Test Track: Lionel Conrail SD-70 with Schnabel Cars -1

A "special move" occurs today as a Lionel SD80 pulls a "high-and-wide load" consisting of a pair of large transformers securely held by two MTH Schnabel cars, spaced by two Atlas gondolas (the latter one a 1970's Atlas version) and a K-Line NS flat. Bringing up the rear is a pair of cabooses by K-Line, in appropriate roadnames.

High and wide is an appropriate descriptor for this train, as the transformers were too wide to allow my usual "camera crammed between the tracks and wall" shot. The transformers bump the camera fairly solidly, triggering a mechanical fault in its zoom control that causes the camcorder to zoom all the way out (40x), ruining the shot. Even the markers on the two cabooses take a swipe as they roll by, so you'll have to settle for a different "close call" shot near the end of the second video.

This is the first time all this equipment has operated in a train. Depending on which car you look at, it's been quite a while since they were first added to my collection.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• O-Gauge
• Lionel
• MTH
• AtlasO
• K-Line
• Schnabel
• Westinghouse
• ABB
• Conrail

[Teder95]

what are the curve sizes on ur track?

[RailRide]

@Teder95

0-72 on the main loop.

The switches are the rough equivalent of 0-42.

[Teder95]

@RailRide will that car opperate on anything less like 0-54? i have a heavy duty flatcar that says it opperates on 042 but it will works on 0-27 just fine. just a crap load of overhang.

[RailRide]

@Teder95

It might get through 042, maybe 036 but I doubt it'll snake through anything sharper than that. These cars are almost two feet long.

[train2589]

were did you get them at and when? if you remember.

[RailRide]

@train2589

Both of them were bought when they were released. You'd have to search "Schnabel" on the MTH site to get an idea of when they were cataloged (add 6-12 months to that for the actual delivery). The dealer I got these from has since retired.

[Teder95]

@RailRide alright thanks. just wondering in case my dealer gets a hold of one :D

[PATTONM14A1]

@RailRide Thanks for the information. I didn't understand that was an actual railroading term. I thought it was a joke made the company or something.

[RailRide]

@PATTONM14A1

It's an instruction to not switch this car using a yard hump--search "hump yard" and view the first link "Alyth Yard, Classification Hump" for an idea of how one works.

Presumably a car like this would react badly to being handled in that manner.

[PATTONM14A1]

I have got ask why does the signs of the electric transformer cars say, "Do not hump."? I thought it was rather odd.