RE: (erielack) Re: Walthers Bethlehem Flush-Deck Cars: First Impression

["Paul Brezicki" <doctorpb_@_bellsouth.net>]

In this final post, I'll discuss the Walthers cars but I see I need to add a few comments about the prototype. 

http://lists.railfan.net/listthumb.cgi?erielack-04-14-07

A little more on hitches. The ACF Model 2 was a cushioned hitch, whereas the Model 5 came in cushioned and rigid versions, the former for TTX cars and the latter for TTAX. The cushioning mechanism is in the diagonal strut, and this is how you can tell which you're looking at: on the cushioned it's thicker and has a telescoping portion near the top. The cushioning device on the P-S LP-6 is in the large orange base extending behind the hitch; look at the orange hitch in image 3 of the model photos Paul kindly provided the other day (link above). The rigid LP-3 lacks this extension.

The as-built cars could accomodate trailers up to 45' long on the B ("front") end and up to 41'4" on the A end; both could have nose-mounted refrigerator equipment. In order to accomodate two 45' trailers ("Twin-45" conversion), both hitches were moved forward. Since the deck is 89'4", the arrangement put 8" between trailers and an 8"overhang at each end. That's why the bridge plates had to come off. Compare the arrangements in images 3 and 4. Notice also the front extension on the ACF (black) hitch; this is the location of the pneumatically operated screw mechanism that raised and lowered the hitch. This wouldn't fit on the relocated B position, so it was exchanged for one from a car equipped with P-S hitches. That's why you'd see lots of Twin-45 cars with different hitches. At this time a plethora of new hitch designs, many of them non-retractable, was introduced for both long flats and the new spine cars; I'm not going to review them here.

To sum up, here are the correct hitches for flush-decks:

TTX: ACF Model 5 cushioned retractable, P-S LP-3 retractable
TTAX: ACF Model 5 rigid retractable, P-S LP-6 retractable

Trailer Train used a car class system using 4 or more digits. The first letter identified the builder, the second gave the deck height, the third gave the type of draft gear. Then followed number(s) giving the subclass, identifying variations among different orders. A couple of examples:

BSF-11: Bethlehem Steel, Standard deck height, Friction draft gear, sub-class 11
ASH-10: ACF, Standard deck height, Hydraulic end-of-car cushioning, sub-class 10

Oh well, the kids are up, gotta run, I'll finish up tomorrow.

Paul B

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