New products at Springfield 2018

[peteski]

That abandoned roundhouse is extremely well done, but it is not new - I have seen it in the the past shows at Springfield.

[nkalanaga]

I didn't know Afghanistan had a railroad.  How do they keep it running, considering the security situation there?  Or isn't it running?

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I believe it was last active in the mid 70's.

[bman]

Yes, this clearly appears to be ink-jet-decorated at the MTL factory. Beautiful murals!  And you are the lucky stiff that will test drive it.    I love the long hood. Very slick.  I can't quite figure out if it is a Caddy, or a Lincoln.    On second look I think it might be Lincoln-based.

It's most likely a Lincoln Continental Mark IV.  Our neighbor had one.  You almost had to be Superman to open that hood.

[ljudice]

I didn't know Afghanistan had a railroad.  How do they keep it running, considering the security situation there?  Or isn't it running?

I don't think they do:


They do:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Afghanistan

https://www.openrailwaymap.org/

 

[up1950s]

This is me in 1997 the day before I sold it. The new owner wanted me to replace a brake line and this is the test ride afterwards. The next day the new owner put a battery charger on top of the 8 batteries in the trunk and then shut the trunk on it. Shorted out the batteries and burned the car down 

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I am surprised you would be into this . Did you install the system from scratch ?

[Chris333]

Yes I did it all. Back in the day I put hydros on about 30-35 cars and lowered tons more than that. At one point I had a business licence with the name "Yo Mama's Hydraulics" so I could get things like a pallet of group 31 batteries delivered. The semi wouldn't come down my street and we had to keep piling them into my trunk and making trips.

My T-bird had a clear "double whammy" tank where both pumps used the same tank. It looked like this, but mine was clear.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a0/76/67/a076672d6d267c6d6907bb4e1a5b08c3.jpg
Also I ran hard lines to behind a false wall and put all the valves back there so it looked cleaner. Somewhere there is at least one photo of the trunk, but I don't have it.

And most people would use 12" cylinders in the rear. I used 18" and mounted them as a coil over with a big hyme joint at the axle. So the car would sit flat on the ground and still do this:


I painted the whole bottom of the car red to match the factory 2-tone 

[Spades]

It certainly makes it easier to slide in the pan for waste oil during the oil change

[peteski]

I owned a 1977 (factory-stock) T-Bird for few years (bought it from my mother). I liked it, but once the rear bumper rusted-off (and dropped on the pavement) I ended up junking it.  The New England winters were really hard on it.  It was my last car which had that "big American car" look (long hood and short trunk) and ride quality (rode like a boat).  My 1985 Caddy Eldorado, while still exhibiting those same qualities, it is not quite the same as that T-Bird.

[tehachapifan]

Very cool, Chris! Not really something I've ever been into, but I certainly appreciate the creativity, ingenuity and workmanship! I can see how this would be fun.

[up1950s]

I was never into Low Riders , but I used to watch Livin The Low Life on TV to ogle the host .
https://www.ignitionlive.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Livin-the-Low-Life-2.jpg

[nkalanaga]

LJudice:  Thank you!  So, all they have running is a few cross-border links, in multiple gauges, but they plan to build a national system.  I liked the "Gauge: undecided"  part, as they want to link to 3 different gauges...

That also answered an unrelated question I've had for some time:  "What is the minimum height above the loco/car for overhead wire".  With doublestacks reaching 20+ feet, how high would the catenary have to be?  The proposed Afghan railways would have minimum wire height of 6.5 meters, and maximum train height of 6.15 meters, leaving 35 cms, or about 14 inches, clearance, at 25 KV.  US railroads wouldn't have to go any higher than the MILW and GN used decades ago.

[w neal]

The abandoned roundhouse module is cool, but also not that cool. I see enough of that in the real world. 

No, I take it back. Most of what is out there in the real world is now just cement slabs.