Description
SA10 Car Float Fittings Kit – HO
White Metal & Resin-54 Piece total
Fits HO barge
49 detailed metal parts include: 3 carstops, 8 manholes, 8 cleats, 8 double bitts, 20 pc. toggle bar assembly (= 12 toggle pockets/4 toggle bars/4 racks) , 1 life ring, 1 smoke stack
Resin: 5-pc. cabin assembly
Toggle bar assembly is deck equipment that allows the barge to connect and stay secured to the dock or pier
(1 set) in pack
HO application. Review the size to determine if it will meet your requirements
Who used Car Floats to move freight? Just to name a few: the NYNH&H, NYC, B&O WM. ERIE, CP, Cross Harbor RR, PRR. Some RRs used Car Ferries but that’s another story.
Car Float operations were used whenever a railroad had to cross a body of water and bridge construction, for whatever reason, was impractical.
FLOAT CONSTRUCTION
Real Car Floats came in many sizes. I won’t pretend to be an authority on the subject, there’s just too many variations. I’ve seen pictures of old wood Floats that could just about hold three 40′ cars lengthwise. I assume it was double tracked, therefore holding six cars. Generally speaking, smaller Floats range around 150′ to 180′ then up to the 225′ range – from there to big league 350′ or more. Unless you are modeling a specific prototype, you can basically custom build your Float to fit available space allow-for on your track plan. Two or three tracks, it’s up to you, larger Floats generally used three tracks. In prototype practice, if a Float had three tracks, they were brought down to two at the apron. A “Gauntlet” was often used for this purpose. For model railroad use, the three tracks could be run straight through the apron and turn-outs used at the approach to the apron. Width of the float would depend on the number of tracks. Generally around 40′ for a float with three tracks. Free Board (how far does it stick out of the water): on a real Float it would depend on how it’s loaded. For model use, about 6 or 7 feet 3/4″ or 7/8″ would look okay.
For Reference: HO scale approx. 150′ = 20-3/4″; 180′ = 24-7/8″; 200′ = 27-5/8″; 225′ = 31″; 300′ = 41-7/16″; 350′ = 48-3/8″.
Note: .138″ = 1′ in HO scale.
