Well?
The question was prompted my Kozzie, in response to a photo I sent him of a brand new, huge Scnabble car that just showed up at the PTRA, fresh from New Orleans.
Purpose built to move a huge transformer for GE, it is as long, with it’s caboose, as 11 standard four bay covered hoppers.
So, who is Scnabble, am I even spelling it right, and how did these cars come to bear his (or her) name?
Sneak in a second question, how many of these cars are there in exsistence?
Ed
Ed
My guess: Someone who was bad at Scrabble? [:D]
Michael - heh heh - you haven’t been trying to Google with Scnabble have you? heh heh Scrabble is all that pops up when one uses search engines.[:)][;)]
Dave
Dave,
Tried to Google with Scnabble? No, but I have tried Gargling with Snapple…[:D]
Michael
Ed
Schnabel. Many references from a Google search. I’ll take a copy of your picture if you have it handy. jleaton@charter.net
Thanks, Jay
Its actually called Schnabel. They are used to transport very large things such as transformers and holding tanks, the largest of these cars is a 36 axle monster! There’s great website out there about them, I’ll try to find it.
Check out this website:
Schnabel
Schnabel was the German inventor (1931) of these integral “break” cars where the lading becomes part of the car framework…
Somebody got a car encyclopedia / big yellow bible to answer how many?
…Yes, Schnabel seems to be the correct spelling. Comes from it’s German inventor at about 1930. The word derives {so I read}, from German translation “beak”…
Mike [:0] You’'ve got me! What’s Snapple? Is it like the German alcoholic drink Schnapps?
Dave
Quentin - I thought it had a German sound to it when Ed first mentioned it to me. [;)]
Dave
Snapple is a brand of drink [:)]
They have all kinds of flavours from lemonaid to different fruit drinks to different flavours of Ice Tea, when I was younger I used to always buy the peach iced tea, good stuff…
According to their slogan, it’s “Made from the best stuff on earth.”
As far as I know they don’t have any alcoholic flavours.
That is one cool car. Thanks for the pics Ed. I just like it when big scale mass moves. Any special rules with the power that pulls these trains?
Adrianspeeder
scnabble space telescope ?
Randy
Offhand, I’d say that fewer than ten of these cars exist, probably something like six.
Yes, I have those “Yellow Bibles”, MC, but am not about to page through them looking for the power companies and transformer manufacturers who own these. Can’t wait to get a CD ROM version of the book–punch in the Car Type Code and search!
I noticed on the publisher’s website they only list a subscription available for the ORERs (I assume this is what you are refering to). Can you buy one without a subscription?
Ed
Some piece of equipment. That is without a load, isn’t it?
Jay
One of those cars is at http://www.csx-sucks.com/pictures . The one with the nuke reactor on it…sagging.
The only other Schnabels I ever heard of included one associated with a firm that makes amusement park rides like roller coasters and the Schnabel family that included actor Stefan and pianists Artur and Karl Ulrich. Any others out there?
…Adrian…as I mentioned earlier, the operation of transporting a very large transformer {hundreds of tons}, out of the former Muncie Westinghouse, later ABB plant was with one engine and several cars and some form of conveyance for people traveling with the unit being delivered. The Schnabel car was at the Muncie plant much of the time between deliveries. If you care to see more pic’s. of these type of railroad cars go to Google and sort through what’s available…I found plenty to look over. At least one was a pure monster in size…Can’t quite understand how some of the bridges along the way would handle such a load…I realize the length of these units when carrying a load is stretched out in great length hence distributing the load, but it still must be awesome…! There was obvious speed restrictions on such a move and they moved very moderate in speed traveling out of Muncie on the main line of what was Conrail…now double tracked CSX east and west.