widest part of Upper New York Bay - financed by a tax on trucks…
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Yes, I’ve read about the tunnel and the fact that there are only two car floats left. But my layout assumes that Conrail was more friendly to car float operations when they took over and didn’t reroute most of the freight trains to Selkirk. So I will have more car floats of which I have found some pictures and statistics.
I figure I can make the car floats out of a plank of wood with one tapered end. The trick is going to be to get the center track to overlap the left track so that the apron can unload it using a turnout. I might just put a third track on the apron and thereby eliminate any fancy track work of the carfloat and the need for a turnout on the apron. I figure I’ll need to have each car float carry 15 cars. Since the tugs usually brought in two of them at a time, that’s 30 cars coming into the yard that have to be sorted and blocked whic should keep that yard master busy for a while especially since those bages need to be reloaded with outgoing cars. I’ll need two aprons to run that though the original had 4.
Irv
Sylvan has a kit of a generic car float in “N” that might work for you.
mj
Corsair7,
Walthers did this car float in HO. It is not available but you could check the Walthers book to see a picture of it. It should show the orientation of a typical 3 track with 2 tracks entering on one end only, New York Harbor standard design. I do not know if they used this design in Philadelphia and Baltimore.
If memory serves correctly, the turnout for the center track was entirely on the apron, with the frog casting at the very end. The frog rail of the center track almost, but not quite, touched the frog rail of the outboard track. It was still a very tight fit, calling for alignment measured in fractions of millimeters.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
It’s a bit small for what I want, but it is defintiely worth a look.
Thanks.
Irv
I know that Walthers made it. They’re supposed to be releasing it again but alas, no N-Scale version.
Irv