I Need 15 Intermountain 50' Double Door Box Car Underframes

[Kisatchie]

I just got off the phone with Intermountain, and they're out of 50' DD box car underframes.

By some miracle, does anyone have 15 they could part with? No?

Any suggestions as to how to make appropriate underframes? (I can't cast them - out of the question ) The bolsters seem to me to be the biggest problem.


Hmm... Kiz is the
biggest problem...

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Could you modify one of our 50' underframes to work?

Joe
MTL...just this time 

[Kisatchie]

Could you modify one of our 50' underframes to work?

Thanks for the hint, Joe!

The plastic insert will work fine, but I'll still need to find bolsters. I'm not up to cutting the metal bolsters off the underframe.

I'm going to be ordering a lot of MTL parts in the next week or thereabouts (depends on when I get a check from selling some camera equipment), so I'll tack the underframe inserts onto my order.


Hmm... add some bananas
to that order. I'm famished...

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Ok, so the location of the bolster would be different I guess.  If you need something to test, let me know.

Cheers

Joe

[Kisatchie]

Ok, so the location of the bolster would be different I guess.  If you need something to test, let me know.

I took off the insert from one of my MTL boxcars and it fit the space allowed on the Intermountain cars. Maybe I'll call Intermountain back and see if they have any underframes in stock that I could trim/fit to the IM boxes.

Thanks again, Joe, for your help!


Hmm... but does Kiz
thank me when I criticize
all his work...? Noooo...

[CoalPorter]

doesn't intermountain cast the walls and the floor as one part? they  don't really have
an underframe like micro train or other brands, unless you just mean the brake rod details
which you could live without? 

[Zox]

The plastic insert will work fine, but I'll still need to find bolsters. I'm not up to cutting the metal bolsters off the underframe.

This may be a stupid question, but why do the bolsters have to be metal? It seems that plastic would be easier, and since these are boxcars you can easily add weight inside the car to compensate if that's an issue.

[Kisatchie]

doesn't intermountain cast the walls and the floor as one part? they  don't really have
an underframe like micro train or other brands, unless you just mean the brake rod details
which you could live without? 

Intermountain's 50' dd box car body has the floor, but the bolsters and the rest of the underframe (w/cast-on brake detail) is a separate part. I ordered some 40' box car underframes and if Intermountain has them in stock, I'll cut the bolsters off and glue them to the Intermountain cars (along with the Micro-Trains underframe inserts)

Are you familiar with the Athearn HO blue-box kits. Most of them have an underframe (similar to IM's) that screws onto the car body.


Hmm... I can't count
how many Athearn kits
Kiz screwed up...

[nkalanaga]

A quick, cheap, and easy bolster, which also puts the floor at the right height for a 1025 coupler:

One piece of Evergreen 0.060 x 1/8 styrene strip the width of the floor.
One piece of Evergreen 0.030 x 1/8 strip about 3/16 inch long
(optional) one piece of Evergreen 0.005 sheet cut 1/8 x 1/8 square.

Glue the long pice to the floor, the short piece centered on it, and the optional thin pice centered on that.

Drill a 5/64 inch hole in the center.  I usually drill it 1/16 then use the 5/64 drill to enlarge it.

It fits any "standard" truck, and Intermountain's 100 ton trucks.  Newer "low bolster" trucks may sit too low.

I found years ago that a 3/32 inch bolster was perfect, which is 0.093 inches.  One can't do that with Evergreen, so 0.090 or 0.095 are the easiest to do.  Any combination of strips that add up to that will work.  For instance, if you want the thicker bolster, but don't have 0.005 sheet, you can use 0.020 + 0.015 strip.

[Kiasutha]

I found years ago that a 3/32 inch bolster was perfect, which is 0.093 inches.  One can't do that with Evergreen, so 0.090 or 0.095 are the easiest to do.  Any combination of strips that add up to that will work.  For instance, if you want the thicker bolster, but don't have 0.005 sheet, you can use 0.020 + 0.015 strip.

You might want to take a look at their scale-dimensional strips.
They may have what you need if you look through the charts.
Evergreen gives .093" as 6" in S scale, and .090" as 8" in HO scale.

[nkalanaga]

Yes, 6" in S scale would be exactly what I needed, but the local hobby shop doesn't sell S scale strips, and I don't build enough underframes anymore to make it worth ordering.  When I started, in the 70s, I used basswood, and used 1/16 plus 1/32.  For S scale strips I'd probably use 4 + 2, to get the stepped design.

For N scale, S scale wood and plastic can be very handy.  S is exactly 2.5 times N scale, and one S scale inch is exactly 1/64 inch, so both materials and plans can be readily converted to N scale.  For plans one doesn't even need a scale ruler, as any ruler marked in 64ths will work.