Craig Townsend said:

Ken (or others),

 

Does adding a dummy coupler to the none opening end add any additional protection to prevent a locomotive slipping out backwards? Or would it just cause more problems?

 

 

I don't use a "dummy"  coupler. it's an old bachmann coupler mouted to the front of the box. The KD couples with it and Holds the engine and keeps it from moving around. On top of that, I cut some of that foam packing material into a "U"  and it holds the TX for the engine. 

And yea, Bruce is right, you can get an awful lot of stuff squeezed into a tender, even the Shay. 

I built 2 engine carriers based on Steve's/Ken's design and think they're just great.  The one below is for my C19.  It has fold down sides to lock the engine into place.  I added, to their design, a slide-in piece of 1/4" plywood to hold in the engine.  I also designed the length so I could re-use the foam packing material.

Here are a couple of shots.






BTW, I operate using track power so the aluminum angles allow for easy run out and run back in operations.

Doc Watson

This is the one I made for the Hudson.

Your pictures don't "work like a charm". :(

Hmmm
Thanks I'll look into that later. 

Don Watson added the 1/4 inch plywood to the opening of Chuck's design to keep his loco corralled.  After watching my loco almost slide out of my carrier, I back fit it into mine.  Several of the folks in the club have done the same.  Ain't this place grand?

Steve Featherkile said:

Don Watson added the 1/4 inch plywood to the opening of Chuck's design to keep his loco corralled.  After watching my loco almost slide out of my carrier, I back fit it into mine.  Several of the folks in the club have done the same.  Ain't this place grand?

Thanks for all the ideas, guys (and for not totally derailing the thread - I wondered this morning how it got to 3 pages so quickly!)  It seems the carriers are all basically the same - a rigid box slightly bigger than the loco with a handle on top.

My take is that it depends how much you want something attractive and well-finished, versus utilitarian and made for $0 out of scraps.  Technically, it boils down to longitudinal handles versus lateral, and whether to put a slot in the bottom or not.

I am surprised no-one has a fancy completely enclosed box with brass handles, as you see at the live steam meets.  My EBT #15 (RYM battery electric) lives in its original box, which is a flat floor grooved for the wheels and a drop-over box that completely covers the loco.  A velcro strap over the loco holds the side foam in place, and shaped end pieces stop it rolling.  Two straps over the box and under the base hold it together and let me lift it up.

I have built them in different ways.   

I have found that having the handle aligned with the locomotive makes it MUCH easier to carry; although it does involve a bit more work to make it that way it is well worth it, especially for heavier locomotives.  I would steer away from heavier woods.   My latest carrier, at the top, was built from thin luan plywood.   I glued some molding pieces along the inside edges to allow me to have screws hold the pieces together.  Rather than cut slots for the wheels, I just glued some wooden  strips to the base;  I don't think I'll wear out the wood anytime soon.

I have made several carriers, but eventually found most to be too heavy.  My Challenger uses 3" aluminum. The 1/32nd locomotive fits fine in that size but would not be wide enough for 1:20.

It is held down with small bunji cords.O

On this angled shot you can see how it is put together. I just used a small clamp on the front and back.

I like the Big Boy carrier the most. It is lightweight and easy to oil/view the side of the loco. !/4" plywood is the base, with a 1/4" strip in the middle for the wheels to straddle. Ends are sanded so the loco can roll off easy. I decided velcro straps worked better than bunji cords, so screwed them to the base. There are strips under the base for re-inforcement and they are the right height to fit over the rail/ties, so the base sits on the rails.

The rear view gives you an idea of how it is put together. I did not make it long enough for the tender as that would be awkward and heavy to carry around. It would be 52" long!

Bruce,   It's neat to see all that design evolution in one picture. Not that I have a ton of experience But I can certainly see how the track parallel handle would be much better.  It would provide much more control over the whole carrier tipping forward or back while carrying.  Another good point that you and Jerry make on the weight.  The loco's can be heavy enough.

Jerry, do I see two white bars under your first carrier that hold the Aluminum angle in gauge? The second carrier is also a unique take on how to make the base of a carrier.  Pretty much inverse of the majority of them. Nice.

Thanks Randy,

  The plastic blocks hold the aluminum angle together. The flanges on the wheels drop down and the loco rests on the wheel tread.  The plastic blocks have notches to fit over the rails. Blocks are different thicknesses to get a angle, but I think that was not needed.

  I made carriers like Don and Steve. Their drop down sides is a good idea, but I found them to be heavy, getting old and weak!  I just made a similar one for my buddy's K 27. Had to be wider of course. He has not tried it out yet.

Hoping Superliner carriers are allowed on this thread in memory of Chuck!