I just installed a tunnel portal across a double track line. When testing the portal for clearance I found out that it is too narrow to allow dimensional loads to clear one of the tracks. Turns out that the side of the wide load will not clear the portal on track one. I will have to restrict dimensional loads to run on track two only. This will make for interesting operations All other cars clear both tracks. Has anyone else had a similar proble,?
I deliberately built similar restrictions into my layout, although most are within particular industries, where there are width or height restrictions. It adds operational interest. This necessitates idler cars (usually any flatcar or gondola that's handy) for areas with height restrictions. Some locomotives have width restrictions but most overly-wide equipment is things like plows, spreaders and cranes, and they're not allowed on some tracks - all covered in the rule book. I did discover a restriction not planned, though, when I created these loads...
...and discovered that they were too high for my tunnel. This necessitated that the cars have specific routing instructions, and they're also not to be turned, as they're directionally specific for loading and unloading. The rack-equipped cars are in assigned service, basically just shuttling back and forth from one staging yard to another, as neither industry is modelled.
Wayne
The B&O had that problem with some of the larger regular cars,not just with oversize loads.
Mark
This sort of thing is partly why in modern times, formerly double track tunnels now have just one track right down the middle. That was mostly for vertical clearances with double stacks.
I'm used to the auto frames stacked on flat cars, as that's the way they did it later on - we have tons of those on the club layout, as they were made right here, Parish Pressed Steel/Dana Corporation built auto and truck frames and train loads of them were a common sight around here in Reading for many years.
Funny that searching for them packed vertically in a gondola like that finds pretty much 2 images - a photo of a Santa Fe war emergency gone loaded up with them and that photo of Dr. Wayne's car.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Wasn't planned this way, but the LM&E can't run double stacks on it's second main, but can on the first main and branchline.Height issue of a support inside a tunnel. Guess how I found out?
Johnboy out. ...................what was I thinking
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
rrinker...I'm used to the auto frames stacked on flat cars, as that's the way they did it later on...
Yeah, that's what I see nowadays, too, but I do recall seeing the rack-equipped gondolas in this area in the '50s, as there were/are lots of auto plants in southern Ontario.My layout is set in the late '30s, and I'm guessing that the gondola version is appropriate for that time.
Yes, stacked in gons would be far more appropriate for your era. The flat car ones we run are on 89 foot TTX flats - definitely not 1930's rolling stock! There's no fixed era on the club layout, there is everything from turn of the century to the latest SD70ACe's - particualrly the NS Heritage units. And even a fantasy scheme for a what if the Reading never went into Conrail and still existed. One member has a couple of fairly modern diesels with a blue and silver scheme. As more or less an exhibition layout, we run a wide variety to keep people interested. Only one tunnel, which exits right on to a river bridge (true to prototype), but it does clear double stacks on both tracks. Either someone was thinking, or they got lucky. AFAIK, the prototype tunnel was not modified in the past 50-60 years but is still in service.