bridge clearance, car hieght...

[streettrains]

I am building the the Walthers single track truss bridge, was wondering if anyone knew what the height for be for a double stack container car or am I going to not double stack.....

thanks
Mike

[jeffshultz]

From NMRA http://www.nmra.org/standards/gauge.html

The doublestack clearance on the prototype is 20' 5" (ATSF and CR) and 20' 8" (NS minimum clearance). Either of these dimensions should handle any correctly loaded doublestack car. A typical doublestack loaded with two empty 9' 6 1/2" containers will come out at about 20' 2", just under the 20' 5" of most railroads. NS prefers more clearance and you can see why with the potential height of unloaded containers. Loaded, the same car should be slightly under 20'. That's for the prototype. How about a tri-level auto carrier? Well, that will probably come in at about 19' in height, lower than the doublestack, but longer by 15 to 20 feet.