Riding Car Seat Question
Moderator: Harold_V
Riding Car Seat Question
I'm going to be buying two boat seats for a flat car that I purchased a few years ago, I want to use it as a riding car.. My question is about the height of the seats. It is not a depressed center car, just a regular flat car. There are many different height pedestals to mount the seats on, and I don't want to sit too high but I still want to be comfortable.. What height is everyone using? Looking on Ebay, they sell 8",12",14",21" and so on..
Also, are swivel seats a good option? I don't think it would be in the best interest to be able to swivel, especially the rear passenger chair...?
Any comments?
Thanks; John
Also, are swivel seats a good option? I don't think it would be in the best interest to be able to swivel, especially the rear passenger chair...?
Any comments?
Thanks; John
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Re: Riding Car Seat Question
One of the club trains up here had swivel seats on a, I believe, MCC riding slug. (I don't know what you'd call it, it looked like the bottom half of the engine, with a couple hydraulic motors driving the unit supplied from the pump in the lead unit, with 2 chairs on top.) I enjoyed the swivel when engineering, I usually sat at a slight angle, not straight on with the train making it easier to check over my shoulder to see what was going on behind me. I think there were a few club members who swore that the swivel motion would derail the train. I never had a problem with derailments nor did I see one involving the slug. I will ad a disclaimer here my movements when swiveling from one side to another were always slow and calculated, never abrupt. On a light car, like a flat car I can see that being a larger issue. It may be nice to be able to turn the front seat around so you can have a conversation with the other passanger. I'm thinking about pulling off the main line onto a siding for lunch!
Re: Riding Car Seat Question
John,
You don't want a pedestal and seat that are too low...you'll feel that in the knees in short time. Having said that...an 8" pedestal with a boat seat on top MIGHT be acceptable. Too high is not good either as it raises the center of gravity too high. Once the CG falls outside the rails...you're either doing a wheelie...or heading for a derailment. No doubt...shorter is better, but not too short. If possible...try placing your boat seat on a bucket (on the car) to check height and comfort.
Swivel seats...good for the engineer, but I would not put a swivel seat under a passenger. They usually don't know how to balance themselves. Last thing you need is a passenger swiveling around and derailing your riding car. Just some casual observations from an innocent bystander! Hope that helps. Carl B.
You don't want a pedestal and seat that are too low...you'll feel that in the knees in short time. Having said that...an 8" pedestal with a boat seat on top MIGHT be acceptable. Too high is not good either as it raises the center of gravity too high. Once the CG falls outside the rails...you're either doing a wheelie...or heading for a derailment. No doubt...shorter is better, but not too short. If possible...try placing your boat seat on a bucket (on the car) to check height and comfort.
Swivel seats...good for the engineer, but I would not put a swivel seat under a passenger. They usually don't know how to balance themselves. Last thing you need is a passenger swiveling around and derailing your riding car. Just some casual observations from an innocent bystander! Hope that helps. Carl B.
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- makinsmoke
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Re: Riding Car Seat Question
Seat height.
Ideally you want the angle at your knees to be 90 degrees.
Fit your seat to that height and you'll be comfortable.
I have a swivel on my engineer car. It works well.
I built two boxes with hinged lids to sit inside my gon.
Boat seats need to be bolted to the top. Right now I only have
cushions.
The boxes offer storage, and are moveable in case of only one
rider. I can move them to keep riders centered over the trucks
depending which way the car is facing.
That would be the only real need for swivels. When turning the
car.
Brian
Ideally you want the angle at your knees to be 90 degrees.
Fit your seat to that height and you'll be comfortable.
I have a swivel on my engineer car. It works well.
I built two boxes with hinged lids to sit inside my gon.
Boat seats need to be bolted to the top. Right now I only have
cushions.
The boxes offer storage, and are moveable in case of only one
rider. I can move them to keep riders centered over the trucks
depending which way the car is facing.
That would be the only real need for swivels. When turning the
car.
Brian
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Re: Riding Car Seat Question
John
While you may be an experienced engineer, you may have inexperienced riders. They may not appreciate the need to sit still and not lean. I had a trip with 2 very chatty passengers. They derailed their car three times on one trip! I can't imagine what would have happened if they had swivel seats. I also witnessed an engineer get into trouble with a swivel seat.
While you may be an experienced engineer, you may have inexperienced riders. They may not appreciate the need to sit still and not lean. I had a trip with 2 very chatty passengers. They derailed their car three times on one trip! I can't imagine what would have happened if they had swivel seats. I also witnessed an engineer get into trouble with a swivel seat.
Re: Riding Car Seat Question
My regular flat car has two swiveling boat seat with backs for the riders. They're currently on 10" risers which places the rider's butt at about 14" off the deck. Originally the risers were at 12" but that put the seat too high. The seating was comfortable but did create a top heavy riding car when loaded. Dropping the 2" helped greatly. At the current height, your knees are slightly bent which can be improved by sliding your feet forward as there is enough room to do so.
I've always felt there is a great advantage of being able to walk up to the car and seat yourself without lifting your feet over a car side or center beam. Having the capability of stepping off quickly on either side is another plus.
Neil
I've always felt there is a great advantage of being able to walk up to the car and seat yourself without lifting your feet over a car side or center beam. Having the capability of stepping off quickly on either side is another plus.
Neil
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Re: Riding Car Seat Question
I have a flat car with swivel boats seats and plan to make some sort of simple bracket for locking the seats in place facing Forward no matter how you load the car on the track, rather than turn the whole car. My pedestals are 8" at this time. I also have removable foots pegs that drop into the Stake pockets to compromise any difference in leg length.
chooch
chooch
Re: Riding Car Seat Question
Thanks everyone for all the tips.. It looks like I'll buy the seats first, then do some experimenting...
John
John
- Bill Wilkins
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Re: Riding Car Seat Question
Finally got a picture to post of my new Tom Bee Combo car. The seat is exactly the height of the toilet seat in the bathroom. If it's comfortable there it should be fine on the track. Now to figure out where to put a magazine rack...
I used a 11" post and low back seat from Bass Pro. The 3/4" post goes down thru the car floor and thru the 1"x2" coupler tube. The seat will swivel. I did not use the two inch spring that is under the seat.
I have not had it on the track yet, that will happen next week at our club run. It is a work in progress at this time with the car details like decals, grab irons, stake pockets to come.
BGBill
I used a 11" post and low back seat from Bass Pro. The 3/4" post goes down thru the car floor and thru the 1"x2" coupler tube. The seat will swivel. I did not use the two inch spring that is under the seat.
I have not had it on the track yet, that will happen next week at our club run. It is a work in progress at this time with the car details like decals, grab irons, stake pockets to come.
BGBill
Plum Cove Chassis, freelance body - 2008 - Present
Wabash 569 - Allen Mogul - April 09-Jan 12
Bob Snippe Alco S-4 - Feb 12 - Apr 15
Wabash 569 - Allen Mogul - April 09-Jan 12
Bob Snippe Alco S-4 - Feb 12 - Apr 15
Re: Riding Car Seat Question
I have a few swivel seats for guests. They are barely above the gondola sides (on wooden boxes, not posts). Make your seat whatever height is comfortable. Yes, higher is better. I also prefer foot pegs since they give you a wider stance.GooseOrBust wrote:While you may be an experienced engineer, you may have inexperienced riders.
Dave
- Bill Wilkins
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- Location: Northwestern Ohio
Re: Riding Car Seat Question
I am going to experiment with foot pegs once I get the stake pockets on. Plus it will allow the feet to rest at an angle instead of flat. If that works out I may try to shorten the seat post by 2 inches or more and re-install the seat spring.
BGBill
BGBill
Plum Cove Chassis, freelance body - 2008 - Present
Wabash 569 - Allen Mogul - April 09-Jan 12
Bob Snippe Alco S-4 - Feb 12 - Apr 15
Wabash 569 - Allen Mogul - April 09-Jan 12
Bob Snippe Alco S-4 - Feb 12 - Apr 15
- chiloquinruss
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Re: Riding Car Seat Question
A few years ago I made up some 'portable' seats that fit the Train Mountain flat cars. Here is the link to that old pdf file. Current versions of these seats are only 8 inches high instead of the original 12 inches. They saw plenty of use during the recent Triennial. Russ
http://hobby-tronics.com/train-seats.pdf
http://hobby-tronics.com/train-seats.pdf