I recently picked up a Quality Craft Models craftsman kit of the following 61’-9" 130-ton well hole flat car:
This particular car was produced in 1951 for the NYC and was the only one in the lot (809-F). What I have not been able to find out is what was actually transported on it.
All the photos that I have seen so far only show the car (or these types of cars) with an empty load. Earlier versions (ca. 1910s) carried generator armatures and turbine shafts. I’d like to know what this car would have transported in '51.
They carried extra high loads such as transformers which would have been to high on a regular flat car to pass through a tunnel. By lowering the load they would be able to pass through safely.
Double-stack wellcars come in a number of sizes, related to the standard sizes of the containers they are designed to carry. Well lengths of 40 ft (12.19 m), 48 ft (14.63 m) and 53 ft (16.15 m) are most common. A number of 45 ft (13.72 m) wells and 56 ft (17.07 m) wells also exist. (The sizes of wells are frequently marked in large letters on the sides of cars to assist yard workers in locating suitable equipment for freight loads.)
Larger containers (45 ft or up) are often placed on top of smaller containers fitting in the available wells to efficiently utilize all available space. All wells are also capable of carrying two 20 ft ISO containers in the bottom position.[8][9]
Some double-stack well cars have also been equipped with hitches at each end t
One reference I have shows a similar car, NYC 499075 carrying what look to be the ring bearings for a large crane or dragline from an Allis-Chalmers plant in Columbus Ohio. There’s a photo in the Color Guide to NYC Freight & Passenger Cars V.II.
I have seen photos of ship’s screws mounted on well flats, too.
Thanks for confirming that, Ed. I have the NYC Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment (Vol 1). I guess I’ll have to get Vol. 2 at some point. [:D]
Tom
[Edit: Just picked it up on Amazon w/free shipping. [Y]]
I love anything that came out of the Mesta Machine Works [Y]
Years ago an outfit (Selly, maybe?) made a popular soft-metal casting of a gear and it included the supporting timbers. More recently Life-Like made some pretty neat gears that might be a contender for a well car load:
My only well car is an F&C kit from that other railroad. I intend to use this MESTA rolling mill stand as a load in it. I think I’m going to make it look used as if it is being moved to another facility.
These were 3D printed from one of the Shapeways people.
As in the bottom plating? It is possible but I haven’t seen any evidence of it. Of course there were specialized cars and some modified for a one-time-only move. The only ‘customizable’ cars I’m aware of were the
Well hole cars carry narrow tall objects: gears, coating wheels, machinery, fabricated or cast frames, complex piping, etc. Large lenses were shipped in well hole cars.
Some wells were solid, some wells had removeable planking, some had other support systems in the bottom, some were just open. It varies by the car design and owner’s requirements.
I was surmising it from the previous photo I posted showing the gear noticeably protruding out the bottom of the flat car. Dave’s post & Bear’s links now seem to confirm that was possible.
I also just noticed in my posted photo of NYC #499086 that there is wood planking in the bottom of the well. I guess that could have been there for either opening up the bottom…or to protect the bottom of the well - like the wood decking on a regular flat car. Duh! It would also be used for mounting support mechanisms and/or rigging to stabilize a given load - like the gears in your first photo.
Thank you for the good information, gentlemen! [:D]
I was reminded on a Groups.io forum that the Corning 200" Pyrex disc was transported by rail to CA in '36 to be used as a mirror to outfit a new telescope at the Palomar Observatory. A NYC Lot 273-F well hole flat car (#499010) was used to haul the mirror, as seen in the photos below:
The 1st failed attempt by Corning to cast the glass disc can be seen displayed in the lobby of the Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning, NY. I remember seeing it in-person when my wife & I visited the museum back in '98. Quite impressive.
That telescope would go on to be the largest in the world for almost 30 years. It is still on the huge side, although the bigger monolithic mirrors are enormous by comparison now. Subaru is 323 inches across. Doesn’t sound like much difference until you work out that 200 inches is 218 square feet and and 323 inches is 570 square feet.
Note that for both the gear/reel and mirror there is no need for a bottom in the well. Neither load is supported by the bottom, the gear/reel is supported on the side of the car by the center pivot and the mirror is supported fore and aft by the casing of the mirror. These types of arrangements were actually quite common.
The Corning Museum of Glass website (where I got the posted photos from) states that the Palomar telescope was the largest until 1993. Once received, it took Cal Tech’s optical department 13 years to polish the mirror, which was finally installed in 1948. Progress was slowed due to the US involvement in WWII.
