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Ideas Please for a Depressed Center Flat Car Load

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Ideas Please for a Depressed Center Flat Car Load
Posted by peahrens on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 7:51 PM

I have one Walthers Gold Line car and received another this week.  For the 1st one I added this transformer kit (added holddown chains not shown):

 IMG_4511 by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr

So. I'm soliciting ideas for the new one. From looking at google images it seems that electical equipment is common.  I saw this one at MBKlein but it is out of stock.  Ideas are most welcome.

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Artitec-HO-487-801-57-AEG-Transformer-Cargo-p/atc-487.801.57.htm

 

 

 

Paul

Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent

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Posted by HO-Velo on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 8:00 PM

Have seen a few large columns and vessels transported into the oil refinery via railcar.  

Regards,  Peter

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Posted by 7j43k on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 8:06 PM

You mean, beyond the ones in the pictures? 

Ed

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Posted by gmpullman on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 8:11 PM

I also enjoy building open-top car loads. I made one like this years ago:

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/American-Model-Builders-HO-288-Flat-Car-Load-p/amb-288.htm

Take a look at some of the other AMB loads. They can be fun to build.

I like the Artitec stuff, too.

 Ladle_load1 by Edmund, on Flickr

I have since put the above ladles on a heavier flat car!

If you use the "email me when this product is in stock" function at MBKlein it really works. That's how I got one of the few remaining ladles.

Here's two others but not for depressed center cars:

 IMG_6701 by Edmund, on Flickr

I recently did a pair of transformers similar to yours. I'm sure the big insulators should have been left off for the move but... maybe next time.

 IMG_9716_fix_web by Edmund, on Flickr

I also made up a sign to go with mine. Seems like I used to see this often with some car loads back-in-the-day!

 IMG_9723_fix_web by Edmund, on Flickr 

Good Luck, Ed

*MB Klein site is really S L O W for me the past few weeks!

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Posted by oldline1 on Saturday, February 3, 2018 12:44 AM

I don't know if it's still available or not but maybe the Walthers EMD 567 engine? Probably find one on feebay.

oldline1

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Posted by airtrain on Saturday, February 3, 2018 1:18 AM

I don't know if you might be able to use this but I once off loader 2 cylindrical tanks that were so long they took up three flat cars each. They were supported by cradles on the two outside cars, with the middle cars simply holding the outter cars  apart. The couplers on the middle car had the springs wedged in by 2" thick steel so there was no movement. Just as an aside, in coming from the northern midwest they had to go by way of Alabama to get to Delaware just to clear all the curves. You might be able to do something like this using only two cars. It would be different.

 

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Posted by doctorwayne on Saturday, February 3, 2018 2:32 AM

The main reason for using a depressed centre flatcar (or a well-car) is for loads that are higher than normal, and would exceed clearance limits if shipped on a regular flatcar.
GERN Industries, in Port Maitland, often receives processing equipment of this nature.  In the photo below, the one on the depressed centre flat car (Authenticast) is taller than the two on the regular flatcar...

Wayne

 

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Posted by Overmod on Saturday, February 3, 2018 4:45 AM

Another potential reason for using a depressed-center car is that it lowers the center of gravity/roll center.  

Some forms of nuclear containment cask might be useful.  I saw a couple of these on depressed-center cars going through Germantown, TN eastbound a couple of months ago ... like a fool I had no camera with me!

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Posted by peahrens on Saturday, February 3, 2018 6:16 AM

Thanks for the ideas, everyone!  The 2-3 car thing could be fun, but a challenge with 26" curves and tunnel entries, certainly with 3 cars.

Paul

Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent

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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 3, 2018 8:25 AM

look up DODX flat cars 39912-39920, lots of interesting shapes to model

They arent depressed center, but they do have large loads that could be copied for ideas

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Posted by cowman on Saturday, February 3, 2018 4:23 PM

You can always have a load covered by a canvas, leaving the question, "what is it?"

Have fun,

Richard

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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 3, 2018 4:39 PM

cowman

You can always have a load covered by a canvas, leaving the question, "what is it?"

Have fun,

Richard

 

Thats what the government does.

 

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Posted by marksrailroad on Sunday, February 4, 2018 10:06 PM

Bachmann makes a depressed flat car with a missile and launcher on it...

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Posted by gmpullman on Sunday, February 4, 2018 10:20 PM

peahrens
Ideas are most welcome.

From an old MESTA brochure:

 MESTA_forge2 by Edmund, on Flickr

If anyone wants to make up a sign like the one shown you can use these graphics I made from a matchbook:

 RR_Postcards_31MM by Edmund, on Flickr

 RR_Postcards_31DBSP by Edmund, on Flickr

 RR_Postcards_31Disk by Edmund, on Flickr

Occasionally an Overland brass FD flat car comes up for sale with a MESTA load on it, including the blue signage. They sometimes sell for close to a thousand dollars!

Regards, Ed

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, February 5, 2018 12:07 AM

And strangely (to me) NOT on a depressed-center car:

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Posted by doctorwayne on Monday, February 5, 2018 12:11 AM

Overmod
And strangely (to me) NOT on a depressed-center car:

But it is a well car.

Wayne

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Posted by gmpullman on Monday, February 5, 2018 1:15 AM

Overmod
And strangely (to me) NOT on a depressed-center car:

Hey, that looks familiar!

 NOV_2013_fix by Edmund, on Flickr

 

 NOV_2013_0001_crop_edited-1 by Edmund, on Flickr

Quartz blank made in Willoughby, Ohio by GE. Loaded on to flat car in Euclid, O. for a move to Toledo, Ohio for grinding and polishing, then on to Tuscon, Arizona.

Here is a look at a similar Quartz mirror blank (on the left).

 Miss_Quartz by Edmund, on Flickr

The site below has some good construction history:

https://www.noao.edu/kpno/history/reunion_slideshow/

  Scroll about half-way down for a photo of it being unloaded.

Thank You, Ed

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Posted by garya on Monday, February 5, 2018 7:30 PM

Overmod

And strangely (to me) NOT on a depressed-center car:

 

Is that for Palomar Observatory?  I just heard a story on the radio the other day about George Ellery Hale and the mirror for the telescope.  That was the second attempt at pouring a 200" mirror, and it took 10 months to cool.  It was shipped to Pasadena by rail, but grinding and polishing weren't finished for years.

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/496074780/engines-of-our-ingenuity  Scroll down to 1461

Gary

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Posted by jjdamnit on Friday, February 9, 2018 1:03 PM

Hello all,

I have several depressed center flat cars. From six-axle to four-truck ones.

Yes, transformers are common but I also built an oversize spool (Precision Design Co., Extreme Load No. Three) as a load for both a depressed center flat car and a scratch built Gunderson Well Car.

They also have two other extreme load kits that would look great as a load or next to a large industry.

Hope this helps.

"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"

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Posted by dknelson on Sunday, February 11, 2018 11:29 AM

Chooch Enterprised has some cast resin loads that could potentially look good on a well car or depressed center flat.  They seem to be phasing out some of their cast resin stuff so it could take some searching.  I am thinking particularly of the large steam boiler casting.

http://www.choochenterprises.com/7282.html

Dave Nelson

 

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Posted by cowman on Sunday, February 11, 2018 5:21 PM

Another thought:  large construction equipment, excavator, bulldozer, earth mover. even one of those huge dump trucks.

Good luck,

Richard

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