Best Of Lowering Fox Valley Models Boxcars

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I just got a couple of the newest run of the FVM cars, and I realized two things. One, they've got body mounted couplers (hooray!), but two, they ride cartoonishly high. I mean, make the MTL 50' boxcar look good high. So, I decided to fix this.

I wrote it up on my site, to further increase my internet fame: http://conrail1285.com/news.asp?storyid=76

Check it out, give me feedback here, or play with the Facebook comments on the site (I did that recently too).

Here's the comparison between the stock, and the lowered cars, for reference:

[ljudice]

Thanks very much - I have a bunch of these to do now...

[wazzou]

Looks good Ed.  I think that the ride height must be a carryover from the earlier truck mounted coupler releases. 
The underframe probably should be re-tooled if the cars will all come w/body mounted couplers now.

[Ian MacMillan]

Nice I didnt know these had body mounts....thats what I needed to push me for the V&O and AM cars.

Now you just need to remember how many turns of the bit so you dont get a sloping car! Or buy one of those 6" levels.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Looks good Ed.  I think that the ride height must be a carryover from the earlier truck mounted coupler releases. 
The underframe probably should be re-tooled if the cars will all come w/body mounted couplers now.

Could be, but it couldn't have gone any lower using the 1015s. They might've been able to use the 1023s, but it seems, sadly, intentional.

Glad you guys are finding this useful.

[MichaelWinicki]

Very well done article Ed.

[Dave Schneider]

Nice article Ed. Thanks for doing this.

It would be cool to have a "bolster lowering tool".....basically a mill cutting tool with a non-cutting center guide (the size of the truck bolster pin).
In other words, like the drill bit, but with a flat cutting surface and a centering nub that fits into the truck mounting hole. A cutting tool for plastic and a grinding tool for metal. Maybe some way of setting the cutting depth. Use in on a motor tool.

Just a thought for the prospective tool makers out there.

Best wishes, Dave

[Ntrainz1]

Nice job.

[Dave V]

Fantastic modeling!  I love it!  Few things say "heavy-duty railroading" to me like a modern boxcar hunkered down on its trucks.

[Scottl]

Nice work and write up.

What's with the V&O and AM cars?  Are those some eastern road? 

[lock4244]

Nice Ed. They look strange coupled to the Bluford and Trainworx 86' hi-cubes, being about the same height and all. I now have my project for 2012... lowering one FVM boxcar 

[Smike]

Sweet Ed! I really like it, thanks for sharing. Nothing screams Model Power like a high riding box   

Now... lets talk about that code 80 rail.....

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Didn't you guys see my tweet? I'm converting the whole layout over to Unitrack. Ahahahahahahahahah...

That's just the test loop, a job it's quite well suited for, actually.

And yikes, yeah, I never even brought them near one of the Bluford cars. That would've been ugly. But all's fixed now.

I guess I should've also mentioned that I did all three of them in about an hour or so. It would've been quicker, but I was taking photos.

[tom mann]

100 ton trucks are right?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I wasn't absolutely sure, but after looking at the ones I removed, they looked like 100 tonners too, so I think I made the right call.