US Standard River Barge Now Available in N and Z

This is not even up on my website yet, so this is a sneak preview. What do you think?

These are accurate waterline models of the standard barge for the Mississippi River system, measuring 195' long and 35' wide. I used engineering drawings to accurately model the dimensions and placement of the hold, and details such as the winches, bitts, ventilators, and exterior bracing around the coaming. Freeboard (height above water) is a scale 4.5'; coamings are a scale 3.5' high.







In N scale, the barge is 380 mm (15") long, and 68 mm (2.7") wide. In Z scale, the barge is 277 mm (10.9") long and 50 mm (1.9") wide. The Z scale barge could serve as a smaller N scale barge; in N scale it measures 142' long by 25.5' wide.




The N scale barge is primed in red chromate primer; the Z scale barge in gray primer. Unpainted models are available, as are models without mooring bitts attached. Availability in very limited until March 2014.

Price is $60 each for N and Z. Discounts are available for multiple orders: 10% for three to nine; 15% for ten or more.

Upcoming for river modelers is a "Jeffboat": a 145' towboat from Jeffersonville Shipyards, the second largest supplier of barges and inland waterway vessels, and a smaller towboat (they are actually pushers) of about 75' in length. Here's the feasibility model of the Jeffboat, without the smoothed corners or deck details.



Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to order or for more information.

Nice river barge, good for Mississippi, may be to big for rhine or all other German rivers.

pm-ger wrote: Nice river barge, good for Mississippi, may be to big for rhine or all other German rivers.

What is the standard size over there?

Pete- I don't know the demensions- but the Viking River cruise Longships are good sized-- It may be a place to start.

Peter, I think they look great! outstanding! Being at the waterline the water doesn't have to be deep to make it look like it's floating! This is a good because most of the older ship sailing have large hull and it hard to set in a 3" or 2" deep hull in a deep river and look good! So well done! how with this all you need is a 1/4" deep river and it would look deep.

Peter you need to make one that could ferry train cars!

southernnscale wrote: . . .

Peter you need to make one that could ferry train cars!

Got one in N scale:



Maybe I can convert it to Z while I'm in Alabama.

pm-ger wrote: Nice river barge, good for Mississippi, may be to big for rhine or all other German rivers.

From what I'm reading, the German barges are of equivalent sizes, although the tows may be only six-eight barges instead of maximum 15 in the upper Mississippi system.

The size is right, I grew up at the Rhine, but the max. I recall was 4, typically 1 or 2.

Here's a barge on the Rhine. Passenger boat with three deck high 426'long another barge 360'10" L and 37'4" wide.

There are some jumbo barges in Europe, at least in length. The self-propelled ones can be very long.

I did the N scale cover for a covered barge today, but probably won't get to the Z scale cover for a while. Frankly, I'm trying to use up my mold materials before leaving for Alabama on Sunday--thus N scale molds!

If I won the big lottery I would have a Z scale swinging bridge, and a rotary dump on the Mississippi. I would definitely have barges! While stumbling around on the web, thinking about what the equipment would look like, and paint schemes for late 50s and early 60s, I found this site. Might be good reference for land lubbers like myself that want to incorporate your barges and boats for a Mississippi river scene. www.umsl.edu/mercantile/collections/pott-library-special-collections/collections/pott2-fblcoll.html