So as I'm continuing my Climax A Nn3 foray... the prototype I'm working with is 'across the street' from the Hickory Valley, and 'just down the road', the short-lived McCabe Lumber Company at West Hickory PA, about 1904-1911. They were only a couple miles long, served a small sawmill just below West Hickory, and had a single 15-ton Climax A, 36" gauge according to local records. No pictures of it, the mill, the site, or much of anything have been found, if it weren't for Walt Casler's books and Newspapers.com you'd never know it existed. Hit twice by floods in 1908 it never really recovered - found those newspaper stories.
So it leaves ample room for what-if's, as it's nearly impossible for people to prove you wrong.
I've got the Climax A running pretty good, I got one 25' log car from Showcase, two 25' flatcars for bark service from Shapeways (Walter Vail designs), and....nothing. Looking around in my junk drawer I had a single Bachman 'Old Timer' boxcar..man, that thing is ugly. I'd taken one of the flatcars and made it into a chemical wood flat for the HV layout, perfect size. But this boxcar? It's so small....wait a minute.
Checked my books.....hmmm....
http://www.randgust.com/TV%20Boxcars.jpgThat's on the Tionesta Valley (Sheffield-Hallton, PA, about 40 miles away), but local region practice. Not interchanged, basically a 3' logging railroad boxcar. I wonder..... could that frame and carbody be modified to Nn3? I found at least one person did a thread thinking about it, but I don't see where anybody actually did it. Nothing against MT cars, but they are just 'so Colorado' and this is bare-bones basic.
Well, it meets a couple criteria. 1) Free, I already have it. 2) risk free, worst thing is I decide it looks like crap and I finally toss it. 3) pretty much easy to do.
Car measures out to about 9' wide and only 7' high at the door, I have no idea what if any prototype Bachmann had in mind for this for their 'old time' series, but it's really just too small for a standard-gauge car even in the 1860's. Much closer to narrow gauge. And if there's an uglier car out there for color...wow...there just aren't words.
First discovery was that the bolsters were too wide from the trucks, and needed ground out with an abrasive disk. I filled the original bolster holes with wood and doused it in ACC to redrill it smaller for the MT truck pins. Yanked the original truss rod casting, if it's worth it I'll do my own rods later.
Second discovery was that it needed some help on a coupler mounting pad, I added .010 styrene to flatten out the frame at the coupler mount, and drill for MT 903's.
I gave it a shot of primer gray, and a deliberately streaked brush coat of Pollyscale boxcar red, I wanted weathered gray to show under the paint to get a head start on a weatherbeaten appearance.
OK, well, it runs, it works. Tracks fine. Couplers are right height. The bolsters still look too far back from the ends, I'm debating if I want to fix that or not, as the truck clearances at the wheels against the coupler box are tight already and that won't help. Needs truss rods, and the vertical brake staff and brake wheel, yeah, that's still a turd. The basic body though is creditable, more detail on it that I would have given Bachmann credit for once you get past that awful green paint.
So, if you've ever looked at that car and wondered like I did....what if... well, there's your answer.
