What IS this? Dare you to model it!

[LV LOU]

It was the incorrect aluminum alloy GM used for the unlined engine block that caused the problems.  Chevy sorta made up for the bad Vegas by producing the Cosworth Vega, a really superior handling car with an engine breathed upon by Cosworth in England.  I remember coveting 'em badly...

Actually,it had nothing to do with the aluminum being "bad".They had success on their aluminum racing engines using anodizing instead of iron cylinder liners.They decided to go that way when they designed the Vega alloy motors.They forgot to take into account that a race engine runs continuously for long periods,then gets shut off and rebuilt,so it gets oil the entire time it's running,never gets used in cold weather,and doesn't do short trips day in and day out..It only took the slightest bit of dirt or galling in the thin anodized surface to start the destruction of the cylinders..

[sizemore]

Oh thanks!  I thought those were all vertipacks, but I see the contour differnce now that you point it out.  TOFC flat under those?

They're called Stac-Pacs. Pretty neet like the Vert-A-Pac.

http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/spcars/bytype/flat/stac-pac.htm

The S.

[kalbert]

To add insult to an already questionable engine design choice... The expansion and contraction of the aluminum block and head as it heated and cooled was pretty extreme and the gasket material just couldn't compensate, tearing and blowing out, particularly in the area around the oil drain back hole causing oil to drain down the side of the engine onto the ground instead of back to the pan! Needless to say with no oil on the piston skirts and bearing surfaces things don't last long at all...

All that aside though, what a cool pic! I spy mostly hatchbacks, but there's some coupes and kammbacks in there too! Any idea on when these photos were taken? The first one appears to be pre 5mph bumper Vega's and the second shot is the later 75+ looking ones. That would lead me to think they did this for quite a while?

None of this fits my era or location of interest, but one of those EXR cars, some "shrink cast" Vegas, and a forklift would make a heck of a cool diorama!

EDIT: Another round of questions...  I can't imagine ACF and SP built them exclusively for Chevrolet, EXR didnt' do them in SP I don't think, so what did ICG, FEC, and SCL ship in these things? Vegas & other H body cars? As far as I know they were only built in Lordstown and Sainte-Thérèse, were those plants served by that many carriers?

[Alaska Railroader]

Yes I agree, I find it unfathomable that such a huge car and immense engineering, not to mention the funding would go into a monster piece of rolling stock for one stupid automobile! No wonder neither product lasted much beyond the seventies.

None of this fits my era or location of interest, but one of those EXR cars, some "shrink cast" Vegas, and a forklift would make a heck of a cool diorama!

Exactly! And this is why the thread is relevant to the forum. There are/were Vert-a-Pacs available in N and HO but I have yet to see the loading process modeled. So I guess my dare is still open. It would be an incredible conversational part of a layout to show this operation in the loading process. It would have to be backed by these photos otherwise few would believe its authenticity.

But I still have that sickening feeling when I am reminded of having to replace the engine in that piece of crap of a car. When you are in your early 20's and they say fix it or junk it what do you do?

BTW, the Stac-Pacs carried mostly Caddys.

[ArtinCA]

Vert-a-pacs were built for all the railroads that would be hauling Vegas to dist points. The plans from Model Railroader showed the Rock Island scheme. The others are correct too IIRC.

The interesting part was there was hooks on the doors and spots on the Vega's the hooks went into to hold the cars. No tie downs. Just rack em and stack em. 

You could also model the unloading process. It would be a little easier.

[kelticsylk]

Never saw one. pretty cool idea. Reminds me of parking lots in Chicago that stacked cars vertically... though not on their ends.

Used to own a Vega GT. Bought it used. Handled well but smoked so bad people would yell at me. Of course I would then rev the engine and produce more smoke, effectively shutting up the yeller. (I had a mean streak back then).

[Hyperion]

EDIT: Another round of questions...  I can't imagine ACF and SP built them exclusively for Chevrolet, EXR didnt' do them in SP I don't think, so what did ICG, FEC, and SCL ship in these things? Vegas & other H body cars? As far as I know they were only built in Lordstown and Sainte-Thérèse, were those plants served by that many carriers?

The way things work in the auto industry, railroads don't buy cars for what they serve, they buy a proportional amount of the total fleet required to serve customers on their route.

So, if GM chipped Vegas on these down to Miami, then FEC would buy some cars to handle the move down to the territory they serve.  If that made up 10% of the route-miles, they'd chip in 10% of the cars.  In that way, you get a lot of railroads with their names stamped on cars that in no way serve automotive plants directly.

[cv_acr]

EDIT: Another round of questions...  I can't imagine ACF and SP built them exclusively for Chevrolet, EXR didnt' do them in SP I don't think, so what did ICG, FEC, and SCL ship in these things? Vegas & other H body cars? As far as I know they were only built in Lordstown and Sainte-Thérèse, were those plants served by that many carriers?

Racks and other automotive equipment (including auto parts boxcars) are pooled, and every railroad that cars from a particular pool travel over provides a percentage of cars to the pool based on their portion of the total mileage involved. If cars from the pool travel over multiple routes it's entirely possible that a particular car may never actually travel on the tracks of the railroad for which the rack is lettered.

[packers#1]

We had a thread on this about a month back
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=29021.0

[TiVoPrince]

But I still have that sickening feeling when I am reminded of having to replace the engine in that piece of crap of a car. When you are in your early 20's and they say fix it or junk it what do you do?

Or
you could fiollow my sisters lead and dump a hot small block in there.  Her boyfriend had just thrashed his MonteCarlo and an evil plan was immediately born.  Silly fast but the frame rails and unitbody were not up to the challenge of weight or torque. 

IIRC she got good money selling it to someone who wanted to drag race it...

[Dave Schneider]

My ex brother-in-law and current sister had a Vega back in the late 70s. They got in an accident hauling dirt (as they were wanna-be hippie organic farmers in those days). Anyhow, the accident damaged the hood to the point that it couldn't be opened, and since they were wanna-be hippie organic farmers, they didn't have insurance to repair it (although it probably would have been totaled). Due to the well documented oil issues, they had to figure out a way to get oil into the engine without opening the hood. So, out came the drill, hacksaw, and tin snip. Since they were also pot heads, in their role as wanna-be hippie organic farmers, they couldn't quite remember where the oil fill was located. So numerous holes on both sides of the engine were cut (with much effort) until it was located. I can still remember my dad, sitting in a lawn chair in his white t-shirt, drinking a PBR and shaking his head at the entire scene.

Best wishes, Dave

[peteski]

Christ almighty I never even thought about vehicle fluids. I always thought they shipped dry. That is a lot of engineering for a dopey car and an inane shipping method.

That's why this shipping method didn't last very long.

Its nice that the SP was a firm believer in suicide lifts. Man those outboard lift arms creep me out. As an added bonus, you'll get killed by the exploding hydraulics long before the failing lift arm severs your extremities.

Those are some morbid thoughts.  You sound like a paramedic. 

[Kisatchie]

You could also model the unloading process. It would be a little easier.

Hmm... open the doors,
and all the cars fall out...?

[Robbman]

As an added bonus, you'll get killed by the exploding hydraulics long before the failing lift arm severs your extremities.

Exploding hydraulics won't kill you, just get you a NAM... I had the joy of a USMC MLULL blowing it's hydraulics directly into the cab... how LULL never got sued for there civilian stuff is still beyond me...

[mplsjct]

My best friend had a used Vega, easily one of the crappiest cars I've ever had a ride in.

Cool pictures though, the Exactrail car seems to be on stilts - another ride height offender?