I rebuild diesel tug parts on weekends (in Staten Island, New York), and occaisionally i'll talk some old guys who know their stuff.
tetters Wrote:I suspect that they may have blocked the cars according to weight in each train into order to facilitate loading as quickly as possible.
That is correct, everything is planned out in advanced. there are often small classification yards on either end so that cars can be sorted properly. Depending on what the barge can handle, small cuts are placed on the barge on one side, then the other, then the center (if applicable), repeating this pattern until all cars are loaded. The barge is going to list, but the goal is to keep the listing to a minimum, as the float bridge can only handle so much.
Quote:Not argue a point, I've also come across several photos like this one...
...and scratch my head and think, "That can't be right? That has to be too much weight on one side!"
In this case, not really. its a very small barge, and the cars might be empty. You'll also notice that its only two tracks on the center of the barge. Some barges have three, four, or even 5 tracks on board. If you look at, say, the Walthers Cornerstone Rail barge, that one would be more prone to listing issues, since the side tracks are practically off the edge.
If you're curious, i can bring this picture with me to work next saturday and see if i can't find out more. Though they'd all be veterans of New York- New Jersey float operations, i can't imagine its to different.
Quote:The only thing I'm missing, that I dare not try to model, is the float listing to each side as each track is loaded or the appearance of the slip "twisting" due to the weight of... well everything getting pushed or pulled across it.
Actually, you do need one more thing to prevent twisting... Idler cars!
I recognize your video was just a test run to show that it works, but i did not see any in your consist. You'll notice in the above photo three flat cars used as idlers. These were used to "reach" onto the barge to place cars. At the very least, this kept the excessive weight of the locomotive off the barge and float bridge, reducing listing.
Idler cars were often OLD flat cars that would otherwise be retired. Some railroads outfitted the ends with handrails for the switch crew to hold onto, and i remember seeing at least one example with a port-a-potty on it! Of course, your average ratty steam era flat car will do the job just fine.