Replacing a Missing Freight Car Underframe

[@adeeponionbrah]

I really like to see dark painted rail and ties. Now do the ballast! Good car salvage. I enjoyed your presentation.

[@whiteknightcat]

It's interesting that you uploaded this video when you did. Despite the fact I'm giving away or selling most all of my 25+ year old kits, having been forced out of the hobby in the 90's, I've re-started a couple of "play" projects, now that the cause of my departure from the hobby is no longer among us. I'm converting a number of old Tyco 40 foot gondolas into freelance "modern" 100 ton gondolas. Part of the work involves completely replacing the mock fishbelly underframe the Chinese manufacturer had to create in order to install their piddly little 1 ounce weight. I ended up using 1/32 inch lead sheet cut to fit in the recess under the car, then began building up a new undeframe directly on it after I had cleaned and primed it to allow handling. I had ordered both the Tichy bolsters you used as well as beefier, though less detailed ones, by Northeastern. As this was to be a modern, heavy duty car I ended up using the Northeastern bolsters. The lead sheet lined up perfectly with the faux coupler pocket top lip, and as luck would have it, test fitting a Kadee pocket and the trucks I am going to use resulted in a perfect coupler height. I fashioned the center sill from two 0.060 x 0.080 inch styrene strips cemented on edge to a 0.010 x 1/4 inch strip, resulting in a sill with the hollow gap down the middle. The stringers were made from Evergreen 1/8 inch I-beam cut to length and cemented to the lead sheet floor and lined up with the new ribs. I thought it would be a difficult job but it turned out fairly easy. After comparing the Tichy and Cal-scale brake equipment, I decided to go with the Cal-scale as it didn't require assembling so many fiddly little bits. I've got the air reservoir cemented between a couple of stringers and now I'm paused, waiting on the paint I'm going to use. Once painted, I'll add the rest of the brake gear in their natural black color. I estimate that once complete, nobody would ever be able to guess the car started out as a cheap "toy train" model, and with the lead sub-floor, it'll end up weighing in right at the NMRA recommended weight. Oh, and I love the dull, greasy black wheels you selected.

[@rwissbaum9849]

In general, I love Tichy's parts, but in the case of brake system components, I agree with you: lots of fiddling assembly required. Although I didn't mention it in this video, I get my brake system components from Accurail. They sell a "Box Car Detail Sprue" which contains all three brake components, plus some stuff I don't need, and it also includes four #2-56 screws. Part number 159 is 25 sets of these and costs $25, making the cost of brake components one dollar per car.

[@whiteknightcat]

@@rwissbaum9849 I like the 2-56 screws with the angled heads (sort of like wood screws) for trucks. Even if the truck mounting hole is larger in diameter than the screw, I can tighten them down and the angled head will insure they stay perfectly centered as the screw goes in. I finally broke down and ordered a batch of 100 from Amazon. I was not aware Accurail had a parts page, now looking at it. I'm intrigued by their trucks. They come without wheels which is a plus because I want to use semi-scale Code 88 wheels. That's a lot cheaper option than buying Kadee trucks that cost almost as much as 12 pairs of the Accurail ones. Also now wondering if their brake rod set would work on my gondolas. If so, that would save a ton of work. Will see if I have any Accurail kits with those sprues in them and compare!

[@rwissbaum9849]

I use nothing but Accurail sideframes for my freight cars. I pair them with Intermountain 33" metal wheelsets. They roll beautifully and look very good. I still use Kadee trucks for cabooses because Accurail doesn't have a leaf spring truck. If you view my video "Rebuilding an Inexpensive Tank Car", you'll see how I used Accurail's mechanical brake rod set on that project. Caution: These parts are VERY fragile and the brake rods WILL break until you learn the trick of separating them from their sprue!

[@whiteknightcat]

@@rwissbaum9849 Yes, I commented on the tank car video before. I just checked a couple of old (30 years?) Accurail boxcar kits but apparently the brake rod casting didn't exist back then, only the three typical major system parts are included. I'll have to contact Accurail as both trucks and the brake rigging appear to be unavailable.

[@ocalicreek]

Nicely done! Personally I wouldn't be able to live with the wrong-way hatches, but that's just me. I suppose we all make concessions to what is "good enough". I knew modelers who wouldn't put a car on the tracks without air hoses and coupler lift bars but not having those on my cars doesn't bother me at all. Glad to see another rebuild video, and another car saved from the scrap bin.

[@rwissbaum9849]

When I finally noticed the ice hatches, I had been scraping paint for almost 30 minutes, and this was after soaking the car in IPA for 3 weeks and scrubbing with 00 steel wool for almost an hour! I kept thinking something looked wrong with the roof and it finally dawned on me that the hatches were the wrong way 'round. Frankly, I wanted to get this project finished and off my workbench, so I decided not to futz around with it any longer. As I said in the video, I'm pretty lazy...

[@DMRJ]

You make it look and sound so easy! Thanks for sharing your techniques.

[@rwissbaum9849]

It really is pretty easy - and that's the point of all of my videos: With some pretty basic tools, some easily available and inexpensive materials, and a little practice, any model railroader can achieve stunning results.

[@motortowncuriosites7005]

Well done! You do a great job with the details.

[@richodges]

Great, Always fun to watch your videos. My vote is Grimy black for just the reason the others said- leaking journal boxes .

[@w.rustylane5650]

I finally found the AB brake sets from Accurail and $3.99 ain't bad for 3 sets of brake detail parts. Only stirrups Tichy carries are molded from delrin which I don't particularly care for. I'd much rather use wire stirrups and I've been known to make 'em out of staples from a desktop stapler. I see you also use K4 decals with free shipping. Cheers from eastern TN

[@rwissbaum9849]

If you buy 'em by the 100, they're a buck apiece, *plus* you get two #2-56 screws per brake set! A-Line sells metal stirrups and they're quite nice. Also check out the cast brass stirrups from Owl Mountain Models. They're a little pricey, but they are beautiful. You can see them in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6G4ZIWmac93d7M

[@redbarnz]

Another thought: Central Valley makes freight car underframes... I think they come in a 4 pack. I simply measure carefully then cut the underframe to fit.

[@rwissbaum9849]

Great tip! I have built a CVMW stock car kit and I liked the ease of construction and the appearance. The underframe kit looks great - I'll check it out. Accurail also sells a variety of underframe kits.

[@paullindell]

An amazing project as always. You do a nice job with the presentation. I have a bunch of rolling stock that I most likely will never use. It would be perfect for your era. Some of them I got cheap or free, so I'm not looking for a lot of money, just enough to cover shipping. Let me know if you have any interest in them.

[@rwissbaum9849]

Thanks a lot for the offer. Whenever I visit Denver (which is about every two or three months) I go to the YMR Train Shoppe in Westminster. This is a non-profit train store that takes donated train items, sells them at incredible prices, and uses the proceeds to fund model railroading activities for teenagers. I like supporting their work, and they have bins of HO cars for $1 each. Every project you've seen on my channel has started in those bins. So at the moment I have about 10 or 15 cars just waiting for some TLC.