Centerbeam... yep.

http://www.rti-railroad-tie.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/bnsfcenterbeamflat.jpg

Thanks for the photo of the

Thanks for the photo of the center beam car, maybe I'll make a load for one, although it is my bulkhead flats that need more loads.

Here are some of the lumber loads so far.

A center beam with short stacks:

A bulkhead flat:

A covered load:

Mike Ruby

Covered load

I don't think I've ever seen a covered centrebeam load quite like that before. Got a reference pic at all?

I've saw it on a DVD

I saw a load like it in the DVD "Southern Pacific When the Empire was Intact".   Green Frogs Shatsa Route Mike all of loads look good!

Steve

If your going to cover the

If your going to cover the load you wasted alot of wood when you could use small cardboard boxes to get the same illusion or even small cheep Blocks of Balsa wood. Normally they wrap each load or lift load seperatly. In the early 1980's I worked for a lumber company and when we got a center car load they would come with each unit wrapped to water proof it and then use 1-1/2 inch wide steel bands to strap each stack to the center beam usually 4 to 5 straps to each side of the car.

Dan

Covered Load

Chris, down here in South Florida, Most of the load that I have seen from FEC are covered. Or should I say partially covered. The other portion is torn off from the wind. I see if I can get photograph one.

Covered loads

Hi

The covered loads are made from blocks cut from pine not the made up stacks. The blocks are cut to the shape of a stack and then glued together. They are then covered with sheet cut from a black bin liner.

The covered load before covering.

The load being built in the jig

I have taken the loads from the Green Frog DVD "The Shasta Route, tracks of the old SP" and HPB's "Rails around Mount Shasta".

I have plans for the loads where each stack is covered individually. I am going to try making computer printed decal sheets, once I have photos of the logos used on the covers. These will then be wrapped around wood blocks. I already have some wood cut to the stack sizes for this.

I haven't fully worked out the straps yet, either thin paper straps or thread?

Mike Ruby

Making Straps for your lumber loads Cheep and simple

You can make the straps from a product called "Lanyard" you'll find it in craft stores and Walmart craft department the lanyard comes in rolls and is actually a flat flexible plastic coated string and comes in a large variety of colors including Black, White, Silver & most all colors you can think of. It also can be found in 2 basic widths 1/8 inch wide and 1/16 inch wide. Another thing you can use is just plain black sewing thread. To flatten the thread take pieces about 12 to 14 inches long. Then lay out a piece of wax paper about 16 inches long on a flat piece of wood and tape all the edges down with masking tape and try to get the wax paper to lay as flat as possible. Next take the pieces of black thread and coat them completely with white Glue (one at a time) then stretch each one of them out on the wax paper with small Pins or nails spaced 10 inches apart and wrap each end of the string around a pin stretching the string so it lays flat on the wax paper. Next wipe the string with a paper towel from end to end to remove most of the excess glue. Now take a piece of round tubing and roll in from end to end along the string,this will flatten out the thread and the glue will help the thread keep its flat shape until it dries. Once the string dries it will resemble almost perfect HO Scale Steel straps for your loads.

Dan

Lanyards

Thanks Dan

We don't have Wallmart in England, but I'll have look in the craft stores.

Otherwise I'll try your thread method.

Mike Ruby

Straps

Cut out long strips of scotch tape and paint it or use modeling tape if you have it the same as you would use to make a seatbelt for a model airplane if you have any expirience with that. Not only will you be going cheap but it will look great.

Mike Martin

Ties on Centerbeams and Centerbeams loadings

Hi all,

Let me say this photo is a very typical loading for a modern centerbeam carrying treated (or blonde ties as well). Let me tell you all as a Transload here in Salem, OR (I am the VP of Marketing for Cascade Warehouse) we handle at least one tie load per month if not more in the summer.

But let's lets look beyond the tie loadings and focus in how to load a centerbeam as there are AAR Open Top Loading Rules for just these types of cars, both 60-foot and 73-foot. One think to remember this that all voids in the car have to be in the center of the car and all material must load towards the bulkheads. So you can't have a staggered layer on a car with the voids at the ends of the car, or at least you can't load it that way, and that's not to say that the railroads don't hump the cars causing the loadings to shift...

Tarped loads are very much a part of todays loadings; however. there are no rules that govern how they are to be tarped. Some newer tarps actually untilize a tarp that encompasses the entire car, others tarp only half (as in the photo) from polyethelene plastic and the tarps tuck behind the load against the center metall verticle supports or center parition (those Opera Window cars). Common to all is that they are nailed off with dunnage boards to hold the tarp tight along at the very least the bulkheads (yes that is what we call the ends of the car) and if the load is tucked behind then the top of the units are nailed off along the top in the back to hold the tarp down. 

Many Lumber Comapnies employ the use of "paperwrap" to individual units when the lumber need to be weather protected such as Kiln dried lumber. Then regardless of the length the units are wrapped, most commonly seen headed to the big box stores with loads of 2x4 and 2x6 in lengths of 8' to 10' (including all the stud trim lengths) and the pack sizes are slowly becoming more standardized. We ship as far aways as the New England states and to Florida (see just loaded car to Drew, Fl just this week) and into Canada and Mexico as well from our three origin locations here in the PacNorWest. 

It sounds like a good subject for an article in Model Railroad Hobbyist and share the knowledge.

Regards,

Greg Martin

Salem, OR

Loading centerbeams

 Hi Greg

I picked the wrong photo really, I think that is the only load that has voids at the ends, the first I did. The rest either fill the car or have gaps in the middle.

Thanks for saying how the tarps are secured I was wondering about that.

I'm still haven't got around to trying out my ideas for the paperwrap method.

An article on prototype lumber loads is a great idea, I need the information. They are very common open loads, I'm just working from videos and the help from this forum.

Mike Ruby