Was up in Scranton on Friday to drop off a 1934 photograph I had to the Lackawanna Historical Society for their archives.Driving to their office near the University of Scranton, I noticed this high and wide load on Emmert International's Schnabel railcar BBCX 1000. Wanting to learn more about this car I googled their website and came up with this information about that car.
" Emmert International’s BBCX1000 Schnabel Railcar is specifically designed to carry heavy (up to 1 million pounds) and oversized loads in such a way that the load itself makes up part of the car. The load is suspended between the two ends of the cars by lifting arms; the lifting arms are connected to a pivot above an assembly of pivots and frames that carry the weight of the load and the lifting arm.
For loads not designed to be part of the car Emmert International’s BBCX1000 is equipped with a deck designed to carry the loads in standard configuration up to 836,000 pounds. Customized decks can be manufactured to increase the overall payload weight. Emmert International’s BBCX1000 is equipped with hydraulic equipment that will either lift the load vertically or horizontally shift the load while in transit to clear obstructions along the car’s route.
With 20 axles (ten for each half) containing four trucks connected by a complex system of span bolsters its tare (unloaded) weight without deck is 424,000 lbs. The BBCX1000’s empty car length is 115’ 10” with a maximum length with the loading deck at 168’ 9”. Maximum vertical load shifting ability is 14” and the maximum horizontal load shifting ability is 22”. The heavy duty AAR railcar mechanical designation is “LS”.
Emmert International’s BBCX1000 Schnabel Railcar is accompanied by the BBCX 1002 Caboose and BBCX1003 flat car that carries the deck when not in service. The BBCX1000 is pulled by special train service and requires 2 operators. When in transport not carrying loads the BBCX is limited to 40 mph. When loaded or empty with deck in place the BBCX1000 is limited to 25 mph."
Also included is an image of the caboose that accompanies BBCX 1000. Its heritage is unknown.
