Latest Athearn 57' reefers - cushion underframe?

[GaryHinshaw]

Same here.  FWIW, BLMA trucks fit these cars w/o modification and both lower the ride height nicely and bring the couplers more in line.  Between these new reefers, the IM R-70-20s, and the BLMA/ExactRail Trinity's, I've got exactly the fleet I need for the Edison fruit packing district.   

[ljudice]

Same here.  FWIW, BLMA trucks fit these cars w/o modification and both lower the ride height nicely and bring the couplers more in line.  Between these new reefers, the IM R-70-20s, and the BLMA/ExactRail Trinity's, I've got exactly the fleet I need for the Edison fruit packing district.   

Thanks, Gary - was just about to try exactly this....

- Lou

[jagged ben]

Do we 100 ton or 70 ton on these?

[GaryHinshaw]

36 IN WHLS, so I'm going with 100T.

[jagged ben]

That's what I thought.  Just not sure what to do about the sound unit.   

Anyway, good, more 100T trucks to spare for my hopper fleet.

Oh, and nice weathering reference in that photo.   

[bbussey]

If you have units with sound, you will have to mill/file/shave the bolsters by .0375" since the trucks conduct.

[nkalanaga]

The bolsters seem to be plastic, so I'm going to try to remove the raised ring around the screw boss.  With luck, a chisel blade will work, slicing down multiple times around the boss, then flat against the bolster to remove the pieces.  A little filing with a knife-edge file might be m=needed for cleanup, but it shouldn't be too big a job.

It seems like someone must have misread a drawing or something.  I wouldn't think that, as much work as Athearn obviously put into these cars, they'd intentionally design them to be too tall, especially since the fix seems so simple.

Mine don't have sound, so that isn't an issue, and I don't have any BLMA 100-ton trucks.  Guess I'm going to have to order some direct one of these days, since my hobby shop can't seem to find them.  I need a pair for a tank car kitbash from months ago!

[nkalanaga]

I lowered one of mine by trimming the raised ring from the bolster.  The coupler is now at the right height (eyeballed with gauge), and it looks a lot better.  Took about 10 minutes total, and would probably go faster with practice.

One word of warning:  Both couplers lost their springs in the process.  That's my only complaint about McHenrys.  I've never been able to find a lost spring, and am quite sure I couldn't replace one.  I'll take the couplers off the other car before working on it.  Fortunately I have some spares, and plenty of Accumates.