Tri-level auto racks and AMC Gremlins

[garyla]

Here's a question for anyone who was watching trains in the 1970s, especially anywhere near Kenosha, Wisconsin:

When AMC Gremlins got loaded on the open auto racks used at the time, was the usual number of vehicles per level five or was it six? 

It looks like six would fit pretty easily, but I'm not sure if that was the practice.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Motley]

Woah there... the Gremlins were the UGLIEST CARS EVER MADE!!!

Please don't tell us your going to model them on your RR? Please no!!! LOL

[garyla]

They were ugly indeed---but that's part of their charm!    And the Fresh Cherries line of 1/87 vehicles has made it easy for me. 

It could all be worse, though.  What if I went non-prototypical and pulled them with a couple of old EMD BL2's?

Yeah, I could look for something of enduring beauty (mid-1960s GM muscle cars and Sting Ray Corvettes come to mind), but these things will be a conversation piece.

[West Coast S]

I had a buddy that fitted a 360 short block into one! the ultimate death machine! What a sleeper, what a total chick turnoff!

If six fit go for six, if not six go for five an a half!

Dave

[steemtrayn]

You could fit more in a high-side gon if you compact 'em.

[chutton01]

I wonder if the prototype tri-levels had mounting points which limited the number of vehicles to 5, regardless of whether they were 13.5ft long 1973 AMC Gremlins or 19.6ft long 1973 Chrysler Imperials... hmmm, you know, 5 Imperials x ~20ft (assuming nose to tail) = 100ft! Auto-Racks of the 1970s - 89ft - how did they fit (the answer must be they only carried 4 Imperials per level)? The Gremlins took up 67.5 ft, so they comfortably fit 5, but probably they carried no more than that per level.

[garyla]

Thanks for your interesting thought about the mounting points. 

Clearly, one level could not hold more than four of some of the very biggest cars, but I've never been familiar with how the tie-downs were arranged on the auto racks.  There may be no provision for six vehicles, whether they're short enough to fit or not.

Now I'm trying to remember if I ever saw more than five of ANY vehicle on one level of an auto rack, even Jeeps, Post Office delivery cars, etc.  Maybe I never did.

[steemtrayn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFBP063uTgQ

[garyla]

Great stuff there, steemtrayn!  Beautiful scenery, a PC freight train, and new MoPars on open racks.  Sweet!

I used to enjoy watching the new cars going by.  Too bad that theft and vandalism forced the railroads to spend $ millions enclosing their auto carriers.

[KemacPrr]

Gremlins would be 5 per deck. 6 would not allow crew to get between cars to chain them down.  With newer style hold downs today you might be able to fit six small wheelbase cars per deck. . Big sedans were usually 4 per deck. I have seen 6 jeeps per deck but thats the only one short enough to do that. While not a big AMC fan they do make nice loads !!!!

------------------  Ken McCorry

[nordique72]

I have photographs of AMC loads on open side racks that are loaded with both 5 and 6 cars per level- most of the time though the Gremlins were mixed with other makes of AMC models so it depended on what they put on each level. This photo here on Railcarphotos.com by Ron Hawkins clearly shows Gremlins on the second level of the rack mixed with some Hornet wagons- 4 Gremlins, 2 Hornets, while the other levels have 5 per level.

http://www.railcarphotos.com/PhotoDetails.php?PhotoID=45869

Meanwhile on Flickr- Mark Llanuza has an excellent photo of some AMC products on the GT at Blue Island where the top levels show Gremlins (and other AMCs) loaded 5 per level...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7547061@N02/4309386965/

And just for fun- this shot off the Fallen Flags site that shows Pacers and Hornets loaded on a CPAA rack in a 6/6/5 setup.

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/cp/cpaa555071ajs.jpg

So the best answer I can give is to try and find photos- they are out there if you keep a sharp eye out for them.

[garyla]

Thank you, nordique72!  This looks like fun: I can pack 'em in tight with a clear conscience.

I don't have any tri-level CNW racks, but I do have a late CGW Accurail tri-level with oxide red paint and white lettering.  This might be an attention-grabber:  a fallen-flag freight car with a load of fallen-flag compact autos. 

It appears that (except for small hubcaps) all the wheel covers should be eliminated. 

Time to go to work.

 

Thanks to all who responded!  This has been an enjoyable thread.

[nordique72]

Gary,

Glad I could help- I've built three racks so far loaded with AMC products- since I model the CNW in the 70s they are kind of a given that I need them! The most recent rack I finished was a CNW tri-level that I kitbashed out of an Accurail rack-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nordique72/4205267632/in/set-72157613703429876/

I didn't worry much about painting out all the hubcabs on the cars- I kind of liked the way the silver looked on some of them... if you're planning on stripping and painting the AMCs as well AutoColorLibrary.com has all the AMC paint color charts from the 70s as well. I used those when painting my cars so the colors were all actual hues AMC used in my modeling era.

I'd love to see photos of your rack when you get done!

[OldArmy94]

I worked with a guy who loaded the auto racks back in the 70's while he was in college.  He said the racks were lined up and connected to each other with ramps.  He would drive the auto up the inital ramp and then drive down the line of cars and park it when he reached the end of the line.  He also informed me that they'd get crazy every now and then and see how fast they could drive down the line, apparently topping 50 MPH at times(!)

[chutton01]

A number of years back, there was an article in RMC about the transport of new AMC vehicles (not Gremlins specifically) from the Wisconsin factory by rail.  There were several good images in the article (which I no longer possess, it wasn't that exciting to me), but 2 things stick in my memory.

1) Some vehicles were loaded onto truck transporter trailers, and those trailers then shipped via TOFC.  Not sure if this continued into the 1970s.

2) A number of these auto-racks were unloaded in the NYC Kingsbridge Yard in the Bronx, later the site of JFK High School, and a area  I often walked around going to college (the home of leisurely learning) - at the time (mid-1980s) the yard was long gone, but service still remained to the U-Haul storage building off 230th.

[wholeman]

 

steemtrayn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFBP063uTgQ

I am glad you posted this.  It's a neat commercial.  Is it me or is there someone sitting in the Valiant (blue car)?  It sure looks like a person or the way the seat is.

[steemtrayn]

Also, did you notice how the cars pictured were strategically placed near the PC emblems?