Military Helicopter question

I am reliably told that helicopters rarely shipped by rail as their mechanics and instrumentation were just too vulnerable to “handling “ by the railroads on flatcars.  

That being said, if you search on that auction site for “1/48 helicopter kit”, you’ll find a bunch of different prototypes represented.  Just keep in mind many helicopters (especially twin rotors) are quite possibly just too big to be transported on flats anything less than ~60’.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Price

LCCA did a Texas Special ps-4 flatcar with a 2 seater chopper 6-58536 .  The flat car is 14"  I believe the chopper is to scale.   It takes the complete car plus a little with the blades on.   Smaller choppers like a Huey may work with folded rotors.  The Huey rotors are 48 feet diameter.    1 ft scale.  Need to check width overhang.

I don't know if this helps at all, but I just finished assembling an Atlantis Models reissue of a vintage 1:48 scale Piasecki H-25 helicopter. Posted separately on the "Let’s see your Custom or rare flatbed loads!" post. https://ogrforum.com/...5#175427630568245975

It fit well on a Menards military flatcar as far as length, and it clears my Plasticville through truss bridge. The landing gear was just a little too wide, so I shortened the stub axles. And I cut and glued the rotor blades in a folded configuration.

I have a question? Were Helo's transported by rail ?

I am not sure what era you are looking for but the only two Marine Corps pieces of equipment I know for a fact fit on regular DOD flatcars (the kind with four-wheel trucks) are LAV-25 tanks (I was an LAV platoon commander at one point) and any version of the AH-1 (Cobra, SuperCobra, Viper, etc). I'm sure there are other options for you, but these are the only vehicles I have personally seen on a regular flat.

The Cobra I saw on a flat was no longer DOD property. It was an older Army version, now part of a fire service. The stub wings were removed. A USMC Viper (the current version of the AH-1) is a lil' bigger than a Cobra, but can certainly look comfortable on a flat. It's well under 50ft long.

To @The Shadow's point, Army and Marine units typically use rail to move armor and artillery units to repair/refit facilities and to training/testing ranges. Unfortunately, helicopters are typically airlifted. That said, YOUR RAILROAD, YOUR RULES, right?

Your biggest concern is really the width of the skids or wheels. Seahawks/Jayhawks/Blackhawks are longer than a Cobra, but are still only about 50ish feet. The wheelbase is close to 10ft though. How wide is a flatcar? The Bell 209 (Army and Navy) is far smaller than a Cobra. Most other helicopters are either too long, too wide, or both. All these are easy to find in 1:48 scale.

Definitely consider using a model kit rather than a pre-built model. That way you can "make it work."

One last thing: you don't have to pick a branch. The Army takes care of everyone.

I appreciate everyone’s input. I have 4 MTH premier flats with tanks and 4 with humvees. I have an army boxcar. Looking to add to the train with a few atlas o dod flat cars with loads I made up. Helicopters or something cool you don’t usually see

@CharmCityAirLine posted:

I am not sure what era you are looking for but the only two Marine Corps pieces of equipment I know for a fact fit on regular DOD flatcars (the kind with four-wheel trucks) are LAV-25 tanks (I was an LAV platoon commander at one point) and any version of the AH-1 (Cobra, SuperCobra, Viper, etc). I'm sure there are other options for you, but these are the only vehicles I have personally seen on a regular flat.

The Cobra I saw on a flat was no longer DOD property. It was an older Army version, now part of a fire service. The stub wings were removed. A USMC Viper (the current version of the AH-1) is a lil' bigger than a Cobra, but can certainly look comfortable on a flat. It's well under 50ft long.

To @The Shadow's point, Army and Marine units typically use rail to move armor and artillery units to repair/refit facilities and to training/testing ranges. Unfortunately, helicopters are typically airlifted. That said, YOUR RAILROAD, YOUR RULES, right?

Your biggest concern is really the width of the skids or wheels. Seahawks/Jayhawks/Blackhawks are longer than a Cobra, but are still only about 50ish feet. The wheelbase is close to 10ft though. How wide is a flatcar? The Bell 209 (Army and Navy) is far smaller than a Cobra. Most other helicopters are either too long, too wide, or both. All these are easy to find in 1:48 scale.

Definitely consider using a model kit rather than a pre-built model. That way you can "make it work."

One last thing: you don't have to pick a branch. The Army takes care of everyone.

Semper Fi! Fellow jarhead

@NeOhiofan posted:

Semper Fi! Fellow jarhead

OoooooohRah!!

As a former USMC Huey pilot and Maintenance test pilot, I can assure you that Huey blades do not fold-they have to be removed from the rotor head for transport which is usually done by aircraft such as a C141 "back in the day". They might fit in a C-17 with blades attached....

I also spent my post -USMC years (almost 40 of them) as a Field Technical Representative on gas turbines for Allison Div. of GM + Rolls-Royce North America; the point being gas turbines are susceptible to damaging main shaft bearings with too much repetitive motion over time when they are not turning which is why most are shipped on the highway in air-ride suspension trucks.

A Bell OH-58 would be a possible flatcar load for size but the main rotor blades would still be detached.....