Wheels, Weight & Couplers on Freight

[Sokramiketes]

Nice work.  I especially like the hay ...it's a nice touch that adds a lot of character.  What'd you use?

I think it was some autumn color grass from Sweetwater.

[SAH]

Speaking of tank cars . . . . .
RTR tank car models have come a LONG way over the years.  Here's an old Austrian Atlas model I worked up many years ago next to a new Atlas model.  The old guy is showing some age for certain but overall is not too bad.  The photo shows the model before I stripped and repainted it.  I did a very poor job with the decals.  The gray haze problem. 



Expediency won out over proto fidelity as I just added a styrene platform on which the couplers will be mounted.  Note the lead I crammed into the sill.  I REALLY didn't feel up to taking the shell apart to add more weight.  I think the car would have been destroyed in the process.  With FVM metal wheels the car weighs in at 25g.  Slightly underweight but so far it was performed fine.



After painting and decaling the models I decided the couplers stuck out too far.  See several posts back for my rethinking of this matter.  I managed to redo the coupler box setback without tearing off the platform - Quite amazing.  Here's the old Atlas model (bottom) and an old AHM car with the couplers at the original install setback.  I like the looks of the deeper setback better.



An elevation of the old Atlas guy.


And the AHM car of a similar vintage.  The close-up shows some funky mold work but mixed in a freight train it doesn't look so bad.


I really like tankers and covered hoppers.

Steve

[SAH]

Another tank car.  Two old Atlas cars became one.  I scratched the handrails because, well, I kind of had to.  20 years ago (when I built the model) wire handrail set off from the body was unusual.  Now it's expected of a RTR model.  Yep, we've come a long way.  All for the better.  I repainted and decaled this one to fix the hazey decal problem too.


I remember lowering the tank in the saddle but don't recall how.  In any event I discovered the tank needed to be filed flat where the coupler mounting platform is mounted.  Here's the photo, prior to moving the mounting hole for the coupler back a bit.


Steve

[sirenwerks]

Great tank cars, Steve!

[SAH]

Thanks.  It's fun to bring some of the old-timers up to date (as far as practical anyway).  And if I screw it up, nothing lost.

A covered hopper project.  Way back at the start of the thread I showed the Atlas Trainman 2 bay covered hopper.  A must have, for me anyway, since it is decorated for the AC&Y.  I bought four and modified the numbers on two of them.  Here's a photo showing the models with the upgraded ladders and grabs.


I matched the body color best I could.  Close enough that some weathering will blend it all together I think


I bought some flathead screws to try to get the screw head clear of the axle.  The heads still did not countersink enough to make a difference.  I discovered that a 3/32" drill bit twisted by hand will clean out enough material to allow the flat head to mount flush with the coupler pocket.  You can go deep enough to get the standard MT issue 00-90 screw to be flush too, as this photo shows.  MT screw on the left, flathead on the right.


Steve

[SAH]

I think I have what will be the final answer for MT box car conversions.  And no, it's not chuck them all and wait for the Atlas PS-1.
I'm going back to the old school method incorporating what I've learned from experience and what you guys have shared.  Railwire is the greatest.

Someone suggested using a spacer to gauge bolster filing progress.  The small plastic bit to the right of the bolster is 1/16" thick and held in place with stick glue so it won't slide around.  The mill file makes quick work of the bolster material.  File to just above the spacer.  Clean up for level and final height.   I can do a bolster in about a minute, stopping to check progress as I go.


I drill a new hole between the existing holes for 1015 mounting.  Moving the pocket back this small amount provides a better visual car-to-car separation, to my eyes anyway.  There's still enough room for an uncoupling tool.


Choose a wheelset and remove more material to clear the flanges if required.


Adjust the height with washers or different wheelsets if necessary.  So far I've not found it necessary.  Now to get some replacement floors for the other three or four cars I messed up with my "experiments".  I like the result.  Steve

[SAH]

I've no idea regarding the prototype fidelity of the Deluxe Innovation 40' 10 panel box car.  I bought the Erie car some time ago and the AC&Y did a lot of interchange business with the Erie in Akron.  It's a nice looking model.  The weight and frame is like no other N scale offering I'm aware of.


I decided to go the route I chose for the FVM MILW rib sides, adding a new set of frame rest posts (a better term escapes me at this moment).  I filed the sides of the frame a bit narrower.  The frame is plastic so the work goes quickly.  The frame is now unstable due to the weights.  A short block of wood glued to the center adequately stiffens the frame.


You can see the frame rest posts inside the shell.  0.67" (43/64") in height.


I had to file clearance for the couplers at the end of the car ever so slightly.  Also cut away some of the frame to clear door mounting hardware.


And here it is ready for service.  It looks much better with a lower ride height.  The work sounds more difficult that it is really.

[SAH]

Intermountain box cars.  I was stumped on these because the underbody and sides/ends are one casting.  Different from the usual N scale freight car design.  Bryan B. led the way with his suggestion to drill a hole in the floor and then build up the coupler pocket base from within.  For the kit version of this model drilled the hole from the inside out.  It can be done from the outside in but it's much more difficult to add the pocket base.  I've had success removing the roof of a finished model by sitcking it in the freezer for a hour of so.  Upon removal from the feezer squeeze the sides of the car and roof pops off more times than not.  Here's the raw hole prior to squaring and after the bolster has been trimmed.


Here's the hole for the coupler pocket after squaring.  I found the inside floor level to be the right height without additional shimming.  Maybe I got lucky with my bolster trim work but I'll take it.  I used the 1/16" spacer rule for bolster height if I recall correctly and a sharp chisel blade in a hobby knife to make the bolster cuts.  Fast and easy but mind your fingers!!!!!


The rest of the conversion followed what by now is standard practice: Find the side-to-side center line and distance from the car end you prefer, drill a #61 hole, apply the 00-90 tap work and attached the MT 1015 coupler.  Here's a 10 panel NKP version.


And the 12 panel ATSF model.  Good looking models I think.  Looking forward to weathering them.