Hey Everyone
Im looking at building a huge intermodal terminal, either a land terminal or water and land terminal. It’s in ho scale. Who makes container boats and container cranes?
Something like this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CMA_CGM_Balzac.jpg
Does anyone have pictures or articles that are also worth a look?
Space is not a constraint.
Thanks CASO
Is money a constraint?
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-89001
(EDIT) Has anyone else noticed that when you link to a picture from Walthers, it’s there for a while, but then the picture you want goes away and is replaced by the text now shown above?
I would think they’d want the free plugs. Oh, well.
First, let’s make your link active: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CMA_CGM_Balzac.jpg
Doing a search on Walther’s using “container crane” as key words gives off these results: Container_Cranes
From this list, the one that costs the most and actually loads containers, is the Heljan container crane:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-89001
Some people like it, some don’t. I think it looks too European (nothing wrong with that), so it doesn’t interest me. I hear they Americanized it by supplying a USA flag decal or two.
As far as purchasing a ready-made container ship, I don’t think one is commercially made. If it is and I’m misinformed, then I too will learn something.
A lot of books are available on intermodal subject, some that come to mind:
http://www.ppw-aline.com/images/Books/Bk-IM%20Equip.jpg
http://www.ppw-aline.com/images/Books/Bk-IM%20Model%20I.jpg
http://www.ppw-aline.com/images/Books/Bk-IM%20Model%20II.jpg
and if you want to see all the books available: http://www.ppw-aline.com/books.htm
These can be purchased elsewhere for a lot less and I’m pretty sure newer magazines and such have emerged since then.
Hope you find something you need amongst all that.
Money is not a constraint.
I was thinking about 2 or 3 of these. But I really want to get the boat effect to with a giant crane. I have the space. Any ideas??
I’d look for an Ore Boat. You would have to scratch-build some of the main deck, but the basic profile should fit pretty well.
This is another option, although I think the land-mounted crane and big ship would be a much cooler thing to model:
This is a barge used for inter-island traffic in Hawaii. I’d assume that the big container ships offload in Honolulu, and these smaller local barges do the distribution work to the smaller islands. Here, the barge itself has the container crane mounted on its superstructure. This is a rotating crane, allowing it to get to the far side of the barge.
For what it’s worth I’ve seen container ships on ebay in HO, I think someone was building it with the intention of selling it but I’m guessing. I checked earlier today and didn’t find it, it’s possible it’ll show up again in time.
“Thet’s a mighty big chaw ye’ve got thar, son.” Old redneck philosopher.
To scratchbuild a post-Panamax containership in HO, you could start with a full-scale square-sterned canoe. Since you’ll need about 15,000 containers for the ship, the dockside staging area and a couple or three full-length stack trains, I hope you have a convenient way of making them (inexpensively) in bulk. (You wouldn’t have to decal the ones buried in the middle of the piles, just the ones on the outside.) Then there are the dock cranes, at least two per ship, which have a base footprint about 100 feet square and booms that extend 200 feet out from dockside - very intricate and not available in kits. The trucks (or container carriers) are less complex - but you’ll need a bunch of them.
All told, I admire your courage in tackling this project. If I was planning anything similar, I’d arrange for most of it to be a photo-mural and just model the truck-to-rail transfer yard (which is usually separate and well away from quayside.)
Good luck.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - whose only waterway is navigable by kayakers living out death wishes)
Hi Caso,
There is a german manufacturer called Kibri whose web site is www.kibri.de that has a container crane. I believe it is a static model only. Unfortunately the web site is in german only. The one in english is horrible. So here you get to where you have to go to see a picture of the crane:
1 click on the link
2 click on Produkte
3 click on Spur HO
4 click on Schiffe / Leuchttürme / Wassermühlen
this will have you download a PDF file for your viewing.
IF you click on the other links it will show a lot of european style buildings, accessories and railway items.
Here is a store in Toronto that will probably be one where you can get these products.
John’s Hobbies
2188 Danforth Ave
Toronto ONtario M4C 1K3
P: (416)421-1850 or email: hobbies@total.net
Hope it helps
Frank
ok to answer the container question, you can easily make a wooden beam for the bulk with containers one row thin on the sides and top.
The big question is how long is the container boat gonna be??
And can I get the container cranes.
Check out bearcomarine. http://www.bearcomarine.com/
Any thoughts??
CASO
Frank
All those products you showed are not anything Im looking at. The cost is not the issue its look and feel, I want the look of a North American port.
Thanks
CASO
PS: I buy locally not from Toronto, unless its wild brass
You can also print a lot of paper ones. Jeff Wimberly (hope I got his name right) posted this link a while back. Very useful site and pretty inexpensive (considering the options). The site is not in English, but the pictures are straight forward, here is the link: http://www.igshansa.de/igsdownload.html
A 325 foot long Container Ship would be 3 foot 9 inches in HO scale. As for the Cranes, to get realistic US prototype looking cranes, you will have to scratch build, or hire a model maker to build them for you.
As someone else mentioned, there is occasionally a fellow listing Ships on Ebay, about 4 foot in length, includes “blocks” of unmarked containers, the hull and the cabin, has some nice detail, but not what I would call museum quality.
hey everyone
i now need some books.
i found this book.
Box Boats: How Container Ships Changed the World
http://www.amazon.com/Box-Boats-Container-Ships-Changed/dp/0823225682/ref=pd_sim_b_img_7
Did anyone find anything else out??
Thanks
CASO
Well, just checking to see if you have viewed the live local images of the quintessential US intermodal ports:
Port Newark/Port Elizabeth, NJ
Looking at these, you’ll find the scenes are all a bit…boring. For alas, the glorious and intricate container ‘ferris wheel’ small footprint storage concepts for retro-fitting the break-bulk urban waterfronts of yore were quickly set aside for huge amounts of pavement to dump containers on…
