banjobenne1it will be for interchange from my railroad to the rest of the world.
The carfloat is considered to be my switching layout's rail connection to the rest of the world. With the float-bridge track unpowered I use 'reacher' cars for loading and unloading. The 'drill' track is long enough to handle a full cut of carfloat cars. Unloading and loading the carfloat in a prototypical fashion is fun. Regards, Peter Carfloat : Float Bridge Anchoring Mechanisms & Photos : Carfloat Mooring & Pinning Procedures
Regards, Peter
rrebell Yoou can build the ferry in differebt lengths.
Yoou can build the ferry in differebt lengths.
That's true, but to actually operate the carfloat you need a lot of yard space, like twice the size of the float itself because you need to typically have a load in the yard waiting to go out when the new full carfloat comes in. The Walthers float can easily be built shorter. I built my carfloat as a removeable cassette and in the next incarnation of the terminal I hope to use two carfloats and maybe even eliminate my old yard in favor of a more accessible carfloat yard.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I have the Walthers Carfloat kit, built to full size, plus the Apron. The Carfloat holds 15-18 cars. This is HO scale.
There's really no track plan around it, just a single siding leading in. There are a few sidings further to the back of this picture. I regard this design as sub-optimal because it's squeezed in and access is poor, so I'll be rebuilding it somewhere else.
The carfloat on its base are a separate module, which sits on a fold-down shelf when the carfloat is in-port, and the shelf folds away when I pull the carfloat off.
The carfloat base is now covered with Envirotex to look like water. Incidentally, I replaced the plastic rails on the float with Code 83 metal rails by using pieces of Atlas flex-track. This reduces rolling reistance. I prefer to use small engines and 3 flat car idlers to load and unload the carfloat.
My HO carfloat/float bridge and associated trackage occupies an approximately 2x8 ft. space. Chose to build the Frenchman River carfloat in the shorter version (about 7-8 car capacity) without add-on extension.
banjobenne1Love the site you posted thank you.
Quesion #1 Yes
" 2 Walthers kit don't have the spects on hand.
" 3 Have not purchased the ferry yet most likey 3 tracks.
" 4 Again have not purchased the ferry yet.
I see just enough water to plant the ferry at the pier. it will be for interchange from my railroad to the rest of the world.
Love the site you posted thank you.
Are you l ooking for an on ferry or off ferry yard?
Any on freey plans I have seen are just straight tracks for the available length. The important thing is thaat the load be balanced to keep the ferry level in the water.
Good luck,
Richard
I think I was here before about the same thing. Still looking for a track plan for a car ferry pier to use in an 2'x8' space. Thank you for any help you may offer.