Not every year, but every so often on a rotating order have a set of 5-6 cars for:
PRR Merchandise
MP "
B&O LCL
SP Overnite Black
SP Overnite Silver
PFE
SFRD......
Dominic, I like your idea also. I like to run long trains of coal hoppers of mainly the same road name. I also have Hooker Chemical Co. tank cars I like to run in a unit train. A long unit train of PFE and ATSF reefers would be nice too!! And the SP box cars also sound good along with NYC Pacemaker box cars.
Cobrabob.
(http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x107/Coobrabob8/DSCF2736-1.jpg)
Above photo is of a coal unit train. Below is a unit train of Hooker Chemical Co. tank cars.
(http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x107/Coobrabob8/NEWLAYOUT117.jpg)
Cobra what are the dimensions of your layout
I can go with Hoppers, Boxes, Refers, Tankers........
Unit trains usually refer to coal hoppers or tank cars being in a consist by themselves, no other type of freight cars. Example is; Georgia Power and Light has a coal unit train, about 70 '100 ton' hoppers, brought in to their coal burning plant near Macon GA twice a day by Norfolk Southern. The coal plant is nearby to Juliet GA where the movie Fried Green Tomatoes filmed the train and dam scenes.
Lee F.
M1FredQ,
My layout measures 8'6" along one wall and 13'10" along the other. The other leg of the "U" measures 6'3". So I guess that means 8'6" x 13'10" x 6'3". The outer loop consists of 36, 48 and 60 diameter curves while the inner loop consists of 36 and 48 diameter curves. The lower level uses all 36 inch diameter curves.
Cobrabob.
Below is an overall photo of my layout. It is not really that big, but I had only so much space I could use. Still, I do enjoy watching my trains run on it compared to my original 4'x6' layout.
(http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x107/Coobrabob8/NEWLAYOUT94.jpg)
Another photo.
(http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x107/Coobrabob8/NEWLAYOUT95.jpg)
My newest locomotive, a Williams NW-2 pulling a Unit Train of quad hoppers loaded heavy with coal.
(http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x107/Coobrabob8/NEWLAYOUT135.jpg)
One could say the Triple Crown RoadRailer trains are a "unit train".
Yes, the term "unit train" is usually used with coal or tankers. Yet in the boxcar era, many railroads ran express box car service from one terminal to another, using one kind of car. SP's LA-SFO OVERNIGHT is an example. An LCL train, vs. one load for one customer, say with coal. But, in many aspects, these were a lind of "unit trains", even though that term was not used at that time.
What I did with some of my quad hoppers was to put a raised divider in and use wood shavings(from working at a cabinet shop) underneath to keep the upper coal load in place, otherwise you will need two or three powered engines to pull five or six hopper cars.
The plastic covers for a coal load don't look real to me.
Lee F.
Cobra
Thanks for the pictures I really like what you did with that layout.
I like the over under portion with the bridge it's what I would like to do too!
Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!
There was a company which used to make a product which has a coal load glues to a spongy base. Real light, but good looking. For small L, L and WBB quad, K-Line, and the various MTH lines.
Here is a story about Cargil's first unit trains
http://www.cargill.com/connections/more-stories/innovation-train/index.jsp (http://www.cargill.com/connections/more-stories/innovation-train/index.jsp)