# Can’t leave the car behind!



## tiger (Dec 16, 2015)

I’m still in the phase of accruing enough “stuff’ to make a display worthwhile, not sure how long that will take. This give me plenty of time to daydream. I’ve been thinking over this idea for a while—

Hey, it’s my train (OK, my wife’s) and I can do what I want and originality goes only as far as I’d care to take it. In my Art Deco World, if I want, the passengers on the 20th Century can all be sitting and using laptop computers; who is going to stop me? 

Well, a “what if” occurred to me; what if they had invented the Auto Train a lot earlier? “_Honey, we’re going to Chicago for a few weeks, should the take the Continental or the Delage with us?_” Well, after finding the passenger cars, I’m 99% sure I won’t find the right auto-carrier… so I might have to make one. And the contents would have to be visible, or what’s the point? So, what would be involved in cutting away one of the passenger cars, taking most of the sides away, and fitting clear plastic? I’d then need a floor, mount the vehicles on it, and simulate an opening rear door for unloading. Beyond feasibility? What method would give the best (*straight*!) cuts? Caveat: careful measuring to ensure there’s enough room inside and perhaps select the vehicles chosen on height.


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## santafealltheway (Nov 27, 2012)

Go for it! I'd like to see it.

I love unrealistic and fantasy stuff...

I want to model the train from back to the future 3 lol. I already have an HO delorean.


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## MikeB (Feb 11, 2016)

I'd love to see what you come up with.


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## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

Lol, the early West, with a General and an AC-6000 side by side.


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## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

tiger said:


> I’m still in the phase of accruing enough “stuff’ to make a display worthwhile, not sure how long that will take. This give me plenty of time to daydream. I’ve been thinking over this idea for a while—
> 
> Hey, it’s my train (OK, my wife’s) and I can do what I want and originality goes only as far as I’d care to take it. In my Art Deco World, if I want, the passengers on the 20th Century can all be sitting and using laptop computers; who is going to stop me?
> 
> Well, a “what if” occurred to me; what if they had invented the Auto Train a lot earlier? “_Honey, we’re going to Chicago for a few weeks, should the take the Continental or the Delage with us?_” Well, after finding the passenger cars, I’m 99% sure I won’t find the right auto-carrier… so I might have to make one. And the contents would have to be visible, or what’s the point? So, what would be involved in cutting away one of the passenger cars, taking most of the sides away, and fitting clear plastic? I’d then need a floor, mount the vehicles on it, and simulate an opening rear door for unloading. Beyond feasibility? What method would give the best (*straight*!) cuts? Caveat: careful measuring to ensure there’s enough room inside and perhaps select the vehicles chosen on height.


Once you cut away the sides and install the clear plastic, you could use scribed wood to simulate a floor like a flat car for the cars to ride on. I believe there were castings for an end door on a passenger car that would work as a door for cars. A regular passenger car with the sides cut away, would be about right for the era, heavyweight for early, and streamlined for later periods.


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## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

It's funny you mentioned the Auto-train to Chicago. I rode the Auto-train several times in the 80's & 90's from Virginia to Florida. There was talk of also running a second one from Chicago to Florida but it never materialized.


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

What if you took one of the older say, Athearn HO dining car or seating car, the longer ones, cut the sides out like you're saying, then attach the body to an Athearn flat car as your bottom piece?

I've seen a few Athearn flat car units that are almost as long as a passenger car and if it was just short of the passenger car, you could simply shorten the passenger car by removing a short section since you're cutting away at it anyhow and that just might make an awesome looking car for you? Do you get what I'm saying?


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## tiger (Dec 16, 2015)

Thanks for the input.

The cars that I got with the locomotive are streamlined with tapered ends, I could imagine a clamshell arrangement to unload but I'd think this only needs to be simulated.

I had to look up Athearn. Somehow that looks like "the right way to do it" but perhaps beyond my skill set, as I'm new to this?

The wood-slat floor idea might be closer to what I might accomplish.

The actual cutting without making a mess of it is still the part that would worry my the most. A Dremel with a cut-off disc would require a very steady hand.


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## santafealltheway (Nov 27, 2012)

tiger said:


> The actual cutting without making a mess of it is still the part that would worry my the most. A Dremel with a cut-off disc would require a very steady hand.


I've been known to make cuts like that with a red hot razor blade clamped in some vice grips


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

Since it sounds like you're planning on cutting away most of the body anyway, why not start with a flatcar and built it up the way you want? Is there some feature of the passenger car that you're trying to retain?


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## cid (Jul 3, 2014)

I think that private autos have almost certainly been moved by train for as long as they have been in existence!! Here's one example: 

http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/11539

I'm sure if you search a little you could find more pictures, and probably different loading methods

It's definitely a cool idea...


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## cid (Jul 3, 2014)

http://acatholicmomaftergodsownhear...pping-cars-by-rail-helps-build-early.html?m=1


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## tiger (Dec 16, 2015)

Shdwdrgn said:


> Since it sounds like you're planning on cutting away most of the body anyway, why not start with a flatcar and built it up the way you want? Is there some feature of the passenger car that you're trying to retain?


Well, the passengers cars I have do have the "streamliner" styling, I was picking up on that just to have a unified look, so the car transporter looked like it fit in. I see there are HO auto-transporter rail cars available, that eliminates any work at all if I want, just figured it would jar the eye.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

You can now drive your car onto the Eurostar train at Ashford in the UK and drive off in France. The train travels at 160 mph.


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## cid (Jul 3, 2014)

Cycleops said:


> You can now drive your car onto the Eurostar train at Ashford in the UK and drive off in France. The train travels at 160 mph.


I would love the opportunity to do that! I think my daughter has done, she gets to do all the good stuff...
I just mostly stay home


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## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

tiger said:


> Thanks for the input.
> 
> The cars that I got with the locomotive are streamlined with tapered ends, I could imagine a clamshell arrangement to unload but I'd think this only needs to be simulated................
> The actual cutting without making a mess of it is still the part that would worry my the most. A Dremel with a cut-off disc would require a very steady hand.


I love this steamliner auto train idea!
Yes, the dremel cutting method is nerve racking. Possibly use a corrugated-side streamlined car that has the flat window band, and use that as a cutting guide (or any of the corrugation lines, depending on how tall you want the viewing windows). Then use a large file to flatten the cut and remove the irregularities. You could also use a strip of styrene to give the edges a nice sharp finished look.
As mentioned in an earlier post, there are car-end doors you can purchase to replace the regular end door, or configure something yourself. The observation car 'clamshell' idea is good too, although you might want more than one auto carrier in the consist? Just thinking out loud here. 
Hope you don't mind if I borrow your idea in the future though!


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

I would think the best way to go would be mating an Athearn or IHC passenger car with an auto rack car. Use the passenger trucks and roof section from the passenger car, adjust the height on the rack to fit the passenger roof, add some styrene sheet on the sides and paint it to match the rest of the train. Just a suggestion


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## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

time warp said:


> I would think the best way to go would be mating an Athearn or IHC passenger car with an auto rack car. Use the passenger trucks and roof section from the passenger car, adjust the height on the rack to fit the passenger roof, add some styrene sheet on the sides and paint it to match the rest of the train. Just a suggestion


Interesting!
Questions:
What kind of auto rack car? One of the short 60s style or a longer one?
And...clear styrene sheet for viewing the autos?


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

Given the era mentioned, using an old TYCO or Athearn short rack might be easiest, and clear styrene ( maybe strips?) On the sides. With the passenger car roof and side skirting maybe?


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## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

time warp said:


> Given the era mentioned, using an old TYCO or Athearn short rack might be easiest, and clear styrene ( maybe strips?) On the sides. With the passenger car roof and side skirting maybe?


Yep, or maybe even use two autoracks so you could have a longer car, and more car capacity. Great ideas :thumbsup:


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

Check this out! Found it in an old MR from '72. Read the text, this thing was patented. Funky cool!


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## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

Wow.....that is incredible. What's that saying, there's nothing new under the sun? 

Great find!


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

Can you imagine having all yours passengers climb those ladders? Surely there was some sort of loading terminal in this concept.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

CN had the "Auto With You" program back in the '70's.....



> Car-Go-Rail, introduced by CN in 1963, was a service that allowed a passenger's auto to travel between the same two cities as the passenger, but on a slightly different schedule, aboard a freight train. Auto-With-You, introduced by CN in 1972, was an extension of Car-Go-Rail. Auto-With-You allowed a passenger's auto to travel on the same train - the daily Super Continental, train Nos 3 and 4 between Toronto and Edmonton. Handling the auto transporter on the tail end of the Super facilitated switching en route. Advance reservations were required for passengers and autos.
> 
> Car-Go-Rail recovered all transportation costs through freight tariffs, whether the passenger travelled by train or not. Purchase of a passenger ticket was necessary for both services. Car-Go-Rail operated between Halifax, Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver. Avis Rent-a-Car operated an over-the-road pickup and delivery service, linking Calgary, Regina, Prince Albert, Brandon, Ottawa, Kingston, London and Quebec City with CN's Car-Go-Rail loading points.
> 
> Auto-With-You was an attempt by CN to not only grow passenger traffic, as passenger operations became a costly millstone around the railways' necks, but to recoup some of the cost of the service by generating additional revenue. VIA Rail terminated the service in 1976.


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## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

time warp said:


> Can you imagine having all yours passengers climb those ladders? Surely there was some sort of loading terminal in this concept.


And how did they get that sedan on the upper level? A crane?

There's no way an actual railroad would build such a thing. It would be impossible to get passengers into the "coach" section without special high-level ramps which limit their use to those stations (passengers will not be climbing vertical ladders like that). There's also no ability to move between cars.

Plus any passenger train that is carrying the passenger's automobiles with them is going to be a long-distance train, and the passengers might want to access the dining car.

No, they'd do something like the real-life AutoTrain did: separate auto carrier cars and regular passenger cars.


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## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

Many of those CN cars ended up on the first incarnation of the Auto-Train


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

cv_acr said:


> And how did they get that sedan on the upper level? A crane?
> 
> There's no way an actual railroad would build such a thing. It would be impossible to get passengers into the "coach" section without special high-level ramps which limit their use to those stations (passengers will not be climbing vertical ladders like that). There's also no ability to move between cars.
> 
> ...


Details, Details


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Making straight cuts*



tiger said:


> Thanks for the input.
> 
> The cars that I got with the locomotive are streamlined with tapered ends, I could imagine a clamshell arrangement to unload but I'd think this only needs to be simulated.
> 
> ...


 Tiger;
Using a Dremel tool, even on slow speed, may melt the plastic enough to snag, and deflect, the Dremel cutting wheel/blade. This could ruin your car. A better method would be to cut a 2x2, or other lumber, to fit tightly inside the car. Then you should have a firm wood backing directly under the proposed cut line. Now use a steel straight edge (scale ruler) to guide an Xacto knife (with sharp new blade) along the cut. Use a very light stroke to start. This is just to establish a tiny, shallow grove along the cut line. Then make a half dozen, progressively more aggressive strokes with the knife. When it breaks through, you should have a nice straight cut.

Traction Fan


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

cv_acr said:


> Plus any passenger train that is carrying the passenger's automobiles with them is going to be a long-distance train, and the passengers might want to access the dining car.
> 
> No, they'd do something like the real-life AutoTrain did: separate auto carrier cars and regular passenger cars.


You might be interested to know that when you board the Eurostar 
Channel Tunnel train you drive on yourself. Journeys are a max of three hours so maybe not considered long distance. You can get out of your car but there is no access to refreshments.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Those who have not seen Amtrak's AUTO TRAIN that
runs from Lorton, Va. to Sanford, Florida (just East
of Orlando), can get a good tour by
Google Earth viewing. There are large service and
loading areas and good views of the actual cars.

They are possibly the longest passenger trains
in the US. I get to see them often speeding down
the CSX Main to Orlando.

Don


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

Does anybody model any third world lines where people are riding on the car roofs? Like the polar opposite of auto train.


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## tiger (Dec 16, 2015)

Good feedback. Once I have the nerve to try it, I hope it works out OK.



traction fan said:


> Tiger;
> Using a Dremel tool, even on slow speed, may melt the plastic enough to snag, and deflect, the Dremel cutting wheel/blade. This could ruin your car. A better method would be to cut a 2x2, or other lumber, to fit tightly inside the car. Then you should have a firm wood backing directly under the proposed cut line. Now use a steel straight edge (scale ruler) to guide an Xacto knife (with sharp new blade) along the cut. Use a very light stroke to start. This is just to establish a tiny, shallow grove along the cut line. Then make a half dozen, progressively more aggressive strokes with the knife. When it breaks through, you should have a nice straight cut.
> 
> Traction Fan


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