Atherns 48 ft. well cars


K

kbbgood

New Member
If I was to get a few sets of Atherns 48 ft. well cars how tall do they get double stacked? Need to know cause of building a helix. Seams like every thing depends on everything else building this thing. How wide does the helix need to be for double lanes?
 
Good Morning. Be aware that Athearn well cars will negotiate 22" curves on level track. But they have a tendency to stringline, that is tip over to the inside of a curve especially on a grade, if everything isn't just perfect. Secondly, the NMRA gauge calls for 2 11/32" clearance, you want "finger room" as well. Most helixes have 3 3/4" - 4" clearance. For a double track helix, I would go a minimum of 24" on the inner track and 26 1/2" on the outer track. This allows two trains to pass without clipping each other. Even then, I would use the inner track only for downgrade trains. So depending on the "shoulder" on the outside, the overall helix would be about 56" -60" across. I would personally go with wider radii if possible. Note that at a 24" radius, a 2% grade (recommended) will only get 3 1/8" clearance and that's without roadbed and track height which need to be added in. Helixes are not easy!

Willie
 
Not just the well car height but the size of containers you plan to carry in them. They are not all the same size.
 
Nice calculator Willie. Thanks for the link. I'm not doing a helix but if I was I can tell you I would be running numbers on that calculator.

Dave
 
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