Julian,
All You need to know about container sizes, when implimented, (year). The 35ft containers by Sea Land were for domestic use only and not stackable. Any container over 40ft can Not be used Internationally and that is where a lot of shipping comes from. The ships for International shipping containers have no provision for stacking any containers that are not 20ft/40ft. in size. The 45ft containers fell out of favor, do to having to be strapped down on container ships deck and having 45ft only chassis taking up real estate in container yards and were used mostly in the US only. You will not go wrong by having 20ft and 40ft containers in the time period You are asking about. They had extendable chassis when they started using 48ft. containers....they took 40ft containers and made them extendable in the late 70's, but they also fell out of favor mainly due to the weight factor and constant maintenance. The chassis You see with fenders and split tandem axle are all European and Canadian. All sizes of containers/trailers in the US are governed by weight/length restrictions that vary from state to state, those laws are still inforced in the states.....more so now with the 53ft size containers/trailers. The chassis that Walthers sold are correct for the 70's. Athearn also sold 20ft container kits, that You could make into a spread axle 20ft chassis which is also correct for your era. Those are the ones that the tandem axles stick out past the rear of the container. They are used to transfer max. weight allowed between axle to axle.....here in the states that is referred to Bridge law. Many, many laws in the US regarding containers/trailers and like I said, it varies from state to state and what roads You can be on legally. Read through this link for just about any question You may have:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermodal_container
The chassis that Walthers has.....they used to be two in a kit, now I believe there is only one, for the same price:
https://www.walthers.com/extendible-container-chassis-kit-515c64
A-Line 20ft, chassis kit:
https://ppw-aline.com/collections/a-line-yard-equipment-1/products/5776-yang-ming-20-container-chassis-kit
I Myself have been in the Transportation business for over 45yrs. Union and Owner Operator of My own.
Take Care!
Frank
EDIT: I was going to send some pic's...but Photobucket is down....
fieryturboI just found 4 of the Con Cor ones on ebay
I always thought that the fenders on those trailers were more of a European thing, but maybe I just don't remember 1970 trailers.
A-Line makes the container chassis for 20' containters.
mlehman I'm guessing they're extendable. If so, that's almost certainly too new.
I'm guessing they're extendable. If so, that's almost certainly too new.
Mike,
If you're responding to my question, I looked at the Athearn pictures, and see no indication of them being extendable. A certain trucker might have opinions/knowledge.
Perhaps when/if Julian responds, he can clarify things.
Ed
I just found 4 of the Con Cor ones on ebay for ~$38 shipped, which is alright but not great. I bought those, but I guess I'll have to wait to see if these come up again on ebay. It's not a good solution.
Julian
Modeling Pre-WP merger UP (1974-81)
I'm guessing they're extendable. If so, that's almost certainly too new. Back in the 60s and 70s, the selection of container lengths and types was much more limited. There's would be a chassis for the 35' ones mentioned, but when the 40' ones came in, they fit tit those and most likely not the 35'. I'm sure there were exceptions, but containers were both simpler and less universal back then and almost wholly devoted to international traffic (with certain exceptions like mail and the Alaska trade.)
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Those Athearn chassis models were really nice looking. Pricey perhaps but beautiful little models.
Herpa seems to offer some things that could be used or modified but I share Mike's view that a simple jig could be made to turn out pretty decent scratchbuilt styrene chassis in quantity.
This may sound nuts but I wonder if small toy trucks would have something that could be used? The late Dean Freytag aways advised checking the toy section of the store for usable raw materials.
Slightly OT but looking at the Walthers online catalog for vehicle chassis, it looks like TrucksnStuff is going to be discontinued when sold out, and their stuff is currently on sale. Modern era, but perhaps modifiable for your era.
Dave Nelson
fieryturbo The Athearn ones..I think they're way too new...
The Athearn ones..I think they're way too new...
In what way are they too new?
Looking at the link, clicking on the picture and enlarging it, it doesn't look like they would be too complicated to scratch build. Pretty basic frame and bracing.
Mike.
My You Tube
Well, Wheels of time offer 1960s container chassisexcept...They are rather pricy (18.79 each).They seem to be sold out of most types.The models are of SeaLand chassis, so are for 35ft containers.
Other than that, perfect for you!
So I'm looking for info on the container chassis that were used in the 1970s. I have about 10 of the containers from that era now, but a lot of that traffic in photos were actually shipped on the chassis via TOFC. What are my options? It seems like Con Cor used to sell an appropriate kit, but it looks like it's no longer available. The Athearn ones are really expensive, and I think they're way too new, as is the Walthers extendable chassis. Micro Scale seems to have the appropriate decals though.
Thoughts?