Highlights

Jon of Horizon Rail made arrangements to use the crane at the Collinwood Engine terminal to load the flatcar. To simplify things, the trucks were chained to the bottom of the car.

Since the LT WT of the car was relatively light (approximately 51,000 lbs), the moving process was not very complicated.

However, the flat car had been modified: steel plates had been added (probably after the wood deck had rotted off). These plates increased the car's weight.

When moving railcars, knowing the exact weight is important for choosing the right tractor trailer, permits, and route. Fortunately, a quick calculation revealed that the additional steel added only about 5,000 lbs. - and the permit was for
56,000 lbs!

 

Watch a clip of the loading !

  CLICK HERE

 

Project PRR 475532 F30d


The move was scheduled for Saturday, February 11. With the mild winter we had been having, I thought the move would go smoothly. Not so fast. The largest snow storm of the season was bearing down on us and I was 450 miles from home. I hoped the snow would hold off or change direction so that our flatcar would not slide off Route 80 somewhere in the Alleghenies.

Fortunately, I got home before the snow hit: I made it from Cleveland to New Jersey in just 6 hours, taking only one fuel stop. The flatcar only went to Youngstown, though, because over-dimensional loads cannot travel in Pennsylvania on Sunday. The flatcar safely made its way through Pennsylvania on Monday, but the New Jersey permit office was closed due to the weather. Thus, the truck spent the night in Columbia, New Jersey. On Tuesday, just after lunch, the trucker got his last permit and made the short trip to Ringoes in less than an hour.

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