Island Modelworks P54D Ping Pongs done

[up1950s]

Unpowered as they should be , LIRR Ping Pongs . The inside of the truck frames needed to be thinned a bit , and a very small tip of the cone MTL plastic axles needed to be cut off , as well as a few twists of a drill in the sideframe axle holes , finally the slightest bending out of one side of the sideframes allowed the wheels , with light to moderate pressure to fall in place . Then the bending back of the sideframes finishes the wheel process . The bolsters are drilled and tapped with 2x56 flat head screws holding the trucks in place . That aligns the coupler pad height correctly . The bottom edge of the floor needed to be flush with the lower edge of the car body on this car for overall car roof height . I extended the underfloor big equipment box .060 , as it looked way to shallow . The inside body pilasters were reduced as I have done in other cars as a floor stop , and the floor is held in place by 4 00x90 screws into them . Next up is 2 MP54 clerestory roof trailers ( Looks like a MP54 but the end windows are blanked out like this one , and because of that not having cab control there is no orange ends )

[3rdrail]

Nice work, Richie.    I may have to get me a couple. But, those truck sideframes need work. After looking at the photos for a while, I see what the problem is. The sideframes are too deep, and as a result, the bar across the bottom between journal boxes is far too thick. IIRC that bar was little more than a steel strap on the prototype. Can the bottom be filed thinner without compromising the stability of the truck??

[up1950s]

Nice work, Richie.    I may have to get me a couple. But, those truck sideframes need work. After looking at the photos for a while, I see what the problem is. The sideframes are too deep, and as a result, the bar across the bottom between journal boxes is far too thick. IIRC that bar was little more than a steel strap on the prototype. Can the bottom be filed thinner without compromising the stability of the truck??

Thanks .

If you're careful not to open up the bottom of the axle hole too much I think it's doable , And if you screwed up , a thin shim of brass could put the fix to it . As long as the inside face to the sideframe remains , the whole hole would remain to retain the axle point . I say give it a try .