I finally got one of the tanks "tied down"! I just used cotton thread, threaded into holes drilled into the tank, and superglued in, then passed through holes drilled in the deck slots, and glued underneath the car.
That finished car looks really great Alan. Fantastic job How about some info on painting and lettering the cars. Like what color is correct and what about lettering. What data sheets and lettering sheets did you use to finish the car? Any info and/or tips about finishing the cars would be great Thanks.
Alan: The thread really does end up looking convincing. Maybe it's just my eyes filling in the detail, but I swear I can see links. BNSF: An olive drab or field green, like from Testors military (Federal Standards) line would be right. These cars are not well taken care of in the paint and wash department, and I don't think I've seen any two that were really the same shade. BTW, I've started seeing new flats with 2 axle trucks and the same capacity, painted yellow and lettered DODX. Maybe I've got a new project/inspiration after all.
Eagle, I had been led to believe that there was a useable limit of around 25 Tons per axle for 33 inch wheels. Dunno, but I think Gregg Mahlkov posted a link to an FRA site that had all those specifications back 6-12 months ago.
Hank: Hmm... I'll have to go look again. All I know is what I've seen, although I will say I've never seen the yellow ones with tanks loaded. As Spock might say, "Insufficient evidence at this time"
Here are a couple of excellent sites with pics of the DODX cars DODX locomotives and cars More DODX pictures
I have put a page of photographs showing the lettering on these cars. They were taken for me by Mark Verdi, who also made me some scale drwaings. I am indebted to him for his invaluable assistance, and for permission to use his photographs. DODX Flatcar Lettering
I have had a train load of the yellow ones before. they were loaded with containers. All of the cars were freshly painted. I noticed in the prototype pictures on Alan's site that the tank flats can also be used to haul containers as they have the flip-up pads on the deck of the cars. Brian [ 01 January 2002: Message edited by: brian ]
The yellow four axle flats referred to here may be trailer train 60 foot flats used for equipment such as farm machinery or construction equipment. They are also used for lighter military equipment such as Bradley Fighting Vehicles, humvees and various artillery, engineer and other equipment. They would not be capable of handling two M1A1's tanks whose weight would be in the area of 135-140 tons. There are three classifications for the 60 foot cars equipped with vehicle tie downs. They are HTTX, OTTX and TTHX. These all have a max load limit of 70-80 tons depending. Also there is an 89 foot flat with a 62 ton limit ITTX classification. Trailertrain's website provides a listing of all cars and their specifications. Web site is www.ttx.com then click on equipment overview at the top.
Alan I had two tanks per flat car,until a army guy told that,because of the weight the army use one per car. Your car realy looks great ,good job guy Stay Superheater
Thanks for the comments. It is ok to carry two tanks on the six-axle cars. They are marked out to show the position the tanks must be, to balance the weight. But I have two tanks and will put one tank on each car.
Hey heater: Ya got steered wrong, man. Alan nailed it with the two tanks and their location on the car (my definitive tone based on 17+ years in armor/heavy units). Moral of the story, to paraphrase one of our greatest Presidents: Trust but verify. PS, please don't think I'm trying out any kind of attitude on you, it's just that I've been there, done that and want to help folks get it right.
