# Need the name of a certain type of car



## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

I need the name of the car that carries hicube shipping containers. I am making paper models of the hicubes and I want to get cars the cars designed to carry them. I can't seem to guess the name so I can't find them on the model train store sites yet.

There's a bunch of them shown in this video carrying hicubes -


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Thrall or well cars!


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

I cant see the video at work but I am going to guess this is some type of intermodal container or truck trailer?

IF so look for spline or spine car, Huskey stack, or road railer. those are pretty common intermodal type of cars.

Sorry I cant see the video to give a better desicription.

Massey


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

Massey, NIMT,

Did a search using all the names you gave under all manufacturers of freight cars and nothing came up on this online store -

http://www.internettrains.com

Any more ideas?


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

I should also mention that these cars can come in sets or individuals. If they are in sets usually 3, 5, or 7, car the middle cars share a truck and the outer cars are the A + B. C, D, E, F, G cars are the middles. I have not myself ever seen or heard of prototype sets running more than 7 cars total and most models have only 5 cars total. 

I have a couple of models of well cars in a 5 car set and while it is neet to look at the car does not perform all that great. THe main reason is the cars are too light and there is too much friction in the pivot between the cars. I have about 15 or so of the metal Walthers Huskey Stack cars and they are great performers that do not need extra weight.

Massey


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Right now I dont know if any one is making them. A few years ago Athearn brought out some really nice, high detal cars in a 3 car set for about $80-$100 painted for TTX and Mearsk. Not sure if you can still get them but I did find you this on the site you listed 

http://www.internettrains.com/merch...t_Code=932-3940&Category_Code=HSCINTCARWAL533

http://www.internettrains.com/merch..._Code=ALN-26103&Category_Code=HSCINTCARALNTHR

http://www.internettrains.com/merch...duct_Code=932-8110&Category_Code=NSCINTCARWAL

And here is the search directory where those links came from 

http://www.internettrains.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?

I used HO as the scale and Well Car as the search parameter

Massey


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

Aha I found it on the store under "double stack". Searched for "well car" on the internet and got wikipedia, and I found it also listed as double stack there.

Thanks your hints helped to find it.


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

You should see the triple stack UP cars that are being made now. They can handle three full sized containers stacked on top of each other. I am amazed they never tip.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

3 containers!! I guess they dont route the trains through any tunnels!

Double stacks required many tunnels to be lowered just to clear those and now they are going to stick another 8' of height on the train.

Massey


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

Hmm, now another question. It looks like some of these intermodal cars are hooked up differently. Looks like the ends of the cars sit on one truck, and are not meant to come apart? How do they uncouple - or do they?



















http://www.deluxeinnovations.com/images/CSXmaxiD-576.jpg


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

That was what was mentioned above. Some intermodal cars are single units, others are 3 or 5 unit "trains" that share intermediate trucks with each other and aren't meant to be uncoupled from each other.

If you want the individual cars that can be unhooked from each other, check these out, they are REALLY nice cars (I've got a set of 3)

http://www.walthers.com/exec/search...rds=restrict&instock=Q&split=30&Submit=Search


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

xrunner said:


> Hmm, now another question. It looks like some of these intermodal cars are hooked up differently. Looks like the ends of the cars sit on one truck, and are not meant to come apart? How do they uncouple - or do they?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is what I was talking about earlier, and you can even see the same in your video (I did finally get to watch it) The train in the video had individual cars, 3 car sets and 5 car sets and I did not notice any 7 car sets. The sets that are linked together with a common truck are called articulated. There was also many different designs represented there including some of the older well cars that had walls on the front and rear to help support the upper container. It was later determined that the extra support is not needed and the walls were not added to newer cars to save weight. You may also have noticed that the cars usually had the 20' containers on the bottom and a 40, 48 or 53 on top. Most well cars cant carry 53' cars in the well so they have to ride on the top and since most 40, 48, and 53' containers do not have center supports the 20' containers cant ride on top since there is nothing to hold the middle of the container in place. Intermodal freight is a very interesting type of freight to have on your layout. The containers of 20 and 40' length can be shipped on containerships across the oceans, on rail and over the road on trucks. 48 and 53' do not have a place on containerships but will be handled on rail and truck. The international standard is the 20' container and is also the rating for a ship. For example if a ship is rated at 1000 TEU, it can carry 1000 20' containers, but this does not mean that it can also carry 500 40' containers, due to the design sometimes of the cargo holds or international shipping laws about the upper stack configuration. Most of the time a ship is loaded with a combination of 20 and 40' containers. 

A variety of different handling equipment is available for modeling intermodal yards and even the drop off points. Usually the dock will unload a ship with huge cranes and those cranes will drop the containers on a small truck that will move the trailer to its proper holding site. The holding site will be either another crane to load the rail cars or a holding lot for another local or semi local truck to deliver. These areas usually have massive amounts of trailer chassis' laying around waiting to be put in to use. as the chassis' leave new ones are added to the mix by trucks bringing new containers back (full or empty). Things like forklifts, container lifts, or cranes can be used to remove the container from the trailer, the trailers can also be backed up to a loading dock just like normal semi trailers can. 

Check out wiki and your local library about this for more info. Kalmbach also has a couple of very interesting books on intermodal trains and freight.

Massey


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

Here they are for the first time ever!

Triple stack container smart cars and of course the only railroad to own them seems to be the one railroad that is all about way oversized things. For example the Veranda Turbines, DDA40X, U50, Big Boy, and now these new forms of rolling stock. So have you figured out what railroad I am talking about yet? Yep the UP, not my favorite but I must give to them the fact that they are one of the few railroads that have been about large everything.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

Those containers look shorter than the regular intermodals. Is this the case? Who makes that model?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Intermodals and their containers have come in many shapes and sizes over the years.







Freight hauling trailers and containers from 6' by 20' to 10' by 53' 







Red cars are 5 piece well unit, Yellows are 3 piece spline cars. 







Double piggy backs. 







Single piggy back. 







Single spline car. 







Well cars and their many sizes of loads.


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## kursplat (Dec 8, 2010)

the BLMA'S that people seem to be happy with. 
good looking cars


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Here is a barge dock and intermodal yard I built on my first layout.

Humble beginnings 









Loaded and ready to ship!


















Massey


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

Thanks for the great info and pics. I plan on getting some of these very soon.


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

The triple stacks I belive are the standard sized container. It is the angle and shear height and size of how the picture was taken that makes it look small. It is also because there is no reference piece like a diesel engine. Those perticular ones have been recently imported for Overland Limited by some company in South Korea. They are also the lowest riding well cars ever made which is evedent by just how close they are to the wheels and the couplers.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Gunderson is another name for these cars. They are joined together with single trucks for two cars and they are not uncoupled. Built in 3,5 and 7 car lengths but most that I have ever seen are threes. Pete


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

Massey said:


> Double stacks required many tunnels to be lowered just to clear those and now they are going to stick another 8' of height on the train.


Going back over this thread I am not sure I understand this. Why would tunnels have to be _lowered_?

Which brings to mind a question - what is the max height of any part of a train - I would think there is a spec on that?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Try this, standards for railroads all over the world, since they differ: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loading_gauge


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

xrunner,
What he meant was they lowered the tracks in the tunnel to get more height to the ceiling of the tunnel!


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

NIMT said:


> xrunner,
> What he meant was they lowered the tracks in the tunnel to get more height to the ceiling of the tunnel!


Hmm ... Sounds like rather a large pain in the a** for the RR Co. I'm trying to picture this - the tracks going towards the tunnel are at a certain level, and then they tear it all up, lower the grade, replace the tracks, and then go up grade outside the tunnel? 

A lot of work!


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

If you look at the ends of containers, they are square (10x10) not rectangular. Looks like those containers are 10 wide x 8 tall. So in theory you would get an extra 4' in height with 3 of the 8' tall containers or an extra 20% in volume (significant on a per car basis so long as you don't overweight the car.)

Did a little research.....maybe these are what that model is reflecting 6'4" tall X (3) stays under the regular height restrictions of 20'. According to the article these were for really dense materials, so maybe the std containers couldn't be filled to capacity (container weight restricted, not car weight restricted) and these allowed for better packing.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1215/is_n2_v196/ai_16539317/

It makes way more sense than having to increase the clearance inside tunnels/bridges just for a new type of car.


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

But did they not also have to do that for any tunnel that had a double stack when they first came about? Even those are a good few feet taller then the engine itself. I am not saying you are wrong just that I am curious about these triple stacks.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

xrunner said:


> Hmm ... Sounds like rather a large pain in the a** for the RR Co. I'm trying to picture this - the tracks going towards the tunnel are at a certain level, and then they tear it all up, lower the grade, replace the tracks, and then go up grade outside the tunnel?
> 
> A lot of work!


I wondered why they would take out of the bottom of the tunnel and not just shave off some of the roof. The reason is structural stability. The ceiling is critical to the tunnel and most of the time the engineers (not the guy that drives the train) have done some calculations and what have you for the structure of the tunnel to make it safe. Cutting away the bottom of the tunnel does not change the ceiling of the tunnel half as much as cutting away the top. So yes they remove the tracks, grade the incomming and out going portions of the tunnel (some times the grade is spread out over miles so it is not noticable) so the trains will clear the tunnel while carrying triple level auto racks and double stack containers.

Massey


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

Need name of another type of car. It has a flat bed and each end has a vertical "wall". The middle of the thing has a structure dividing two halves of the car lengthwise. I have seen them in many videos but I've never seen them carry a load!

Just jump to 7:28 in the video - it's between two white tank cars - or 7:54 -


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

That's a neat video Xrunner. Love the winter scenes while I'm sitting here in 85 degtree heat at nine PM. The car your refering to is designed to carry bunks of plywood or other such material. These are prewrapped and tied at the factory in same size bunks. The floor of the car is higher at the outside than the inside so the bunks weight is pushed to the middle of the car and counterbalanced with the load on the other side. The framework down the middle gives the car extra lateral strength and keeps the loads on either side from shifting in transit. I don't know the exact name of the car but it should be easyto find online. I'd start with 'Plywood cars'. Pete


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

The name of that type of car is a Bulkhead flatcar. I believe that will only get you a car with the end bulkheads and not the center beam so you may have to type center beam bulkhead flatcar or something similar.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Center Beam flat car. This is a really common car for transporting lumber. There is a write up in this month's Model Railroader about detailing one if these cars.

Massey


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