MTL Plate Steel Loads

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Over the weekend I saw some plate steel loads that looked fantastic. I complimented the owner on them and he said they were stock Micro-Trains loads but they were getting hard to find.

I had no idea!!

So I started digging. They seem rarer than hens teeth. Even the model number seems weird: 499 43 929 seems to be shared with crane body loads. It's puzzling.

Anyone have a line on these puppies?



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[Mark5]

I totally missed these too! 

https://www.walthers.com/steel-plate-load-w-support-2-pack-fits-50-gondolas

@MTLJoe can MTL run them again?

[JMaurer1]

Yes, run them again...and rerun the pulpwood loads at the same time since the SP pulpwood runner pack came out.

[Chris333]

I could have sworn you just got a printer...

[John]

I could have sworn you just got a printer...

I would not print those -- use some styrene cut to size -- maybe print the supports

[Mark5]

With a list price of $9 I think I'd just buy them.    (There are things that I'd be willing to invest cad time on, but this isn't one of them)

[Ed Kapuscinski]

With a list price of $9 I think I'd just buy them.    (There are things that I'd be willing to invest cad time on, but this isn't one of them)

EXACTLY

[Chris333]

But you guys are saying they are hard to find.

[ai5629]

I believe these plate loads were first released as part of NSE 11-26: 50’ Straight Side gondola decorated for Lehigh Valley.   I think it came out when the N Scale Convention was in Hershey, PA around 2011.  MTL released them as a stand alone part some years later.  I have two sets I hope to use at some point in the future.  Lukens Steel would ship wide steel plates in this manner.  I recall these moving west on Conrail’s Pittsburgh Line during the 1990’s.  They would be loaded in BVRY gondolas and Conrail G36H gondolas specially equipped to haul the wide plates.  Thanks.

Jeff

[Ed Kapuscinski]

But you guys are saying they are hard to find.

Yeah, but I've also got a layout to build and plenty of other irons in the fire.

I'm more than happy to trade money for time.

That said, if someone draws something similar up, I'll be happy to commit some resin to em.

[bbussey]

Jeff is correct, this started out as port of an NSE special run Lehigh Valley straight-side gondola that at 50' actually was prototypical.  Then there was a short run available through MTL.  They've been gone for a long while.  Best best is to nudge Joe for a rerun.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Jeff is correct, this started out as port of an NSE special run Lehigh Valley straight-side gondola that at 50' actually was prototypical.  Then there was a short run available through MTL.  They've been gone for a long while.  Best best is to nudge Joe for a rerun.

Hey @MTLJoe  and @MTL_Brandon ... hows about it?

[jargonlet]

Did other roads move steel like this or is this a Reading thing? I know that they had some cars modified for captive service. I’ve seen a few pictures of the pennsy with steel plates in stacks on flatcars.

[ai5629]

Did other roads move steel like this or is this a Reading thing? I know that they had some cars modified for captive service. I’ve seen a few pictures of the pennsy with steel plates in stacks on flatcars.

I think it would depend if the railroad had an online shipper or access to a shipper of steel plate.  The PRR got a piece of the Lukens plate shipments, but I do not know if they were served by PRR or just provided cars to the LV or RDG.  They provided cars to the URR for plate shipments from the USS Homestead works.  PRR would ship the extra wide plated in G36H gondolas and F30? (not sure of the subclass) flatcars.  Both had permanent vertical supports that allowed extra wide shipments of plate to operate in normal manifest trains by loading it on an angle.  This avoided high and wide movements.  These carried over to PC and then CR.  Lukens liked to ship steel plates on flatcars, thus frequent photos of PRR (F30-multiple subclasses, F41-multiple subclasses& F47), NYC (712F, 721F, 793F & 888F) PC (all aforementioned classes) and CR (all aforementioned classes) flatcars with steel plates.  Homestead shipped a lot of plate in gondolas, which I always found interesting.  Since most steel plants in the US were located in the eastern half, I would think most steel loads would be loaded in eastern railroad equipment.  I hope this helps.

Jeff

[haasmarc]

I'd take a few.  I have the LV gon but never saw them separately.