100 Ton truck options for Atlas 100 ton open hopper

[sirenwerks]

Those steps could be filed, but they're still off. Atlas's only feature one rung, the prototype looks to have two, on both ends. Looks like you need a etched upgrade kit, that could also feature end braces, door detail, brake wheel, etc.

[Mark5]

Those steps could be filed, but they're still off. Atlas's only feature one rung, the prototype looks to have two, on both ends. Looks like you need a etched upgrade kit, that could also feature end braces, door detail, brake wheel, etc.

The MTL pieces might work for this.

[Mark5]

Here's the bottom of the Atlas 100 tonner. The bolsters could be moved out a tiny bit.



But this falls way into the "Too much trouble FWIW" category for me.

Mark

[Sokramiketes]

Here's the bottom of the Atlas 100 tonner. The bolsters could be moved out a tiny bit.



But this falls way into the "Too much trouble FWIW" category for me.

Mark

Does this mean you're back to the three foot rule instead of the 12" rule?

[Mark5]

Does this mean you're back to the three foot rule instead of the 12" rule?

No, it means life's too short to move bolsters on 50 100 ton hoppers.

As I've stated before, my personal goal is to model a railroad not build models of individual railroad cars.

I don't see this as inconsistent with the 12" rule.

Mark

[Sokramiketes]

No, it means life's too short to move bolsters on 50 100 ton hoppers.

Mark

Ok, so what if you didn't actually have to move the bolster over?  I'd be tempted to go to town with the proper diameter end mill in a drill press.  (regular drill would never center properly in this instance) Just move the hole toward the end in the existing bolster and use a drop of super glue on the pin when you are done with the car and ready to attach the trucks.



Once set up you could probably do 50 cars in a night.

[Packer]

Here's the real 92000:

http://spec.lib.vt.edu/imagebase/norfolksouthern/full/ns2125.jpeg

Mark

This is what I have, except in the paint scheme like you posted:



A few sites mention they are the H-11a but I'm no expert. I picked up a few in varying roads for less than $5 a piece with metal wheels and knuckle couplers.

Does the MTL offset bolster truck actually fix the bolster issue?

[Mark5]

Ok, five years later and Trainworx has made this easier ... 

Using the Trainworx 622 - one thing I don't like is that the coupler box is screwed in from the top:



Hopefully, the coupler will not need servicing, as once glued in I won't be able to get to it.

For my Atlas 100 ton hoppers, I am adding the Microtrains brake hardware (available in MTL part 1064, new part # 49965935) - here it is glued to the Trainworx 622:



Here I have glued the pieces in (they fit nicely) - I used spots of glue in case I ever need to separate these for some reason:



Here, I borrowed Microtrains 100 ton trucks from my 60' 12200050 box car and placed them on the car - the car to the left has Atlas 70 ton roller bearing trucks:



With the MTL 100 ton truck, the hopper comes in at about 12' tall, close enough to the proto's 12'3" for me.

I will likely replace the MTL plastic 36" wheels with metal ones if MTL makes this truck available.

Now if only these trucks were available separately from MTL ...

BLMA trucks are also available but not sure if 50 pairs are currently available.

Still undecided as to which truck the fleet will get.

Mark

[nkalanaga]

I put Atlas 100 ton trucks under mine the easy way.  Take your Dremel, or a knife if you like scraping and only have a few cars, and grind away the slope sheet where the flanges scrape.  You don't have to grind all the way through, and black is easy to match, so it won't show.  The limiting factor on truck swing is now the 1025 coupler boxes, and the cars will take an 11 inch curve.  They don't like it, and probably wouldn't accept 10 inches, but they will roll down my mine yard tracks.

To make the grinding easier I took a piece of 1x4, glued 1/4 inch balsa strips to it to hold the upside-down car in place, and grind on that.  Much easier, and safer, than trying to hold the loose car in ones hand, as all that is needed is to hold the other end down.  A little practice and it goes very quickly.  The same board has jigs for my other 100 ton hoppers, most of which needed the same grinding. 

[sirenwerks]

Is all of this applicable to the Like Like car?  I was never sure if the LL and Atlas cars are the same thing.

[Mark5]

I put Atlas 100 ton trucks under mine the easy way.  Take your Dremel, or a knife if you like scraping and only have a few cars, and grind away the slope sheet where the flanges scrape.  You don't have to grind all the way through, and black is easy to match, so it won't show.  The limiting factor on truck swing is now the 1025 coupler boxes,

Odd that the Atlas 100 ton trucks have clearance issues. I have no clearance issues or need for grinding with either the BLMA or MTL 100 ton trucks. I had ruled out the Atlas 100 ton trucks as they have not been available for some years.

Mark

[Mark5]

Is all of this applicable to the Like Like car?  I was never sure if the LL and Atlas cars are the same thing.

The Lifelike car is different tooling. I can post pix if curious as I still have an example somewhere.

[nkalanaga]

Mark:  I bought a bunch of new Atlas trucks from Feather River Trains early this year, and 50+ pair used from Kisatchie.  In my case, I haven't been able to get any BLMA 100 ton trucks, even ordering direct, and the Intermountain trucks I tried several years ago were discontinued(?) after I bought my first ten pair.

Atlas also has metal wheels that fit the trucks, so you can use whichever wheels you like.  I found that the Atlas metal wheels would clear some cars where the plastic wheels scraped, but the hoppers still needed some grinding.

Do the MT trucks have centered or offset bolster holes?  That could make a difference there, and there may also be slight wheelbase differences.

[Mark5]

Do the MT trucks have centered or offset bolster holes?  That could make a difference there, and there may also be slight wheelbase differences.

The MTL 100 Ton Roller bearing truck has a centered bolster.

Mark

[bbussey]

The wheel flanges for the BLMA 100-ton trucks touch the hopper bays, so I'm curious to get my hands on the MTL 100-ton trucks.