I’m not sure if bulkhead is the correct description, but these have the extended height ends with pivoting shoes that hold the corners where the containers meet. Got a close look at some on a double stack train waiting to go somewhere, and noticed the containers don’t need the manual corner locks used with other designs. This would seem like a huge savings in labor and safety and I’m wondering why this design isn’t more common? One disadvantage would be they’re limited to 20’ & 40’ containers, but I also noticed a 1 year old BNSF well car built only for 40’ containers.
First off, the use of inter-box connectors is not at all unsafe. They’re placed manually after the well is loaded, and then the top container is spotted on top of them. I guess experienced crane operators make this look easy, but it wouldn’t be much more precise than what would be needed to put it between the bulkheads, parts of which have to be moved before the top container is loaded. That’s where the labor comes in–cranking those pedestals around. It’s also just one more set of problems that could go wrong with a bulkhead stack car–K.I.S.S. applies here.
The most obvious advantage to the well cars is the weight savings–much lighter in weight, so heavier containers can be carried.
If you’re talking about the ones made by ACF and designed to handle 35 and 40 foot containers, there was an article in the October 1983 issue of Model Railroader on building a model of these in HO scale. I’ll have to check at home in that issue to see if there’s any other info in that same issue.
So these are still in use?
I don’t think the ACF cars are still in use. More likely we’re talking about Gunderson’s design, of which a few hundred total were made.
Thrall also made ten bulkhead-design stack cars. Some of them are still around, but that’s as far as their program went.
The original ACF/SP cars I was refering to had a bulkhead with a triangular shaped side support to it. The newer designs looked more like the bulkhead flat cars.
I still see them from time to time but they are getting rare.
It is interesting to note that the IBC’s were invented and in use on ships prior to the introduction of the bulkhead stack cars, so in essense the bulkheads were already superfluous before they even hit the rails. I guess the thought was initially that IBC’s wouldn’t be able to stand the buff and draft forces of rail moves, even though they proved themselves on containerships for the most part. It is true that containerships did and still do supplement the IBC’s with chain tie downs.
These may be the ones he is thinking of
http://www.ppw-aline.com/gunderso.htm
They have the big ECONO STACK logo on them.
Dave
On my videos you will see a set.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfdWVZzXQl4
It will be 1 minute 48 seconds into this train when it shows up as a loaded stack.
We see a few of them on the NE arkansas main where I am but never have the camera when they come thru. (Same thing with the durn Texas Eagle LOL)
These were the Gunderson cars designed only for 2-20’s on the bottom and a 40 on top or 2 40’s. This would not allow a larger container on top, which would be another disadvantage. In terms of safety I was thinking about the person who has to go up there in a rainstorm and insert & remove the IBC’s. The corners on these are operated by a lever from the ground.
Yes, Safety Valve, your video shows one of the Gunderson cars. The original stack cars, as shown in the photos Eric referenced, are gone.
UP829, just about any job out there (including mine) is less safe in bad weather, but I’ve seen these stack trains loaded up, and those guys can set the IBCs on top of the lower box in the time it takes to pick up the top one, and twist them to lock them by the time they’re ready for the next well.
For the record, BN, SP, and NYSW all had Gunderson-built stack cars lettered for Sea-Land. The NYSW cars all later went to CSXT.
In trucking the Container lifts can grab a box, run for your chassis sitting in the yellow load area and place it on you smoothly and gently that your coffee sitting on the dash hardly splashes.
I dont know about trains but truck boxes have 4 corners and a lever. Click Click Click and click yer good to go. Minus inspection, paperwork and gate reciept.
You don’t want one of those rascals in a derailment scenario. IBC’s are the way to go.
Yep Eric, those are the ones I was talking about.
Wow, the first one is in the California Railroad Museum.
MC, the models are a pain in the butt when they derail, too. [:O]
A question to ask is, does anyone have a commerical made or scratchbuilt model of the ACF Container Cars?
Andrew
I’ve never seen a commercially available model of that particular car, but I scratchbuilt six of the 5-unit cars, plus a model of the original single unit and the three unit ones. I’ve even equipped two of the 5-unit ones with working FRED’s to run on either end of the train.
After seeing the pictures posted, I may have to go back and rebuild the single and 3-unit cars. The article only mentioned them, so I built them with the 35 foot container adaptor. In the pictures, only the 5-unit cars have them.