A week ago Monday, the Beaver-Lawrence Railway Historical Society (once the Beaver Valley Junction Chapter of the NRHS) moved K&K open car #604 from Marienville to New Castle, PA. All in all, the move went relatively smooth with only a few minor issues of the type associated with trucking something that was designed to move on it's own wheels.

While I've helped move several narrow gage items before, this was the first standard guage item for which I've co-ordinated the move and I learned a few things that hopefully will be of use to others. Here are some of what seemed to be key points in making the move relatively painless...

First, we considered the cost of a trucking move when selecting our car. This car was built by the K&K on a caboose frame, and was relatively short in both length (50' over couplers) and heigth (10' 9" from the rail).

Secondly, the group got a preliminary estimate from a company that does this sort of move often. Two local oversized movers were also contacted... one declined to bid, the other bid about 40% higher and would also have required additional costs for a crane. Having a ballpark estimate for the move aided in setting our bidding limit at the auction. In the end, we went with the company that first quoted us and the final cost was very close to the initial estimate.

Third, we kept in contact with the mover over the winter, which allowed time for issues to emerge and be solved, such as choosing loading and unloading areas. E-mail was a help as we could send photos of each area and discuss the pros and cons of each.

Fourth, we measured everything... twice... including estimates of the weight, which we approached several different ways (since the car did not have a measured light weight).

Fifth, we kept a list of everyone's phone numbers in one place -- sixteen people, so we could contact anyone in case of changes in plans the day of the move.

Sixth, we took along a lot of tools to the loading site just in case... two shovels, extra chains, a heavy-duty come-along, a trackjack, two spikepuller bars, and a cordless drill and sawz-all. Take all the stuff you hope you don't need. (A small cuting torch would have been nice to have too.)

Seventh, we had both a loading spot team (two members) and unloading spot team... to ensure the loading went OK and that the unloading spot was ready when the truck arrived.

I'm sure there's more but that's what comes to mind now. In the end, we took 3.5 hours to load (vs. the [u]minumum[/u] two hour estimate), but made up time on the road and arrived about one hour after 'the advertised'. All in all, a successful move.

What went wrong or could have gone better? The loading site could have used more gravel, particularly between the rails... this after a late change in trailer that resulted in the truck needing to pull into the loading area rather than backing in. The air line on one end of the car did not quite clear the trailer gooseneck and was removed. We could have used one or two more people at the loading site. Having a forklift at the loading site would have helped and probably could have been arranged with advance notice.

I hope I remember all this next time!

Nick

Hello Nick and others:
Sounds like you've had a good "moving experience." If I'm not mistaken, that's the same truck rig from Silk Road Transport that also moved the Pittsburgh Railways trolley from Cleveland to Pennsylvania Trolley Museum on 5/6 and 5/7. As you've found, it pays to buy experience, proper equipment, highly trained personnel, and good preparations.
As noted, you can't have too many alternatives and options ready, just in case. When working with a company like Silk Road you'll very seldom need them, but it still pays to be prepared.
Dave Hamley, PTM Mobile Equipment Manager

Hi,

We've used Silk Road for years (18 +), and never had any issues. We all do our home work and then they perform ! A class operation.

Karl