How would a tracked crane come off a barge? Planking? or use the 100 ton crane on shore - Want to do a scene where the piledriver and dragline could be swapped. and what size tug would be good? or did they use a push/pull boat in the '50’s - ish - Thanks Chris
If that’s the home base for the barge that carries those two vehicles it would probably have had a short, heavy drawbridge, something like the apron used to connect car floats to shore trackage.
Second choice would be the 100 ton fixed crane.
As for tugboats, the company might have had a small harbor or estuary tug on salt water, or a small towboat if the water is actually an inland river. Alternatively, they might have hired something like the old Revell (kit) tug from a local transportation company if they didn’t use the barge often enough to justify keeping their own dedicated tug.
Incidentally, a tugboat is shaped like a boat, and would usually move a barge by tying up alongside it. A towboat is shaped like a brick, with heavy pushing frames on the square bow, and ties up to the barge end-to-end.
Chuck (Long ago Merchant Marine cadet modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Thanks for the input - Yes a tug for hire sounds good - since I already have two Walther’s tugs and a Frenchman tug - Also will Google carfloats - Would two heavy metal ramps possibly be used (like the pieces the D.O.T. use to cover holes in the road, maybe heavier?) or the military’s temporary bridge?
The “river” dumps into my “harbor” after the swing-bridge(top middle)- The tugs/floats and ships are moveable .
The trouble with steel is, steel slipps on steel. Loaded a tracked dozer on a steel truck bed. Slipped and slid enough just trying to get on to make us try another method of moving it (wood bottom). Wouldn’t want your crane to slide off the edge into the harbor.
Good luck,
Richard
The only way I seen them unload cranes and other tracked vehicles from barges was to ground them between tides, drive off on wooded ramps (12" X 12") then float the barge away after high tide comes back in. Ground the barge just before low tide. (Tie it up just as the low tide is going out.) Barge is on bottom, tied to shore. Drive off barge onto wooden ramps onto shore. After tide comes back in barge floats ( less weight ). Tugboat moves barge easily. Compony may have dock setup just for unloading/loading but used for other things when not loading or unloading cranes.
Thanks - I think the two (telephone pole looking) posts are suppose to drop down to stabilize the barge, and I have an atlas girder bridge laying around…If I park close to shore, (drop) the poles and bash the bridge to the proper size, I could use the 100 ton crane to position the bridge from shore onto the (wood) deck on the barge(with scale pins/bolts to hold them together) for loading/unloading…not going to be permanent - would like to move barge as needed…
Thanks for all the input!! In the process of getting basement yearly air/moisture and temp/humidity up to snuff and moving the staircase to a different location…All I have now is a (Cadrail) plan and shelves and shelves and shelves of all the items in the plan…Oh ya and came out the winner with a bout of early signs of cancer…Chris