Hunting for plastic underframes with bolsters

[nkalanaga]

Why not get some Evergreen strips and make your own?  I've been doing that for 40 years, and wood before that.  Not only is it easy, but by stacking strips, you know all of the bolsters are the same height, any height you want, as long as it's in 0.005 inch increments.

[mmagliaro]

Why not get some Evergreen strips and make your own?  I've been doing that for 40 years, and wood before that.  Not only is it easy, but by stacking strips, you know all of the bolsters are the same height, any height you want, as long as it's in 0.005 inch increments.

You know, this is a really good (and shamefully obvious!) idea.  Just a series of stacked strips would make a decent shape for a bolster, and yes it would be much easier to get the height correct.  Heck, in my case I needed 075" thick, so a strip of .080" could probably just be filed a little for the sloped profiles.  It could all be made from one piece.  And the appearance is not even very critical.  95% of the body bolster is hidden by the truck anyway.

[wazzou]

That's the method I have used over the years to lower all of my MT Gons and Flatcars.
I've got an Altoids box half full of Evergreen bolsters.

[jpwisc]

The Gloor Craft bolsters I got come in packs of 4 bolsters per pack. Found them in the used section of the local shop.  The bolsters I have sound like the ones that came in the caboose kits

Hang onto those! I may need them. I am using up a pack of Gloor Craft bolsters on a project as we speak!

[Ike the BN Freak]

Hang onto those! I may need them. I am using up a pack of Gloor Craft bolsters on a project as we speak!

Can do

[nkalanaga]

"Heck, in my case I needed 075" thick, so a strip of .080" could probably just be filed a little for the sloped profiles.  It could all be made from one piece. "

I'd do it a little different.  Make the main part out of two pieces of 0.060 strip, 1/8 inch wide.  Leave a 3/32 gap between them.

Now, drill a 5/64 inch hole in a piece of 0.015x1/8 strip, and cut that strip about 1/4 inch long.  It goes in the center of the two pieces, over the gap, and you can fiddle it around until the hole is exactly where you want it.  The hole fits standard truck pins, and there's no worry about getting the hole drilled exactly centered in the single strip.  No filing needed, and you can adjust the height by changing the thickness of the center piece.

Like Wazzou, I've been lowering MT gons and flats this way for years.  Just cut the end of the underframe off, glue the new bolsters to the underside of the car, and mount the couplers.  If you want to reuse the MT stirrups, cut the connecting bar, to clear the coupler, and hold them in place with some styrene pieces glued to the inside of the ends.

[nscalbitz]

...
Now, drill a 5/64 inch hole in a piece of 0.015x1/8 strip, and cut that strip about 1/4 inch long.  It goes in the center of the two pieces, over the gap, and you can fiddle it around until the hole is exactly where you want it.  The hole fits standard truck pins, and there's no worry about getting the hole drilled exactly centered in the single strip.  No filing needed, and you can adjust the height by changing the thickness of the center piece.

Like Wazzou, I've been lowering MT gons and flats this way for years.  Just cut the end of the underframe off, glue the new bolsters to the underside of the car, and mount the couplers.  If you want to reuse the MT stirrups, cut the connecting bar, to clear the coupler, and hold them in place with some styrene pieces glued to the inside of the ends.

Is this illustrated anywhere? You can say it, but I can't picture it...
_friggin' gons phreaker__

[wazzou]

Is this illustrated anywhere? You can say it, but I can't picture it...
_friggin' gons phreaker__

I can see about taking a couple of pics for you.

[Missaberoad]

Is this illustrated anywhere? You can say it, but I can't picture it...
_friggin' gons phreaker__

@bbussey wrote an article about this and shared it here...

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=18363.msg161551#msg161551

[nkalanaga]

I hadn't seen Bryan's article. it's from before I joined Railwire.  Goes to show how simple the method is, that this many people have thought of it independently!

[nscalbitz]

@bbussey wrote an article about this and shared it here...

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=18363.msg161551#msg161551

Thanks, but its a reference to a long dated magazine article.
A couple pics should do it, tho no rush. I have some other history to work on____ 
cheers

[wazzou]

I took a couple, hopefully I can post them tomorrow.

[nkalanaga]

Wazzou's pictures should answer all of your questions, but, for the "very basic" bolster, a picture is almost overkill.

Turn the car upside down.

Mark where the existing bolster hole is, with a pencil, sharp metal rod, or whatever, just so you know here the center of the hole should be.

Remove the underframe.

Cut a piece of styrene the thickness you want for the first piece, 0.060" for the bolster you wanted earlier.  Make it fit exactly between the side of the car, where you want the bolster.

Glue the shorter second piece in the center of the first piece, to get the thickness you want.

Drill a 5/64" hole exactly in the center of the bolster.

Glue it in place so the hole is centered on your center mark.

Cut the bolsters off the underframe, and enough extra for wheel clearance.  I usually cut back to the first crossbearer, but that may vary, depending on your flanges.

Reinstall the bolster.

Figure out how you're going to attach the stirrups.  I imagine there is more than one way to do it.

I make mine in three pieces, just so I don't have to worry about getting the new hole centered, but that's because I'm lazy.

As long as you don't cut the underframe until you've made, and tested, the new bolsters, you can always restore the car to its original form, if you don't like the new bolsters.

[wazzou]

This image shows the way I have done it.



Granted, this isn't the most elegant method but the bolster is unable to be seen, thus the reason it is unpainted.
I have no issues with rocking or uneven tracking and this method is easier than making a whole bolster.
I remove the metal frame, use sandpaper to rough up the car's bottom approximately where the Styrene bolster will be glued, re-install the underframe and mark the location of the bolster's pin location with pencil.
Remove the underframe once again, use Styrene Cement or MEK to glue your new Styrene bolster so the hole lines up with your pencil mark.
While the bolsters are drying, cut the metal underframe wherever you choose.
As you'll note in the picture, I leave as much of the metal as possible for weight and dish clearance in the metal frame with a Carbide burr in a Dremel.

[nkalanaga]

Wazzou:  Yours is one of the newer underframes, with the plastic center sill and brake detail.  Most of mine were the original, all metal, version, and it was easier to cut the ends off than to grind down the center sills.
.................................
If one wants to body mount 1015s or 1025s, you'll have to cut the center out of the stirrup casting, so that the coupler can sit flat on the underside of the body.
I also don't rough up the car, although removing paint is a good idea, as styrene cement doesn't like most paints.  I the car is unpainted, I'll just glue it.