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Topic: HIGGINS TRAIN |
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Randy McConnell
New Member
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Posted on: Jul 21, 2014 - 7:52pm
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Frank,
There's a picture of PT-201 on a 52 foot flat car on page 48 of PT Boats In Action (2010) by David Doyle. The picture is shown at this link although it's not as good quality as in the book.
http://northbaylines.blogspot.com/2012/09/wartime-flat-car-loads-update_14.html
At the link above it states that it's a Southern Pacific F-50-14 class car with 16 stake pockets, straight side sills and Columbia steel trucks built by the SP in 1937. (Those railroad guys get pretty detail oriented - not like anyone we know!) The framework the boat is sitting on looks very similar, if not identical to, the one in the picture Dick posted above. I'd think that any 50 or 52 foot flat car of the period would work, those having sufficient weight capacity for a PT boat. Using idler cars on either end of a load too long for the flat car is common practice.
Randy McC
Lakewood, Colorado
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alross2
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Jul 21, 2014 - 8:01pm
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The boat on the rail car is one of the first group of 78' boats (PT71-84) as originally built. Here's PT209 on a railcar.
The three boats in the lower photo are three of the 70' boats originally ordered by Finland but transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy. They are OJR-6, H-7, and H-8. Here's a closeup taken at a somewhat different time, as OJR-6 is not visible .
H-8
OJR-4 being loaded for shipment.
Al Ross
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TED WALTHER
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Jul 21, 2014 - 8:27pm
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Frank;
The website that Randy posted is the same blog site I e-mailed you about, This is a great shot that Randy found:
PT 201 RON 15 in Southern Pacific Flat car 79571.
Take care,
TED
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Andy Small
MASTER
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Posted on: Jul 22, 2014 - 5:11am
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I had forgotten that the SP was heavily into that part of the world. Testament to the strength of those cars. This would all make for an unusual switching layout in O scale (once there's a 1/48 scale Higgins model available).
Andy
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Andy Small
MASTER
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Posted on: Jul 22, 2014 - 5:26am
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Al,
Sorry for the rabbit hole, but I have to ask... I'm just starting to get into the 70' Higgins background. Are those 70' FIN/NLD the same basic design as the 70' MTB built for the UK (MGB 100 class), as well as the same type that participated in the Plywood Derby? Been trying to find out which UK boat actually participated in those trials. Just spent a week at the Archives in DC and nothing popped out at me. The superstructure looks different but close to the boat in New London.
Cheers,
Andy
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Frank Andruss
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Jul 22, 2014 - 6:26am
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Thanks so much guys for the great photo's. Thanks Dick for clearing up that photo shot. Your right Andy, I wish there was a Higgins Kit I could use, I have decided not to use PT-302, as most of the photos provided show the boats in a not completed form. I think putting a completed PT-302 on a rail car would not look good. In any event Stan would have to scratch the Higgins boat. I am still leaning towards 1:35 scale at this point. Thanks Ted for the links you sent to me they were helpful.
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TED WALTHER
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Jul 22, 2014 - 8:19am
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Frank;
If your still interested in this idea for a diorama, I suggest you use the photos that Al and I posted, and make a RON 15 boat(wasn't PT 216 or 210, Hal Nugent's two boats). just use a Dumas kit (one is on ebay now, eBay item number:161373910455) , that way its complete enough to look incomplete(if you know what I mean), and it is light enough to not be a real hassle, only the rail car would be the real work for Stan. Here you have photographic evidence that at least this RON's boats were put on rail cars. I am not too sure if any others were, until more photos arise.
Take car,
TED
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Jerry Gilmartin |
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Jul 22, 2014 - 8:48am
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I would love to see a photo of a whole train carrying an entire squadron of Higgins PT Boats! Or a diorama of the same subject.
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR |
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Dick
Moderator
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Posted on: Jul 22, 2014 - 10:46am
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Al corrected me, I mistakenly in hast identified the three boats in my second photo of my earlier posts as early 78’ Higgns boats. To correct the error I have shown in the first two photos below the very early Higgins 78’ boat configurations, which were changed to the more familiar and accepted configuration, as shown in the last two photos. Thanks Al.
The photos below are linked from Gene Kirkland's PT-King website
( http://pt-king.gdinc.com/PThigginsfactory.html ).
Shown are 2 early configuration photos before Navy acceptance (PT 74 & PT 80), then 2 photos of the actual accepted boat configurations (PT 87 & PT 81) :
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Frank Andruss
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Jul 22, 2014 - 8:18pm
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Thanks Ted, although I do have a burning question, why were these boats put on flat cars in an incomplete state. Dick posted a photo that shows a Higgins by the waters edge, also incomplete, and placed there by a crane in the photo. I am a bit confused as to the Higgins mode of assembly.
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