These two pages should help you get an idea of what Army cars are like, though one notable exception was some 50' boxcars that were painted in a tan color by the Aberdeen Carolina & Western a few years ago for the Army. Don't know of any photos of them right off hand... http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rsList.aspx?id=USAX http://rr-fallenflags.org/usa/usa.html
Thanks, I found my box cars. It’s not the same numbers, but it’s definitely the same box cars I mentioned earlier. USAX 29366
Wow, I was about to order 8 tiny little items for my flat car loads until I saw $27 shipping charges and I couldn't get out of there fast enough. err: I think maybe I go with the 1/144 stuff cool: Oh I forgot about the BLMA stuff. I'll take look there next
Are you saying the DODX 68 foot heavy flats are not used anymore? I don't think you can get two M1A1's on a 89' car. They require a car with a load limit of 150 tons as each M1 is 69.54 tons.
I’m glad you mentioned that because I was going to buy two tanks per flat. This is going to save me some money. :thumbs_up:
Couple of points... - the 68' six axle flats are definitely still in use. Some are now in different colors. - DODX has a large fleet of 89' flats used for lighter equipment and containers - M1A1 tanks are dimensional loads (oversized) and require special handling as per any other dimensional load. - Generally, you will see solid trains of tanks or other equipment because they are part of a unit - and it moves together - I once saw a solid train of HEMTT tank trucks - and nothing else - remember the US military has massive amounts of equipment - Lou
I am so glad that I didn't buy the equipment yet. I was going to buy one of each piece. Now that you mention this, I think the last Military Train I saw in Barstow was mostly Hummers and a few trucks. I can't remember the trucks for sure, but I think there was a few water trucks and a lot of supply type trucks.
The part numbers for the Micro-Trains LVTP7 Amphibious Tractor loads are 499 43 935 (Tan) and 499 43 936 (Green).
I have never seen any photo of an MIAI on any flatcar other than the special DODX 40XXX numbered cars. These cars are used to haul only two loads, M1a1 tanks and M88 tank retreivers. In chapter 20 Rail Transport of the FM 55-17 manual is this notation: "(5) DODX flatcars are the US government fleet of heavy-duty rail cars designed for tanks and other heavy armored vehicles. The 54-foot, 100-ton car can carry one M1 tank or two M60 tanks, and the 68-foot, 140-ton car can carry two tanks. Since supply is limited, these cars should be used only for heavy armored vehicles." For photos go here: Department of Defense Rolling Stock
You could take a look at http://www.nscalekits.com. They have a 68' DODX flat. These are kits though, so require painting and such if you desire to go in that direction. But they would definitely make a great addition to your roster. Dennis
Thanks for the info. It was fun looking at all those photos and I got a better idea of what I want. Oh wow, that's pretty cool. I sure would like to see that some day. Thanks for the lead, but I really don’t have any more room to put any more cars. I’m limited to the length of my depot. My plan is to put a small Army depot on a short spur off of my Arrival & Departure track to my Yard. It will basically be a Single Track, Single-Ended Spur with a runaround for my US Army GP20. The plan is to bring military cars in on the Arrival & Departure track with a BNSF or UP Loco and have the GP20 move the cars into the depot. I will have an Army Munitions Depot with a dock for the boxcars and a Loading Ramp for the flat cars. It’s going to be pretty basic with a couple of Quonset Huts and a wall or maybe a chain link fence separating the depot from the yard. I’ve seen these small little depots around the country. I’ve never seen them in operation, but always theorized that they might be for picking up supplies to take to a larger base. I don’t know for sure if that’s what they are and I don’t know if they are even in use anymore, but I have seen them in the most unusual places around the country.
That's great I didn't think too look on youtube and there is more. That's perfect, thanks. :thumbs_up:
Yep. Sometimes. I've never had solid trains in any unit I've been in because I've never been in a unit that has only one type of vehicle. In fact, only non-combined combat arms battalions/squadrons would have one type of vehicle, and that's only if the headquarters operates with the organic vehicles as well, as opposed to command vehicles. Manufacturer shipments would tend to be all of one vehicle, though.
I noticed that when I was going through all YouTube videos. There was definitely a combination of equipment.
Matt - you're right - and I was imprecise in what I said... I meant that generally what I've seen has been an entire train of either a supply company or an armoured unit or something. To be sure I've seen smaller shipments too - ie. 4-5 flatcars of M1A1 tanks, etc. I've also seen a few trucks or HUMMV's on flatcars in a general merchandise train, but not too often - at least in NJ on Conrail/NS/CSX. Of course there is another military move that is quite interesting - that you see from time to time - the nuclear reactor fuel shipments for the Navy. You can easily find photos in the DODX section of rrpicturarchives, etc...
So back when they would have moved troops behind a steamer, would any freight or armor be mixed in? Thanks
