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 Post subject: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Sun Oct 01, 2017 9:06 pm 

Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 11:59 am
Posts: 52
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Hello all,

The museum I'm with is in the process of moving two heavyweight passenger cars. Our mover wants to use dollies to transport the cars, but I'm having a difficulty finding dollies. Does anyone here know where we can get the use of a set of dollies? The heaviest car is 85 to 90 tons.

Gary R.
SA, TX


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 12:12 am 

Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2013 10:18 pm
Posts: 75
I wish I could help you, but I cannot, but I do have some questions for you.

1. Has the mover you are planning to use ever moved any RR rolling stock before?

2. If not, why are you using them?

3. Why isn't this mover doing all the work, which includes getting all the equipment needed to move these heavy cars?

4. Why do you, the customer, have to do anything other than tell the mover where the cars need to go and then arrange for a date and time for the move that will work for you and for the mover, and maybe do some site prep at your museum to get things out of the way (if needed) of the cars being moved?

Whatever happens, I wish you good luck with this move.


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 9:19 pm 

Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:40 pm
Posts: 385
Location: San Francisco, CA
Margaret,
The people at the Illinois Railway Museum recently moved a heavy weight Dining car of 110,000 pounds by road. You might want to call Nick Kallas, Executive Director at the museum about who to call.

Another possible idea is Silk Road Transit in New York; which moved streetcars all the time. They may be able to help or send you to an operation that can move heavier loads.

Both of these groups have web sites with phone numbers and e-mail addresses to contact.

Ted Miles, IRM Member


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:29 am 

Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2013 10:18 pm
Posts: 75
Ted Miles / ted66 --
Ummm......sir -- would you please be so kind as to direct your comments to the OP, "garysatx", and not to me, as he is the one who was asking for help, not me. I was merely asking him some questions. Thanks!

Again, I do wish the museum "garysatx" is with all the best as they get those two cars moved. (I can't help but wonder which museum this is, and which two cars these are. Just being curious, as I often am.)


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:12 pm 

Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:46 am
Posts: 2603
Location: S.F. Bay Area
Silk Road doesn't move large cars over 60' or so, and mainly specialize in roll-on/roll-off moves.

My experience doing a move is that trucks are the easy part. The chess game involves the availability of cranes, and that is the lion's share of the cost. Anything you can do to avoid the involvement of cranes will greatly reduce the price.


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:05 pm 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2269
WMSR moved this wood car (but with a steel frame) a long, long distance with this clever setup that keeps the car low, you might ask them:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=40526&hilit=colorado+and+southern+543


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:38 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:31 am
Posts: 119
Location: Northern Illinois
garyrsatx wrote:
The heaviest car is 85 to 90 tons.


That would be the weight with trucks. Usually, for clearance and weight reasons the carbody is lifted off the trucks and handled as one load, with the trucks placed on a flatbed and handled as a second load.

Besides satisfying Margaret's curiosity, it would help us help you if you provided more details on this move.


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:43 pm 

Joined: Sat Apr 15, 2006 9:55 pm
Posts: 269
Location: San Diego area
Here's how Imperial Bird, a 1942 Pullman sleeper
Attachment:
Imperial Bird.jpg
Imperial Bird.jpg [ 129.78 KiB | Viewed 8888 times ]
was moved form the Los Angeles area to Campo, CA (50 miles east of San Diego, including up a 6% grade. One end was on a low boy flat bed, the other end on a dolly. this move was in the Spring of 2016. The wheel trucks came on a separate low boy.


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:00 pm 

Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 11:59 am
Posts: 52
Location: San Antonio, Texas
MargaretSPfan wrote:
Ted Miles / ted66 --

(I can't help but wonder which museum this is, and which two cars these are. Just being curious, as I often am.)


The museum is the San Antonio Railroad Heritage Museum. We are have a location down in Elmendorf, TX (just south of San Antonio) where our division, the Elmendorf Heritage & Railroad Museum is located. We are in negotiations for our San Antonio location and hope to have something in place sometime after the first of the year. We are also working on the former Southern Pacific steam locomotive #794, sister Mikado to the 745, 771, and 786. We are planning on fully restoring the SP 794 and operating a tourist railroad operation in the San Antonio area.

Check us out at www.SP794.org and www.sarhm.org. We have our links to our divisions on the SARHM page.



Gary Rodriguez - SARHM


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:08 pm 

Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 11:59 am
Posts: 52
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Peter Nicholson wrote:
garyrsatx wrote:
The heaviest car is 85 to 90 tons.


That would be the weight with trucks. Usually, for clearance and weight reasons the carbody is lifted off the trucks and handled as one load, with the trucks placed on a flatbed and handled as a second load.


Yes, as you said the 85 to 90 tons is with the trucks. From what I can find, the trucks should weight 23,500 lbs each, not entirely sure though. Our second car does not have its trucks merely needs to be trucked as is.


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:14 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 12:59 pm
Posts: 644
The Western Railway Museum has sold two surplus cars to a private museum/event venue.

The purchaser used a house mover to move both cars.

The larger car (an ex-ATSF baggage car) was removed from its trucks, but the other (a tank car) was hauled intact on a low-boy trailer. Neither move required a crane.

I think that a house mover would certainly be well-qualified to move railroad cars. After all, railroad cars are about the same size as some buildings and are probably much more rigid since they are designed to be moved rather than just sitting on a foundation.


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 7:12 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:58 am
Posts: 728
I find it rather scary that your mover doesn't know where to source a set of dollies and expects the customer to do this.

To me, this is a huge red flag, suggesting that the mover lacks the experience and knowledge required for the job.

Does this company expect you to arrange road permits, insurance, route selection/ clearance checks, utility wire lifting, and be responsible for all loading/ unloading as well? Does the mover, or you, have experience working with heavy lifting, whether by crane or jacking? Unless you have a ton of experience and contingency funds that you are prepared to shell out, this is not the sort of deal you should be entertaining.

I would recommend shopping around for a more competent mover.

We have moved many passenger and freight cars, a ten wheeler, a snowplow, a two storey railway dwelling, and many other large items by road at RMEO, and have only once encountered a mover who asked this sort of question. Needless to say, he was immediately eliminated from consideration.

I'm not trying to be negative, just warning you that this deal appears to carry serious risks.

Steve Hunter


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 Post subject: Re: Transport dollies to move passenger cars
PostPosted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 2:15 am 

Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 2:46 pm
Posts: 245
Hey Gary ,
Try STS Transportation . They move passenger cars along with other long and heavy stuff . Quite reasonable too . Contact info follows .
Tom Schumann
320-267-8775

Please tell him you got the info from me at IRM .

Mark


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