Show Me your Flat Car Trains

A Union Pacific run by from the early 1960s.

Here are some of my flat cars with loads.

The inspiration for this thread was these 2 relatively flat MTH cars with loads:

But, after looking at the cars in the other posts, I don't think that mine are true flat cars. I think they are low profile gondolas, not true flat cars. Is that true?

Arnold

Arnold,

Those two cars are gondolas.  When I first looked at your video I thought you were talking about the bulkhead flatcar with what looks like pipes.

I do like your layout.  Nice work.

'

Here are a few older flat cars with loads from the Baltimore & New York Ry:

Max Gray 250-ton heavy duty flat car from 1954, with a GE stator load made from PVC pipe and electrical conduit sections done in the 1980's. Wood bracing and D&H car number follow a photo of the prototype found in a 1950's issue of TRAINS magazine.

A Westbrook flat car rebuilt from a $3.00 'junker' w/o trucks or couplers. But it has all its stamped brass stake pockets! The Joal road-grader was found in an antique shop minus most of its tires for $10.00.  In writing to Joal in Spain to buy replacements, they sent me a full set of tires at no charge! Got to get the tie down chains snugged up though,

This All Nation cast aluminum depressed-center flat car models a pre-War Commonwealth design. Both features point to a previous maker, perhaps Megow.  Lettered for B&O, it carries an Allis Chalmers transformer load made from a St. Charles Model Works kit.  The Allis Chalmers emblem was found on the internet and made into a decal for the load. 

This is from a Walters kit that accurately models, a C&NW car built by Bettendorf in Iowa. The finished job includes a stained strip wood deck.  The current designation for this car on a waybill, is "MT."

S. Islander

@S. Islander posted:

Here are a few older flat cars with loads from the Baltimore & New York Ry:

Max Gray 250-ton heavy duty flat car from 1954, with a GE stator load made from PVC pipe and electrical conduit sections done in the 1980's. Wood bracing and D&H car number follow a photo of the prototype found in a 1950's issue of TRAINS magazine.

A Westbrook flat car rebuilt from a $3.00 'junker' w/o trucks or couplers. But it has all its stamped brass stake pockets! The Joal road-grader was found in an antique shop minus most of its tires for $10.00.  In writing to Joal in Spain to buy replacements, they sent me a full set of tires at no charge! Got to get the tie down chains snugged up though,

This All Nation cast aluminum depressed-center flat car models a pre-War Commonwealth design. Both features point to a previous maker, perhaps Megow.  Lettered for B&O, it carries an Allis Chalmers transformer load made from a St. Charles Model Works kit.  The Allis Chalmers emblem was found on the internet and made into a decal for the load.

This is from a Walters kit that accurately models, a C&NW car built by Bettendorf in Iowa. The finished job includes a stained strip wood deck.  The current designation for this car on a waybill, is "MT."

S. Islander

I love that D&H and B&O car. You did an amazing job.

Greg P

Some fabulous flat cars posted above. Thanks for sharing them.

Flyer flats:

Tie-down repros and lumber loads from Joe Mania.

PD

Ives flat:

Tough find with the chains.

PD

Lionel 6802 with Gulf-Wyer load:

Early journal-less Lionel 831 flat:

Photo was taken on the Golden Gate Lionel RR Club layout at Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos Ca.

The CB&Q flat car is by Red Caboose. The NE12 Way Car (caboose) is custom built.

RAY

This train of flatcars was inspired by a hilariously long cut of empty flats travelling in a manifest seen in a DVD "<name to be added when I get home>" when I find it.

This particular collection of 027 flats eventually ballooned to a potential of 50+ cars, but I haven't run that train yet (there are a bunch of consists I have yet to run before it).

---PCJ

This one, although classed as an O-58 gondola (it does have sides ) by the B&O, is really an early pig flat and was built July 1939 by Tommy Arnold:

My favorite loaded flat. Note that the cribbing has since been replaced/upgraded:

Just because I could :

I have a couple of dozen 4-axle and 6-axle depressed-center flats and about the same regular flats.

Note: One can never have too many flatcars; or tankers for that matter!

EDIT 1824 24jun22: To correct a typo.

A few of mine ...

Here is a photo of an Atlas O 89'4" flatcar with samples of American Freedom Train wagons that Alan Nelson is working on for me.  The wagons have gotten a lot more refined since this photo.  The three flatcars by themselves will be almost 6' - need more shelf space.

I like TOFCs, construction vehicles on flats, pipe loads, I-beam loads, lumber loads, and especially, the artisanal custom loads made by the craftsmen on this forum. But, I’ve really taken a shine to the vans on flatcars. There’s a gizmo on eBay that stabilizes the front of the van, so they don’t become dislodged.

Another Flyer flat (#3046):

Homemade repro retainer-clips here.

PD

...and a Lionel 3460:

Interesting.

PD

I love flat cars as they can haul just about any thing and show it off to boot.

Here a couple of pictures of my flat car Rocket Train.  Cradles were made to hold the rockets on the flat cars.

Homemade rocket cradles.

Most are toy rockets, the white one is a Lego rocket, and the red, white and blue is a homemade copy of the Lionel 6407 flat car with rocket.

The blue care is a Homemade Lionel 6413 Mercury Capsule style transporting car made from two junk flat cars.

Charlie

This is an old video   I call this the Jim Sutter train as it helped him keep the lights on in the store one more day  OK Bye bye now

@jim sutter

Yes Ben, it did. The lights were on and there was food on the table.

Looks like a nice layout, Ben. Got a few loops in the basement?😜😜😜 Also, looks like that train woulda kept Jim’s and the Mrs.’ lights on for a few weeks!

Here’s a video of my custom flat car train, pulled by my MTH Western Maryland Decapod.  All but two of the flats are Lionel postwar cars I picked up at train shows for $5.00 apiece.  Most of the loads cost more!

Arnold, thanks for posting another interesting topic!

John

Unloading is underway at the Lionel intermodal terminal...

Weaver South Shore flat car with factory load of two coils and two reels.  John

@S. Islander posted:

This is from a Walters kit that accurately models, a C&NW car built by Bettendorf in Iowa. The finished job includes a stained strip wood deck.  The current designation for this car on a waybill, is "MT."

S. Islander

Waybill may be incorrect.  Could show:  88,000# of sailboat fuel.    Nice looking car.  John

@rattler21 posted:

Waybill may be incorrect.  Could show:  88,000# of sailboat fuel.    Nice looking car.  John

Indeed so!

On a large O scale layout some time ago, I was running a train that had a large propane gas tank car in the consist. Its waybill was carded as carrying "Compressed Hot Air" from Washington DC. The destination was to a remote island off the coast of Antarctica, 'by car float.'  In operating, it went to the car float dock at the main yard to get another waybill. 

S. Islander

Mostly flat cars......

Peter

ATSF Train 189

And Q-NYLA

Tom

I'm gonna post this on Weekend Photo Fun, and figured it would be a good fit for this thread. Here's a quartet of Conrail four axle units hauling a westbound TV train over the Tuscarora Creek bridge at Port Royal. For the sharpest image, click on the smaller image below to enlarge:

Here are pics of a WWII recon plane going to the shipping port.

@mikey posted:

Here are pics of a WWII recon plane going to the shipping port.

Great looking flat and load.

Here are a few of mine - a mixture of years, makes, and models.

Menards USAF with a Rocket Load.

Menards Navy Recon aircraft load

Fandor 1910-1912 (import of Fandor trains stopped at WW 1 - company reemerged in US in 1920 as Dorfan)

Hornby "fibre load" 1950's

Lionel (no load provided) flat car in the "Wabash Cannonball" set of 1972-73

Marx heavy duty rotating searchlight car, 1950's.

Mettoy from the UK  1950's

Marx MoPac "Eagle" freight 1974-76 (load is not original ).

Best Wishes everyone.  Great pictures, especially those looooooong military trains !

Don

Pacemaker trailer by Berkshire Valley

Weaver trailers atop scratchbuilt flat car

               K-MART scale trailers offered about thirty years ago

        Weaver and Berkshire Valley trailers atop home made flat car.  John

Flatcars never feature prominently in my collection and I should get more ! ( Always mwoooooarrr )

But I have a couple

Rusty Ives on the left

Sakai top left

Chad Valley ( UK )

Naturally Hornby

With furniture box ...

Timber ...

Gas... (another one lol )

And a lonely Bing ...

More than I thought really?