Loading up the car float

[Ralph]

Here's a picture of my fairly new car float scene with a Pennsylvania switcher pushing the last of a string of grain cars onto the barge for their trip across the bay. Now that I'm out of the hospital I hope to soon feel up to adding details to this scene based on some excellent comments by other members and, most recently, an article in the November issue of TRAINS that profiles a still operating car float in the Chesapeake Bay! It has excellent pictures and a good description of what its like to float a train.

Ralph

 

[MasonJar]

Don't forget to load them alternately, or you might roll it over...!

Andrew

 

[Marxed]

Don't forget to load them alternately, or you might roll it over...!

Andrew

if you don't load them alternately, please post pictures of the result

 

[brakie]

Very nice.. :thumb: I never modeled a dock scene but,think they look cool.

 

[Union Pacific]

that could be some neat animtion if you cut a slot in the water and ply you can stick a nail in there as a gude and activate a motor to drive it accross the stream :thumb: just a though looks good:thumb:

thanx,

 

[Sir_Prize]

Sweet!
Looking awesome!

 

[TomPM]

Looking good, Ralph!

 

[Gary Pfeil]

Yes it does look great Ralph. I had read and always believed that bit about loading the car floats alternately, but read in a book on the New York Harbor railroads that that wasn't the case. The floats had three tracks, and the center was the first filled and last empied, but other than that there were no concerns. Perhaps the alternate loading concept sprang from two track floats?

Gary

 

[CSX]

Ralph, I love that scene. Keep up the great work!

 

[Russ Bellinis]

Yes it does look great Ralph. I had read and always believed that bit about loading the car floats alternately, but read in a book on the New York Harbor railroads that that wasn't the case. The floats had three tracks, and the center was the first filled and last empied, but other than that there were no concerns. Perhaps the alternate loading concept sprang from two track floats?

Gary

I haven't seen railroad floats loaded, but I work on refrigeration units for a company that runs trailer loads of freight to Santa Catalina Island by barge. They load the trailers three wide on the barges, and I've noticed that they load a trailer in the center, then one on each side, then one in the center, etc.

 

[sumpter250]

A couple more carfloats, and you have "portable staging!"
Very nice!
Pete

 

[Ralph]

A couple more carfloats, and you have "portable staging!"
Very nice!
Pete

You know, I thought about doing that, making a couple of barges that could be interchanged like "cassettes" loaded with cars, but instead I permanently mounted this one car float on the scene. I either fill it before operating sessions as a staging area or leave it empty with the understanding that a car float run is coming to load it up.

Ralph

 

[PRR 6750]

That is a really nice looking car float ralph. Great Job & Great Picture.

 

[Chessie6459]

Ralph, the float looks GREAT. You sure did one fine job on it.:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[60103]

A challenge for the next person that builds one:
Put a rod down the middle and some springs under the sides so that it tips a little when the cars are loaded on it. Not enough movement so that it actually capsizes, though.

 

[MCL_RDG]

Once again...

...another "Atta Boy" for you Ralph.

I don't believe you've posted pics of this side of your railroad before (or I just missed 'em).

Thanks,

Mark

 

[siderod]

David,
Thats a good idea, and could add a lot to an operating session....roll the carfloat, and have to call in a couple big-hooks and some emergency crews!

Ralph,
Lookin good! Did you scratchbuild the float? styrene or wood? How large is the float, anyway? It looks like it could run a long way in that picture, but it's sorta hard to tell for sure.

AR

 

[Ralph]

Ralph,
Lookin good! Did you scratchbuild the float? styrene or wood? How large is the float, anyway? It looks like it could run a long way in that picture, but it's sorta hard to tell for sure.

AR[/QUOTE]


I did scratch build the float. Its made from a 1"X6" pine board and some strip wood, and is 3 feet long. It has two tracks and can accomodate ten 40 foot box cars or eight longer cars like the covered hoppers shown.

Ralph

 

[Gary Pfeil]

Took a look thru the book I mentioned talked about loading/unloading car floats and while I did not find the paragraph I was looking for as i thumbed thru it, I did see these two photos I scanned to show you. These are from the book New York Harbor Railroads in Color, Volume 1, a Morning Sun book, which I recommend highly to anyone interested in the history of carfloats and barges of all types, obviously loaded with quality photos. Both of these shots show entire cuts of cars being pulled from floats, one of which is a station float, one which has just two tracks with a platform in the center. Quite a list too!

 

[jimmybeersa]

My Train float

A few years ago I spent a very enjoyable holiday with a fellow modeler who live on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, He was an Engineer for the Eastern Shore RR, and was responsible for unloading The Car barge at Cape Charles some pictures of this operation can be found at http://gelwood.el.wny.org/eshr/eshr.htlm look for the Cape Charlels car float I modeled this on my layout useing some modelers licence