Loads for Extra Long Flatcars?

Jerry,

I vote for trucks or trailers.  If you can find a late 1950s tractor trailer that'd be the ticket.  Or else you could go to Toys R Us and bring your flatcar and check truck sizes in person.


Get you some pretty inexpensive 1:32 corvettes or mustangs:
http://www.aawesometoy.com/c-68-132-136-die-cast-cars-trucks.aspx

These firetrucks at the bottome are 1:24 scale, and a little pricey, but then again, it might be what you'd like:
http://www.idcow.com/trucks.html

Just a trailer:
http://bubbabigrig.com/cgi-bin/online/storepro.php

This place looks like some decent prices for trucks:
http://www.motormint.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=208&Page=1

I like this set:
http://www.motormint.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1667

Jerry:

Early day (1950s & 60s) TOFC (Trailer On Flat Car) units usually consisted of 36' to 40' semi-trailers on flatcars similar to yours. The ramps provided a method for a truck cab (Tractor) to pull the trailers into place and then drive off the flats.The early ones were just chained in place, with things like support hitches, etc. added as they became more sophisticated. That really appears to be what LGB had in mind when they modeled them.

I don't know exactly how long your "50 foot" LGB flatcars are, but a 1:24 scale 40 foot semi-trailer would be ~20" long. These trailers are available as plastic kits for reasonable prices and are easy to build. Park the cab in a yard area where the trailers would be loaded / unloaded.

Hope this helps.

Happy RRing,

Jerry Bowers

Thanks to everyone. There are some really great ideas here.

I previously had a bunch of Bachmann trailer flatcars but without a trucking company or truck cabs to match I thought they looked out of place.

The fire engines and I beam are good ideas but a bit too modern (I'm trying for that late steam/early diesel era).

The cars aren't going anywhere (for now I've put them off the layout on a siding) so it may be awhile before I do anything with them. Like most of us I have tons of extra plastic wheels and Pine Bluff, Arkansas has a wheel reconditioning plant so that too is an interesting idea. I'd need to figure out how to make a frame to support the wheels but I do have a USA wheel flat car that I could probably use as a template.

Regards,

Jerry

Hi,

Load down a perpercraft kit of the CSS David Torpedoboat  http://www.tinpaper.net/CSS_David.html  It happens to be 50 feet long.
Simply enlarge the kit to the right side, print and build.

Looks something like this: http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/Kraehwinkle/Bootstransportaussen.jpg
I transport my vessel on a pair of LGB disconnects.  You should fold the chimney down during transport. 

Have Fun 

Fritz / Juergen

The LGB flats sure look like early piggyback flats.  The trick is finding an early trailer in 1:22.5 or 1:24 scale for them.

I have a few of these early piggybacks on the HO layout.  The best photo I could find at the moment is the one below...look in the back for the Santa Fe trailer on flat car.



Doing a very quick eBay search I found this:

Model Power Southern Pacific Trailer

I know model power makes/made some nice 1:24 tractor trailers.  The cabs are modern, but the trailer (while also being modern) could fit the bill as good railroad trailers.  That SP one on eBay looks good and the lettering is an older style.  Unfortunately they are very pricey.

Here's a list of the model power trailers on Walthers:

Model Power Trailers

They seem to have stopped production of this line so you might want to act fast before everything is sold out.

USA makes a similar flat car with a trailer.  Here's a link:

USA Trailer on flat car

We got the Rio Grande version a few years ago.  I never use the flat car but the trailer is neat (we had to custom paint a cab):

I finally "solved" the problem. I sold the long flat cars to a friend. He runs long large trains so the cars fit well with his layout. I got a good bargain buying them (they came with some LGB F7's on a special) so I passed on the good bargain to him and now we are both happy. 

If they had been short or normal length flat cars I would have kept them and found some use for them but I'm happier now with them gone. Not only did I get the money from the sale but I kept the metal wheels I had put on those flat cars and that saved me from having to buy 4 packs of new metal wheels for other cars that needed them.

I've decided that I needed a little "for sale" yard to park the stuff that does not "fit" my layout. This way when someone comes over we can look and see if they are interested in something I no longer want or that may have come in a package of which I only wanted part of it.

I do appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions.

Regards,

Jerry