(erielack) Re: Marine equipment modeling

[Ralph Heiss <happymeiser_@_yahoo.com>]

  Hi Paul!
   
  Yeah, I guess it IS kind stange that a "Corn Husker" would be producing a NY prototype.......NOT that I'm complaining, of course!
  And yes, the length is a bit too short for my tastes, even though there were prototypes for a float this short (yes, the LV had them!)
  Also agreed, the Code 100 track was a bad choice, considering that it looks like it is an integral part of the model, and you might damage something if you try to remove it, but I hope not. When I get mine, I plan on adding a section in the middle out of balsa clad in styrene to lengthen it.
   
  The fact that the Walthers kits are discontinued has driven up the demand and naturally the price, to ridiculous levels. I have two, so I think I'll have to live with that, because I will not pay $80.00 to $100.00 for one anymore. Both AMB and Frenchman have expressed interest in doing a 3-track float, so maybe we'll get lucky this year!
   
  Now for lighters, are you SURE you want to know? LOL!
  The term stems from "lightening" the load of a frieghter. In the early days of the harbor, not only did the ships have a deeper draft and keel, but the shoreline and docks were not as "manicured", for lack of a better term, to recieve the loaded vessels without fear of them running aground. Hence, smaller craft were designed (covered barges, open deck scows, stick barges, hold barges, express lighters, ect.) to break down the freight car load at the dock into or onto them, and take them out to the ship moored off shore. As time went on, it became cheaper and more time efficent to allow the lighters to go out to a moored vessel than to spend the time and effort (and thus money) to dock them first. Unlike the NYC shore line, New Jersey (until more more modern times) did not have an extensive pier system to dock large vessels, hence the need for said lighters. As we all know, as shipping practices changed to containerization, the system no longer made sense. Of course, the system was
 a financial drain on the railroads LONG before the system itself was outmoded, as the cost of maintaining a wooden, steam powered fleet of craft was by no means cheap, and steel has it's own set of problems when it come in contact with sea water of course. The reason the NY Harbor railroads had to "stay in the game" was to remain competitive with Boston, Philly and Baltimore in relation to the free lightage fees they offered - but that's a whole other ball of wax to get into, but not here.
   
  I know I may have made some broad strokes here to explain this system, so I hope I have not only stated it clearly, but correctly.
   
  Ralph Heiss
   
  I like the irony of NY Harbor marine equipment models being produced by a
co. in SW Nebraska; hard to imagine a more landlocked location. This URL
will work better for the Station Float:
http://www.frenchmanriver.com/Frenchman%20River/2track.htm
The photos I've seen show floats of 14 car capy (7 per side), so if you
wanted a model of prototype length (approx 300' or 40" actual size) you
could consider a kitbash, although you would need 3 kits. There are other
differences, including the covered platform stanchions and variation of
Hayes bumping posts on the prototype. You'll also want to substitute code 55
(or at most code 70) for the code 100 rails supplied.

The Walthers 3 track carfloat appears to be a reasonably accurate rendition
of the NY harbor prototype and is close to the correct length (36" actual);
of course, there's no superstructure to worry about. It may actually be more
practical to modify one of these for the station float; a modeler in PA has
done just that, and there's a photo of it on p615 of the 2005 Walthers HO
catalog. The carfloat apron and tug look accurate also, but these are all
now listed as "retired" models, so they may be hard to come by.

Thanks, Will for the thorough review of marine vessels. I've always
wondered, how did they come to be called "lighters"?

Paul B



			
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