WORLD'S LARGEST O SCALE RAILCAR MODEL???
Could this be the largest O scale railcar ever made??? The prototype and the model were built in the USA in 2012.
The prototype:
Newly manufactured Schnabel car, WECX 801. It was built by Kasgro in New Castle, PA in 2012 and is the "World's Largest Rail Car". It is owned for Westinghouse and will be primarily used to transport Nuclear Reactor Containment Vessels. The car separates in the center and the load becomes part of the entire car, increasing its already long length. The prototype WECX 801 is a 36 axle railcar that has a load limit of 2,035,800 pounds. The prototype railcar allows for adjusting the load to either side to compensate for overhang on curves.
The scratchbuilt model:
This O scale model railcar has 36 axles with a scale length of 231 feet over the couplers (with no load attached). Two identical sections have been built. The 2 sections are linked together using a drawbar when no load is attached. The O scale model is well balanced with a low center of gravity which allows it to track very well. This O scale model is over 58 inches in length (without a load attached) making it one of the longest fully operating O scale models ever built. The model as shown is "linked" by a drawbar that connects both sections just like the prototype. With an 80 foot scale load (as shown) it is over 6 feet in length!
