Model Railroading > Trailers on flatcars?

When trailers are loaded on 89' flats or spine cars what is the common practice or rule for the trailer legs either up or down?

Down 

That does help to know since Athearns 40 and 45' trailers all come with legs up and down both to glue on.  Sounds like down for loading docks and for TOFC then.

Cheers, Jim Fitch

SPDRGWfan Wrote:
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> That does help to know since Athearns 40 and 45'
> trailers all come with legs up and down both to
> glue on.  Sounds like down for loading docks and
> for TOFC then.
>
> Cheers, Jim Fitch

Only time up is being hauled by truck

One exception would be the trailer that spans platforms on a "long runner" flat.

If the trailers are on a 89' flat car or the platform end of a twin 28'/57' spine car, the legs are cranked up to were the legs won't contact the floor. The weight of the trailer has to be on the hitch. If not, the trailer may bounce off the hitch. Also, with the legs extended at different heights, they could be damaged while being loaded by the crane. Tractor fifth wheels are at  different heights. The only time the legs are kept extended, are when the trailers are on the end with no platform. The ground man at the ramp cranks the legs up or down while the trailer is suspended by the crane.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/16 18:54 by needles_sub.

The TOFC operator stays in the cab the entire time while scooping up the piggies, seating the piggies on the stanchions and lastly, giving a slight upward tug to seem if each piggy is engaged. Time is precious and jacking up each landing gear costs time. Plus, they are down already when the piggy is set on the ground.

I was told by a carmen that when an TOFC operator yanks up too hard (think trailer blowing off enroute) on the trailer on the a spine-car, it will trip the car safety and cause brake bellow-bags with "goalpost indicators" to go out of adjustment; that's why you'll see the indicator either too short (applying too much brake) or too far (applying less).

More You Know :).

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needles_sub Wrote:
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> If the trailers are on a 89' flat car or the
> platform end of a twin 28'/57' spine car, the legs
> are cranked up to were the legs won't contact the
> floor. The weight of the trailer has to be on the
> hitch. If not, the trailer may bounce off the
> hitch. Also, with the legs extended at different
> heights, they could be damaged while being loaded
> by the crane. Tractor fifth wheels are at
>  different heights. The only time the legs are
> kept extended, are when the trailers are on the
> end with no platform. The ground man at the ramp
> cranks the legs up or down while the trailer is
> suspended by the crane.
>  

From watching ramp operations in Spokane, the only time trailer legs are extended or retracted is when the specific trucker drops off a trailer or picks one up from a parking space. The piggy loader and his assistant do not touch trailer legs while loading/unloading trailers from spine or TOFC flats. Perhaps there is an exception to the rule where they may see a trailer with legs too short or too long. In most cases, It is evident that the hitch on the TOFC/spine flat is slightly higher than the extended trailer legs to expedite loading cycles. Eagle Intermodal in Spokane uses the Xtra-lrg fork trucks with trailer/container attachment for lifting TOFC/COFC onto the flats.

Most truck fifth wheel plates are all close to the same height and do not vary too much. Quite often the landing gear is only cranked up so far that way it doesnt take so long to raise or lower when hooking up the trailer or unhooking. Also many trucks have air suspension which the can dump the air on when hooking up or unhooking. The problem that can happen with the landing gear is some trucker that doesnt raise it high enough and finds a rail crossing the hard way. Shag trucks have a fifth wheel plate that can be raised so they do not even mess with how the landing gear is all they do is step out of the back door on the truck and hook up the air hoses.

Guess the procedure changed since I worked at the intermodal railyard. It's been 25 years. Working as a ground man, we always cranked the gears up a little.
That said, if you don't shorten the landing gear a little, some of Athearn's trailers sit too high and the king pin doesn't sit in the fifth wheel hole. The trailer may walk off the car.

needles_sub Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Guess the procedure changed since I worked at the
> intermodal railyard. It's been 25 years. Working
> as a ground man, we always cranked the gears up a
> little.
> That said, if you don't shorten the landing gear a
> little, some of Athearn's trailers sit too high
> and the king pin doesn't sit in the fifth wheel
> hole. The trailer may walk off the car.

Same Thing happened to me with a set of Athearn Rodeway Express 28' trailers (already assembled).  Realized that they were destined to ride forever on a spline car...