N-Scale Wind Turbine Blade Transportation Racks and Blade

[pmpexpress]

Needing a deck load for my N-Scale Geared Break Bulk Carrier Ship models, based upon prototype designs that were found on the internet, I created some road and sea transportation racks and a wind turbine blade.

The wind turbine blade is 10.37 inches (263.47 mm) long x I.01 inches (25.78 mm wide).

Stackable, the racks are 1.46 inches (37.00 mm) high x 0.59 inches (15.00 mm) long x 1.46 inches (37.00 mm) wide.

[pmpexpress]

Responding to several comments and inquiries.

While my wind turbine blade transportation racks were designed to be directly placed on a ship’s deck, or on a telescoping steerable axle semi truck trailer that might be equipped with a hydraulic blade erection device, as seen in the following YouTube videos, should the frames remain in place during rail transport, they are elevated above the flatcar decks, which have the necessary pivoting mechanisms to traverse railway curves.

Two YouTube videos of wind turbine transport trains with racks still attached to the loaded blades and empty blade racks lashed to flatcars.

Image Credit: NYS Department of Transportation



Image Credit: Groupe Bellemare

Screenshots From Two YouTube Videos

[brill27mcb]

Wow!!!

[samusi01]

The latter seven images from the YouTube videos are 60-70m blades; one pair sits on five 89' flatcars with idler flats on either end. Loads of this length sit squarely in the 'exceedingly awkward' category... Here's a set on what is around a 25" radii curve.

[pmpexpress]

Given that the blade length that Micro-Trains line selected for their flatcar loads was chosen because both transport frames could be placed on a single 89 foot flatcar that is accompanied by an idler flat, I'm looking into creating a longer blade and some deck mounted turntables with bearings that will allow the load to be carried on three 89 foot flatcars (i.e., two load bearing with an idler flat in between them) and pivot when a train is negotiating curves.

[pmpexpress]

A splendid modeling scenario, I came across a couple of photos (one of them is dockside with a break bulk carrier ship in the background) of reach stackers that are being used to move wind turbine components.