Stoney Smith Difco Side Dump Cars

[Catt]

Sent to etchers this past week.

Mike, will you be selling these?

[Sokramiketes]

Mike, will you be selling these?

I ordered more than what I need personally, so if they work OK then I'll make them available.

For the Difcos:


And for the Bilevel and Trilevel autoracks.


On the AZL Autoracks it's not just the step that missing, there's a chunk out of the side of the flatcar too.  So it needs a fill in... but the first batches were hand filed and therefore there's no way to make a one size fits all filler.  And on top of that it would be difficult to attach securely as well.  So I think that combining the steps, filler, ladder, and upper end door track into one piece, the overall look can be improved while having enough glue points to make the new part secure.

[Catt]

Hmmm, not only will I be padding Stony's SHAPEWAYS account (if they work the way you want) I may even have to invest in some AZL autoracks.

[Sokramiketes]

Received a package of etched brass.  Here's the Difco end platforms.  These are .008" brass and very delicate.


And here's the Bi-level Autorack end ladder/sill/step applied to an AZL car.


And this was supposed to be .010" nickel silver, but here's a teaser anyway.

[ztrack]

Mike the stirrups and ladders look absolutely great on the autorack. How do I order a few sets? Also, drop me an email. If you are planning on offering these for sale, I want to run an article in Ztrack to get the word out.

The Difco end platforms are incredible! Great job on this car!

What a teaser!!! Now that is not fair.

Rob

[GaryHinshaw]

These all look great!  In what sense are the Difco platforms delicate?  Do you mean weak and prone to breaking, or lacy and awesome (or both)?  If the former, could you add some extension posts to the body (in future runs, where the stirrups fold) that the platforms would mount to?  I would have expected the glueing tab to make it pretty strong though.

The rack ladders are fantastic, too bad about the ride height.   

How do you like working with nickel silver?  Is it very strong?  (I'm thinking about n.s. vs. stainless for diesel handrails, still).

-gfh

[Sokramiketes]

Mike the stirrups and ladders look absolutely great on the autorack. How do I order a few sets? Also, drop me an email. If you are planning on offering these for sale, I want to run an article in Ztrack to get the word out.

The Difco end platforms are incredible! Great job on this car!

What a teaser!!! Now that is not fair.

Rob

I'll go ahead with a production run now that I know the parts fit.  I'll let you know when they are available and we can do an official announcement.

And thanks!

[Sokramiketes]

These all look great!  In what sense are the Difco platforms delicate?  Do you mean weak and prone to breaking, or lacy and awesome (or both)?  If the former, could you add some extension posts to the body (in future runs, where the stirrups fold) that the platforms would mount to?  I would have expected the glueing tab to make it pretty strong though.

The rack ladders are fantastic, too bad about the ride height.   

How do you like working with nickel silver?  Is it very strong?  (I'm thinking about n.s. vs. stainless for diesel handrails, still).

-gfh

It's a little of both.  In order to sneak the cross section of the platform under a .008" cross section (material thickness suggested limitation) I put the walkway grid pattern on the top layer and completely etched out the bottom layer.  So those bars in the walkway grid are ~.006"x.004".  So lacy and awesome and weak!  It's only a concern cutting the parts from the fret.  A pair of fine sprue nippers worked pretty good without deforming the platform too much.  I might pick up one of these from the Small Parts Shop to help keep everything flat:



Ride height is going to be a chore.  I'm not sure yet if I need to just cut the floor out and inset a new bolster, or if I can really file the current stuff down enough.  It's going to be worse on the tri-levels which need to hug the trucks. 

Nickel Silver is somewhat stronger than brass, but not as strong as stainless obviously.  I like it because it takes paint much better.  Stainless is meant to resist paint!

[GaryHinshaw]

Nickel Silver is somewhat stronger than brass, but not as strong as stainless obviously.  I like it because it takes paint much better.  Stainless is meant to resist paint!

Yep, strength vs. paintability is the trade.  If and when I get back to the handrail project, I'll try a run in both metals and decide then.

Cheers,
Gary

[mcjaco]

Gah.  That teaser is enough to make me look at Z.....curse you!

[Sokramiketes]

Gah.  That teaser is enough to make me look at Z.....curse you!

A Builder in 4 feet!   

[Catt]

Mike, the Difcos look awesome,guess I will be putting some on my list soon. The auto rack looks much better too but man do those things need a lowering job.Are the auto racks plastic?

[mcjaco]

Mmmmmm, the Builder in 4 feet......

Are the wheels on the auto racks 28"?  They look big, or maybe its the flanges deceiving me.

[Sokramiketes]

Mmmmmm, the Builder in 4 feet......

Are the wheels on the auto racks 28"?  They look big, or maybe its the flanges deceiving me.

~36" AZL wheels.  I've since switched this car to FT trucks with 33" and sanded down the bolster.  It looks better.