What's your opinion on Schnabel cars, me personally I think they look pretty stout bold and cool! 8)
Absolutely no use for one on my layout. Glad yours seems to excite you so much. :D
Sid
I'm surprised that such an unusual car was offered as a model. They are not prototypical in any kind of operation other than by themselves with a couple of idler braking cars as a special movement at very low speeds, and possibly a coach or caboose as an agent rider car, rolling at probably no more than 20 scale miles an hour.
There was a great article in Classic Trains a few years ago by a guy who had been a professional rider accompanying oversized loads like the schnabel car. One trip took over a week to get from Ontario to the West Coast at those speeds. I'll try to find the issue to post it.
32.5" long and performs best on 22" radius and above curves. It would be interesting to see what it looked like on 22" curves.
Here it is on 30" radius.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewgNEa3YlVI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewgNEa3YlVI)
It sure is a lot of engineering designing and building just to carry a load over rails,, I did like the load it was carrying though I am an electrician by trade
Even on the prototype, curves were a problem! Joe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO7xcQq0EXU
That was quite a sight.
That was one tight turn