So as I also dabble in amateur astronomy on clear nights, I saw the PBS documentary Journey to Palomar: http://www.pbs.org/programs/journey-to-palomar/ awhile ago and now that I'm getting back into railroading again, I saw an interesting picture of the primary mirror being transported across the country. I've decided to replicate the car transporting as well as the crane that accompanied it. So here's the pics I found of the low bed car as well as the crane. Can anyone tell me what style and what type of cars they are? What can I use to hand build the cars and who would have them. I guess this will be a scratch build from the looks of it. Can anyone help out? The mirror was loaded onto the car April 10, 1936. Railway company? Not sure, The crane car I also need some info on as well.So any help would be appreciated. thanks guys
Looks like a fairly standard fishbelly flat car. Not enough dark space to be six wheel trucks. The photo you have is unloading...SantaFe. Look at the end of the crane car. Palomar is near Sandy Eiggo, Santa Fe territory. Dave
There was a article published ten or twenty years ago about this movement, special orders. routing, etc. I thought it was in Santa Fe Modeler or the Santa Fe Rwy Historical and Modeling Society Warbonnet but I cannot find it in my rail index... On a tangent, I once designed a layout for an astronomy buff. It included an observatory on a mountaintop...
The flat car is NYC Well Hole Flat 499010 similar to but not the same as this: http://home.comcast.net/~atsf_arizo...YC_Well-Hole_Flat_Car_by_Tom_Vanden_Bosch.jpg. The Crane looks to be a 200 or 250 ton Industrial Brownhoist which should be similar to the Bachmann model. Jason
Here is a video showing the mirror being loaded in Corning, NY, being transported cross-country, and being off-loaded in California. The video also gives a short glimpse of the NYC Well-Hole flatcar. You might be able to Pause the video to study the car for scratch-building. [video]http://www.journeytopalomar.org/glasstrain.html[/video]
Although D.E. makes not indication of the scale he is working in I would like to point out that there is potential opportunity here for some highly unique modeling. Were one to be modeling in O scale, creating a truly authentic replica would be possible as during the 1939-40 New York World's Fair Corning Glass sold 4" Pyrex glass disks purported to have been made of scrap Pyrex from the Palomar mirror casting process. I've noted that on very rare occasions these surface for sale on various on-line auction sites. At 1:48 scale these disks would be an almost precise scale replica of the 200" Mount Palomar mirror blank. It would venture that a well car carrying such an authentic mirror blank would make quite a contest model, or layout room conversation piece. NYW&B
NYW&B, that's a great idea. I attended the World's Fair in 1939, but don't remember seeing any Pyrex Blanks at the Corning Pavilion...of course I was only 4 at the time. :cute:
I'm working in HO scale. Should have mentioned that earlier. I found the Bachmann Santa Fe crane. Is their quality good? I've read that is isn't what it used to be. Now for the well car. Any suggestions where I could find one?
I saw that show when it came out. IIRC, they made that metal casing to be bulletproof because they were concerned that extremists might shoot at it as it passed by. Steve S
From the video shown, I don't think the original image, posted by Roundhousecat, is am image of LOADING the mirror, I think it is an image of UNLOADING the mirror. The derrick shown in the video and the derrick shown in the image, look to be two different types. And seriously doubt that a derrick would accompany a load like this from New York to California. Derricks were NOT to be moved very fast on the rails. And it wouldn't be practical to haul a derrick from one side of the country to another just to unload one object, and then have to return the derrick back to it's home base. Most likely the NYC used their derrick to load the mirror in New York, and the ATSF used their derrick to unload the mirror in California.
I assume that locomotives and cabooses were changed as the mirror train moved from one railroad to the next. Railroad companies still were fierce competitors 70-80 years ago. They had not yet developed the concepts of run-through power and Power-by-the-Hour lease rates that were developed after deregulation 30 years ago. It is possible the New York Central ran the train all the way to St. Louis where it was handed off to the Sante Fe. So the train may have had only two engines and cabooses for the entire trip. BTW, to answer an earlier question, the video clearly shows the Sante Fe logo on the derrick as the mirror was being unloaded, as does the OP's photo. The video does not show any logo on the loading derrick, but there are differences that can be seen between the loading derrick and the unloading derrick.
Very poor photo - http://www.kinglyheirs.com/NewYorkStateRailroads/NYStateRailroadIndex.html#Palomar Obviously, a very short train - Engine/tender, box car, flat car, and caboose. A little more info here - http://www.kinglyheirs.com/NewYorkStateRailroads/NewYorkCentralHome.html#.UX2jksqw6L4
Just found this as well - http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/NYC-MODELS-FREIGHT2.htm Do a Ctrl F and type in 499010 and it shows the cars and look at the 273-F lot to see a diagram - http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/images/lot-273.jpg
