Attaching a load to a flat car. The PRR FD2 and the Westinghouse Turbogenerator

[chicken45]

Hey kids I need some advice!
I need to turn this:




into this:



It looks like .015 phosphor bronze wire will do the trick, but I don't know how to attach those braces to the car. I was able to drill holes in the generator, so that part was easy. The deck lip is too thin for me to drill. I don't have the skill.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Just run them to the end, and a tiny, tiny drop of ACC

Or, just bend them into place, glue them into the generator, and let friction hold them in the right place.

[VonRyan]

Put a magnet inside the load and recess another in the underside of the well.

[chicken45]

Put a magnet inside the load and recess another in the underside of the well.

Yeah thought about that but it isn't necessary. I think that's over-engineered. My issue isn't the load itself, but the bars that hold it.

[wazzou]

Can you bend a slight "L" in some phosphor bronze wire and drill into the sides of the lip of the flat rather then from top to bottom?
Just use a sharp pin or the tip of a #11 blade as a hole starter so that your drill bit won't wander.

[sirenwerks]

Make a pallet for the load - the overall design as thin in height as possible, where the sides are L stock that fits tightly over the lips of the car.  Paint the pallet the car color and permanently mount the wire braces into the L stock.  With stiff enough wire, you could loosely insert it into the generator's holes, so the gen could be removed from the pallet for whatever reason.

[bbussey]

You're using wire, which will hold its shape.  I would go with stainless steel, but phosphor bronze will work.  Drill dimples in the side edge of the deck in the appropriate locations, and drill holes through on the load.  The model is pewter, yes?  You should be able to drill dimples .010" deep with the appropriate micro-bit in a hand-drill.  Bend the wire to the proper shapes and CA+ into the dimples and the payload holes.
 
Also, use .008" or .010" wire.  The paint will make up the extra thickness difference.

[peteski]

Also, use .008" or .010" wire.  The paint will make up the extra thickness difference.

I would chemically blacken the wire which would not add any thickness.   I have several Jax blackening solutions on hand (thanks to DKS).  Then there is the old standby A-West Blacken-It from Walthers or Micro Engineering rail weathering solution.  I have them all. 

[mmagliaro]

Well, I'll be the outcast...

Wires glued into holes, especially with CA, and in those exposed vulnerable locations,
will be brittle and easy to break off.

I would not use wire at all.  I'd use Berkshire Junction EZ Line
http://www.berkshirejunction.com/ezline.html

It comes in .010" and .020", and is available in a variety of colors.   

This stuff is incredibly durable and very stretchable rubber.  It will not snap or tear even if you clumsily
handle the car. 

Use a #80 bit (assuming you can't easily get anything smaller) and drill holes into the edge of that deck.
YES YOU CAN.  The pewter is soft and drills easily.   Put a little drop of on the end of the EZ line, poke it into the deck hole.
Let it dry.  Then gently pull it so there's mild tension on it and poke the other end into the generator hole.  If you drill clear through
into the inside of the generator, you can have excess that you just poke through the hole with a pin until
you get the tension you like.
CA would work.

The key here is that the EZ Line will take up all the shock and stress of handling, so the lines won't break off and
the CA won't be inclined to flake off and let go.

[Lemosteam]

You're using wire, which will hold its shape.  I would go with stainless steel, but phosphor bronze will work.  Drill dimples in the side edge of the deck in the appropriate locations, and drill holes through on the load.  The model is pewter, yes?  You should be able to drill dimples .010" deep with the appropriate micro-bit in a hand-drill.  Bend the wire to the proper shapes and CA+ into the dimples and the payload holes.
 
Also, use .008" or .010" wire.  The paint will make up the extra thickness difference.

s

I just gave @chicken45 the exact same advice on the phone!

[glakedylan]

just thinking out loud:

would it be helpful to not glue the top to bottom of generator
until after it is thus ^ attached, making it perhaps easier to
secure the "ez line" to the bottom having access to the inside?

[peteski]

I'm now really liking Max's idea. As long as the EZ Line is not white or green. 

[mmagliaro]

Tanks, Peteski.  I would vote for black, but weathered a little.

Yes... (on the idea of not attaching the top).  I didn't notice that this thing came apart in pieces.

I would vote for black because the car and the generator are a light color and it should show up well.
I would go with .010", but if you have trouble seeing it, hit it with some gray or white dry brushing, right onto
the rubbery line.  Even a gray Sharpie works well on this stuff.

I used it for electrical lines.  I clear-drying rubbery cement, like Woodland Scenics Foam Tack Glue, works great on it.
It doesn't get brittle and dries clear.  You could poke a dot of it into the hole with a toothpich, and then stuff the line in and
hold it for a few seconds until it grabs.  Let it dry, then stretch and poke in at the opposite end.

[chicken45]

Wow. I can't order online. I'd have to send them a check or a money order.
Ugh. I haven't had a checkbook in 3 years. Anyone care to sell me 12 inches of the black .010 stuff?

[Chris333]

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=&_osacat=180250&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.XEZ+line.TRS0&_nkw=EZ+line&_sacat=180250