Ken - I have MTH Schnabel Cars - Bob
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 19, 2018, at 10:15 AM, Ken Young <kanawha72@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Status:
Peter checked a number of engines with panatagraphs with my foamboard
template and they all fit.
I got a flat car to mount the clearance template on.
A couple of people that are working on the station module asked about what
clearance is needed. Right now an absolute minimum of 1 3/4" is needed from
the center of the center rail to the object next to the track. Anymore would
be better. Once I get the car finished all you will have to do is push it
down the track and see if anything hits it. Of course the clearance car won't
work on curves, that's a different problem.
There are a couple of car types I can't check for clearances as I don't own
them or know of anyone that has them. If you have these cars please let me
know:
Lionel's 85 ft enclosed auto carriers. I'd like to know how tall they are.
Custom made flat cars with heavy construction equipment loads. There is
someone that sells these at York and a lot of Greenberg shows. He takes a
flatcar, weathers the deck, and mounts diecast equipment to the deck. The
equipment can be things like backhoes, earth movers, diesel generators,
tanks, etc. I think I've seen some where the equipment hangs over the sides
of the deck. If you have any of these please make sure nothing on the car is
over 3 1/2" wide.
MTH Schnabel car.
Ken
On 2/17/2018 2:43 PM, Ken Young wrote:
Last meeting I said i would try to come up with a car to check clearances. I
made a template to check how different large engines fit with a 3 1/2"
horizontal and a 6" vertical (measured from the top of the rail) opening.
The widest engine I have is a tinplate 256. The axle journals stick out from
the frame a lot, so that is the reason I chose the 3 1/2" horizontal
opening. My widest steam engine is a 3RD Rail Virginian AE 2-10-10-2 and it
fits the opening OK. MY Y3, Allegheny, H7, etc all fit this opening with
ease. If anyone has any engines that are wider than this let me know. Ones
that I can think of that need to be checked are the Y6, Triplex, and N&W
turbine, and maybe some of the other turbines.
The 6' vertical opening works for most all freight cars. Doublestacks go
through just fine. The only problem with this vertical clearance will be
with pantagraphs. My K-Line EP5 clears just barely with the pant all the way
up. My Virginian EL-C's would not make it under my signals or bridge so I
blocked the pant from going all the way up, now can't measure them to see
how far up they would normally go. If anyone has an MTH E33 or E44, please
measure the distance from the top of the rail to the top of the pantagraph
with it fully extended.
After I settle on the dimensions of the opening I can rig up a clearance
template.
Ken