Early ISO container question

[nkalanaga]

In the second picture on this page, to the left of the two SeaLand containers, there is a ribbed container similar, if not identical, to the ones sold by Arnold and Minitrix in the late 60s, and later by Model Power.  This is the only picture I've seen of such a container.  Were they that rare, or just didn't get photographed?

http://www.carrtracks.com/cateh335sf5933.htm

These are still available at train shows, usually on unpainted black plastic Minitrix flatcars, and I have them lettered for Hapag-Lloyd and Matson.  I'm pretty sure Matson never owned any.  The only problem is that the models are a little too wide over the corner castings, and need to be trimmed a bit to fit the original MT 89' flatcar container mounts.  Oddly, the Trainworx mounts are too wide for scale containers, but fit these perfectly.

If they were fairly common in the 60s and early 70s, maybe JTC would add them to their line.  They're distinctly different from any of their, or MT's, offerings.

[Mark5]

If they were fairly common in the 60s and early 70s, maybe JTC would add them to their line.  They're distinctly different from any of their, or MT's, offerings.

Definitely not common (at least not in the early 70s)

[nkalanaga]

That's what I was thinking.  They must have been common at some time/place, or two companies wouldn't have made/sold them.  For years those were the only N scale ISO containers available.  But they certainly don't appear in many US pictures.  That's the only one I've seen.

[Mark5]

Brief discussion on that model here:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=35592.msg419249#msg419249

[jagged ben]

Good job Nick!  You finally found the prototype for that model!   

[Mark5]

Not a perfect match, but pretty damn close!  (more ribs on the proto).

[nkalanaga]

Yeah, it isn't an exact match, but it's the closest I've ever found.  I suspect there WAS an exact match, somewhere, probably in Europe.

[nkalanaga]

To resurrect this post, I have found a model that matches the container.  In fact, I've had it for close to 50 years!

As Mark5 said, the Trix/MP containers have one too few ribs.  Specifically, there are four ribs on one end of the prototype, and five on the other, not counting the corner post.  The model has four on both ends.

It turns out the the Arnold/Rapido container, also from the late 60s, has that extra rib, and the right number of wide panels.  I always assumed the two models were the same, but at a recent train show I found both for sale, bought them, and stacked them up.  The ribs do NOT line up, so I started counting.  Otherwise the two are very similar, and both will fit either original flat.

So, we're still missing the prototype for the Trix/MP model, but have one for the Arnold version.  I assume there is one for the Trix, as there were probably numerous small variations in prototype containers of the late 60s.

[Mark5]

That's wild! Do we have a good photo of the Arnold Rapido version?

[nkalanaga]

Spookshow has both in his catalog, under Minitrix/Model Power (Roco) and Revell/Walthers (Arnold-Rapido).

One mistake I did see on the index page - The Arnold-Rapido cars are metal, not plastic.  I still have one in service, with new trucks and couplers.  The Roco cars can be found at train shows, usually badly warped, but the containers are still good.  The Arnold-Rapido "truck trailers" on their piggyback car are actually containers on chassis.

[Mark5]

Don't really care about the flats (Concor "stretched" those to 90' at some point  ) - the container was the interest.

http://www.spookshow.net/freight/arnold86flat.html

Those containers appear to have ribs (heavy handed rivets too!) 

Thanks,

Mark

[nkalanaga]

Yeah, I have some of the Con-Cor "stretched" flats.  If anyone ever makes a real GTTX piggyback car, those are gone, as I never have liked them.  They're stretched by two underframe panels, and would have looked much better if CC had only added one.  But they apparently wanted to be able to load them with 45 ft trailers and containers, so added extra room.

TTX's 89 ft flatcars were modified to handle two 45 ft trailers, so that's prototypical, but as far as I know, standard flatcars were never used to carry two containers longer than 40 feet.  A 40 and a 45, yes, I remember seeing those, before well cars became common.

The Arnold flatcar really isn't a bad starting point for an early piggyback car, and a lot can be done with it, depending on how energetic one is.  Other than lowering, adding new couplers and bridge plates, and changing the hitches, mine is basically stock.  I actually have two of them, as the floor in their auto parts boxcar is nothing but a piggyback car, without the trailer hitches, so I recycled the one of those I have.  The boxcar doesn't look quite right, especially next to a Trainworx boxcar.