In most cases they load a car to something like its capacity in either length of weight. Many armored vehicles were heavy enough to require either “single” loading or a vary heavy duty flatcar (100-tons plus). An ordinary truck, like an M-35 “Deuce and a Half”, could easily be loaded two to a car.

Of course, it they only had one to ship, it’d be on one car.

Today the Dept of Defense (DODX) has a lot of very heavy 6-axle flatcars. These routinely carry two M-1 Abrams tanks (which weigh around 70 tons each, so that’s 140 tons per car).

In WWII an M4 Sherman tank only weighed about 32 tons, so two could be carried on one 70-ton flatcar.

I just finished doing an HO model of an M-48 Patton tank (~55 tons) on an older U.S. Army 6-axle flat. The car has a 100 ton capacity.

Just FYI. The old ROCO 6-axle flats are BOTH 1960’s vintage U.S. Army prototypes. The regular flatcar was for general use. The depressed-center flat is the transport carrier for the M-103 Heavy Tank (though it may well have been used for other things too).

Dan Mitchell
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