380-Ton Schnabel Transformer Car (North American Style)??

Started by union pacific 844, March 05, 2013, 12:38:11 PM

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bapguy

Model Railroader reviewed this recently and listed the minimum radius as 22". It will probably work on this radius but not very well. The problem is the over hang as the car goes around the curve.  Joe

jward

do you have any idea how big this car is? even on 22r, you'd better have alot of space between the track and any lineside scenery. if not you'll sideswipe things everywhere you run it.   this is a car best run on extremely wide radii.....
Jeffery S Ward Sr
Pittsburgh, PA

union pacific 844

i have  no scenery just two loops of track on 4x8 broad  one loop is 22 and one loop is 18 and i have no clue how big it is  ???

jward

according to the web site it is 27 1/2 inches long. each of the 4 groups of trucks would be about the size of a 50' freight car. each of the span bolsters would be about the same lenght as a dash 8, and the arms supporting the load itself much longer than a dda40x.  this thing is so huge that the real ones have the ability to crank the load to either side to keep from sideswiping lineside items. they are run in special trains, which wait in wide spots in the track, or in a siding well off the main, for opposing trains to pass. they don't run in a regular freight train.

to give you an idea how much they swing inward on curves, take two passener cars, with a 50 foot boxcar between them. find the center of each passenger car, and lay a yardstick between them. that would be a very conservative estimate of how much room they'd need on your curves.
Jeffery S Ward Sr
Pittsburgh, PA

WoundedBear

Save your money and buy that new soldering gun you need ;)

Sid

union pacific 844

why? im staying dc for the rest of the year and i just wanted info on this car
   sound like i a lot of room for it to swing  i don't use my 18 r loop that  much  most of my engine are to big for 18 r

Piyer

~AJ Kleipass~
Proto-freelance modeling the Tri-State System c.1942
The layout is based upon the operations of the Delaware Valley Railway,
the New York, Susquehanna & Western, the Wilkes-Barre & Eastern,
the Middletown & Unionville, and the New York, Ontario & Western.

Jerrys HO

Thanks for the video Piyer.
Not quite as bad as i thought it would look.

jward

Jeffery S Ward Sr
Pittsburgh, PA

the Bach-man

Dear All,
We regularly run them on 18" radius at shows. They look really strange but fascinating with their tremendous overang.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

uscgtanker

I have seen one of these cars in Duluth. They usually have one there to transfer from boat to shore. one section alone is 160'.