RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted July 20, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 20, 2011 Hi all, Over the years I've gained a number of these and am now trying to work out how best to use them. What time period are they correct for? I've been told there was an article by Jim Eager that will help me work things out. Does anyone know more about this? I've got an assortment of roadnames - they are gradually getting painted/repainted into a sort of Railcar Red/Brown/Rust with a lot of weathering! Date wise I'm looking at late 80's to late 90's. I understand that some of these are still around for TTX and believe (if I've read it correct ) they are now numbered in the TTLX603** number range. Anyone got any more info? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prof Klyzlr Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Dear Phil, Google is your friend... ;-) TTX, US biggest intermodal equipment owner/operator http://www.ttx.com/equipment/listingtype/intermodal/intermodal-spine-cars.aspx/ TTX's history on intermodal http://www.ttx.com/aboutttx/history.aspx/ RRPictures Impack Car Roundup http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rsRRList.aspx?id=27 RailcarPhotos search brings over 198 images http://www.railcarphotos.com/Search.php?SearchReportingMark=&SearchCarNumber=&SearchType=Spine+Car&SearchBuilder=&SearchAARType=&SearchRRClass=&SearchMechDesig=&SearchInFeet=&SearchInInch=&SearchExFeet=&SearchExInch=&SearchCapCuFt=&SearchCapGal=&SearchLoadLmt=&SearchLtWt=&SearchDateBuilt=&SearchLineage=&SearchPlate=&SearchPlacard=&SearchUserID=&SearchCity=&SearchState=&SearchPhotoDate=&SearchCarNotes=&SearchRemarks=&Order=&Search=Search Maybe relevant, maybe useless info http://www.progressiverailroading.com/pr/article/Intermodal-Car-Orders-to-Decline--18556 Kalmback/MR Forum posting http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/7954/86182.aspx Gunderson, one of the largest Intermodal car manufacturers, a history http://www.gbrx.com/files/files/GundersonBook.pdf Bibliography of intermodal reading http://intermodalarchive.org/RC_Bib.htm Could be useful? http://intermodalarchive.org/ Hope this Helps... Happy Modelling, Aim to Improve, Prof Klyzlr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 What time period are they correct for? Depending on railroad, from the late 1970s (Santa Fe 10-packs) through to the late 1990s, they could only take 45' trailers so were increasingly less useful as trailer lengths gradually increased... I've been told there was an article by Jim Eager that will help me work things out.Does anyone know more about this? There was a series of articles in one of the mags....if I can remember which one...! It would be something like Model RailroadING or RMC, both of which carried regular intermodal slots? 've got an assortment of roadnames - they are gradually getting painted/repainted into a sort of Railcar Red/Brown/Rust with a lot of weathering! From memory there were several owners, most of which have been done by Athearn over the years plus TTX which IIRC never operated Impacks. The design originated on the Santa Fe circa 1978 (as a 'Six pack!') and it went into production a year later with their '10-pack' 10-platform sets. The prototype looks quite different but the production 10-packs look pretty close to the Athearn model with a narrow platform for 96" wide trailers only (the Santa Fe and I suspect other users had to weld extra bits on the side when the standard trailer width became 102" wide!) - they were all delivered in a striking-but-impractical white scheme with yellow '10-pack' logo's but many later on got repaints to the Santa Fe's later freightcar brown dip scheme. In the very early 1980s Santa Fe licenced the design to (IIRC) Itel Corp, who sold them as Impack cars. Some worked as leasers for Itel (SSIX??) Railroad customers off the top of my head were Cotton Belt (I think in sets of 4 and 8 ) and BN (in sets of 5 and 10 cars) - BN's were in cascade green with 'Innovative Intermodal Service' branding which was quite funky. Date wise I'm looking at late 80's to late 90's. I'd suggest a Santa Fe 10-pack in the later brown dip scheme then - as far as I can tell the Santa Fe fleet was the last one in use, although apparently the Santa Fe regarded them as non-interchange cars so if you're modelling somewhere else that could be an issue? I understand that some of these are still around for TTX and believe (if I've read it correct ) they are now numbered in the TTLX603** number range. No Impack cars survive AFAIK, as they were (arguably) obsolete in their modelled form within a couple of years of being built! TTX has 'similar-ish' looking TOFC-only cars working for TTX but they are different in size, details, trucks, wheels, configuration...they are not Impack cars despite their roughly similar silhouette - you might be able to kitbash a passable TTLX set from the Athearn Impack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warbonnetuk Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 To add to Martin's reply Jim Eager's series on spine cars appeared in Model Railroading. The back of issues of most the print run is available free from TrainLife website (along with the other muched missed mag Modelrail Journal The below links go to the first two parts of Jim's series that cover off Impact cars http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/457/0/model-railroading-december-1997 http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/456/0/model-railroading-november-1997 Cheers Dan Spalding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted July 21, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted July 21, 2011 Hi all, Thanks for all the info... I'll work through it as I go! The query about TTX arises from a comment elsewhere that they took the Impack cars and modified them to take containers? I'll try and find the source again. Which railraod? In some of the photos of late '80's intermodals in Guilford I noticed some cars that are definately shorter than others. So - when I started to Go Guilford! That was the direction I started out with as the pig trains were such a visible feature of traffic. Now I'm not sure! Thanks - more later.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWB Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I don't believe the Impack cars were modified to take containers. The more recent TTX cars do in fact have collapsible container mounts. As to shorter intermodal cars, you may be thinking about various conversions from 50-foot boxcars to piggyback flats that were done by ATSF, NS, and others. If anything, this is what would have been running on Guilford. They were never all that big on intermodal and in fact stopped doing intermodal around 1990. It was renewed about 2000, and the current Pam Am Southern is trying to push it, though from what I've seen, it's mostly in double stack cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Two of Santa Fe's ten-packs were altered to COFC cars, but none seem to have been converted to 'all purpose' cars as the later spines all seem to have been. Ref 'short' intermodal cars the other ones suitable for your period are the Front Runner/4-Runner 4 wheel cars, Walthers have modelled them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigZ Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Two of Santa Fe's ten-packs were altered to COFC cars, but none seem to have been converted to 'all purpose' cars as the later spines all seem to have been. Ref 'short' intermodal cars the other ones suitable for your period are the Front Runner/4-Runner 4 wheel cars, Walthers have modelled them... And if you happen across a set of Front Range 4-Runners, do NOT be tempted by them. They're evil, diabolical devices... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWB Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Front Range kits were often problematic. I have a set of their four runners that I've never quite opened in the 20 years or so that I've had it. Do you have any tips, Craig, other than to send them to the landfill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted July 22, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted July 22, 2011 Front Range kits were often problematic. I have a set of their four runners that I've never quite opened in the 20 years or so that I've had it. Do you have any tips, Craig, other than to send them to the landfill? Hi All, I have some of the Front Range Four Runners... I filled the chassis frame with lead shot to get the weight where it mattered and then replaced the bogies with (I think) Athearn ones. I also find I have a 5 set of Front Range TOFC/COFC cars. I've found the reference I referred to for the Impack cars being modified to take containers. UTTX 60101-60120 20 5 - 40/45' Trailer FMC 12/83 ILF50A Impack, reblt to TTLX UTTX 60121-60167 47 5 - 40/45' Trailer FMC 6-8/84 ILF50A Impack, reblt to TTLX UTTX 60168-60195 28 5 - 40/45' Trailer FMC9-11/84 ILF50B Impack, reblt to TTLX This is from archive material on the web http://intermodalarc...ld/SPINESPT.HTM So - more info please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 But TTLX cars can't take containers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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