Interchange

Matthyro

Will always be re-membered
I took a look through the postings here but couldn't seem to find any mention of interfacing narrow gauge with regular gauge track. How would goods like lumber or ore be transferred from the narrow gauge to the regular gauge. I guess it may involve some kind of cross docking but wonder if any of you have aby info on it.
Thanks.
 
Hey, Robin...

Freight transfers between narrow and standard gauges were done by hand at transfer docks. I believe the term used for this was 'breaking gauge'. The East Broad Top narrow gauge in Pennsylvania came up with a great idea. They connected with the PRR where the EBT had an overhead crane for doing freight transfers with timber. The EBT crews would hoist up a PRR standard gauge boxcar and set it onto narrow gauge trucks. Then they would bring the standard gauge car to wherever it needed to go on the EBT line.

Russ :wave:
 
F

Fred_M

To add to Russ' post; Sometimes they also combined the track so that it would allow narrow and standard both. As to lumber and mines Robin, I believe that the raw materials (ie logs) would be tranported all the way to the sawmill by narrowgauge and then the lumber would be sawn and placed on standard gauge equipment or trucks to continue to market. Same with ore and coal. It would be transfered to a storage or processor and then the value added product would be loaded onto standard gauge. Here's a picture of a dual gauge trackwork.

trackswitch1.jpg
 

Matthyro

Will always be re-membered
Thanks for the photo Fred and the links Matthew. I have ordered some Z scale track and switches but how to get the narrow and standard together will be a challenge but would be very neat if I can do it.
 

belg

Member
Matt excellent link/photos. To try and continue my education I'm going to ask a question which might be dumb but I was wondering would a standard gauge engine ever pull narrow line cars? If so was there a special offset coupler or a completely seperate one? Pat
 

Chessie6459

Gauge Oldtimer

Chessie6459

Gauge Oldtimer
Forgot to mention that they were numbered #3 & #6, just in case you were wondering what the numbers were. Also the east broad top had a special coupler made out of aluminum for when they transfered the standard gauge cars onto narrow gauge trucks. This couple would be set into the standard gauge coupler to make it lower so the narrow gauge mikados could couple right up the the standard gauge cars. Also all the bridges on the railroad were made bigger than the regular size narrow gauge bridges to allow this operation to be complete.
 

sumpter250

multiscale modelbuilder
Ribin,
In the case of coal, ballast, gravel,and ore, dual gauge over/under facilities were used for transshipment. Standard gauge hoppers trestled up over narrow gauge hoppers, and dumped product directly (and vice versa). Side by side shovel transfer was also done, but this was slow, and labor intensive.
Hiring LPBs is even slower! :D :D :D
Jack Work's "Freelance Freighthouse" June 1958 MR, was built as a standard/Narrow transshipment facility. This would handle products shipped primarily by box car, or flat car.
Pete
 

60103

Pooh Bah
There used to be a commercial casting in HO gauge for dual gauge coupler pockets. I think it was intended for link&pin couplers, but might take a knuckle. It was one pocket central and high for standard gauge, one each side of it a bit lower for narrow. Turning it upside down gave a unit that would work on a narrow gauge loco.
Remember that dual gauge track might have the narrow gauge wander from one side to the other (track formation called a "swish") that would play havoc with any dual-gauge train!
 
P

philip

Matthyro said:
Thanks for the photo Fred and the links Matthew. I have ordered some Z scale track and switches but how to get the narrow and standard together will be a challenge but would be very neat if I can do it.

Robin,
From what Ive seen you can do anything. :thumb:

philip
 

Chessie6459

Gauge Oldtimer
Here is a little more info about the East Broad Top Timber Transfer Robin,

The Timber Transfer was built to transfer the lumber from the McKelvey logging operations in Rockhill from narrow gauge cars to standard gauge cars. At the end of logging operations the crane stood unused until the EBT started using it to retruck standard gauge cars with narrow gauge trucks for movement on the EBT. The process formally began in 1933, but it was likely done informally prior to that. With the addition of a cast aluminum coupler adapter the cars could travel normally along the EBT, so long as clearances permitted. Most of the concrete for the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Tuscorora Tunnel traveled down the Shade Gap Branch in this way. Covered hoppers and gondolas made the transition, but most were boxcars.

The crane was construced of a riveted steel i-beam frame on two concrete foundations. At the top of the structure was a hoist which rolled back and forth in the the top enclosure on flanged wheel and rail. The enclosure was simple wood planing coverded with a corregated steel roof. Ot had two unprotected window openings on either side, a peaked roof and no floor. A controler's booth similarly constructed was below the crane enclosure attached on the outside of the west leg. It had a window opening facing the two tracks for the crane operator.

When the crane was pressed into service for retrucking railcars, the crane was reinforced with additional diaganal bracing struts at both the base and between the legs and the craneway. The enclosure was given proper glass windows and was painted "EAST BROD TOP RAILROAD TIMBER TRANSFER". It was als given two gantries on its west side to lift trucks off the track for storage. These were later removed after crews started using two short track spurs that the trucks were wheeled onto. A small office was also added beside the west lig and an old EBT wood frame boxcar was used there for storage, possibly of the coupler adapters.
 
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