An N-Possible journal

[GaryHinshaw]

The long and short of it or the black and white of it    ok, enough with the puns (l-r): Scale Trains Trinity reefer, Fox Valley Trinity 3000 cf 2-bay hopper, Scale Trains carbon black hopper:



All three of these were fairly easy URS conversions.  For the reefer, you'll have to pop the airhose part off to reach the lid screw:



It's a bit of a pain to re-attach the hose part, so I've left it off for now.  I'll fix that one day...  From there it's a straightforward URS conversion with a medium shank coupler.  I had to add a washer to the trucks to get a decent coupler height: I ended up using a 0.35 mm printed washer as a compromise between coupler height and ride height.  The result is a coupler that's still a smidge low, but perfectly functional, while the ride height is a bit high, but not in-your-face obnoxious.

The FVM hopper is a reboot of the old Precision Masters/Red Caboose car, updated with an etched roof walk and body mount coupler inserts.  These cars are pretty common on Tehachapi, so good to have, but the tooling is still showing its age.  (Alas these cars should have Morton style running boards rather than Ajax, but still an improvement.)   Given the caveats, I didn't want to invest too much time on them, so I went with a simple URS/short shank conversion:



The box is a bit narrower than I'd like, but I think the small-ish coupler swing will be fine for such a short car.  The height is just right:



The overall result is perfectly respectable and adds a nice variety to the 2-bay fleet:



[BTW, the roof of these new cars has a tendency to warp.  I cemented a 1/8 x 1/4" styrene beam to the inside of the roof, visible in the first shot above.]

By way of contrast, the Scale Trains carbon black hopper is a highly detailed model, but I've never seen one on Tehachapi, so I only have two of these.  (I only bought them to support ST's early N scale efforts.  I still don't know what they were thinking when they chose this prototype...)   The conversion is a simple URS short shank swap and the results vastly improve the look of these cars compared to ST's first generation coupler:





No shimming or ride height adjustment was needed.

[C855B]

...the Scale Trains carbon black hopper is a highly detailed model, but I've never seen one on Tehachapi, ...

Just not in your era, Gary. Up until the 1980s there were two carbon black plants on the SP, Columbia Carbon at Fleta (south of Mojave), and Great Lakes Carbon at Oban (north of Lancaster). IIRC, both were switched by the Blitz.

I had a childhood friend two doors down from us whose father was the plant manager for Great Lakes. The friend modeled in TT, having brought his collection into the States from their previous assignment in the UK. Also, I was interviewed for a summer intern job at Columbia, but they were looking for a chemical engineering major; I was studying civil.

[Sokramiketes]

I've got to go back into my Scale Trains Trinity Reefers and remove the limiting nub.  It limited movement one direction too much, and given the long car, was pulling off nearby cars on the test loop. 

[GaryHinshaw]

^ Interesting points gents.  There was also a sizeable Phillips 66 carbon plant on the Santa Fe line into Richmond CA just west of Franklin Canyon that would have likely used these cars, some of which must have been routed over Tehachapi.  No matter, two of these will see service over my Pass. 

I'll have to check the swing on my reefers.  I haven't noticed that problem yet, but on my layout they are likely to string-line unless I have dpu's because they're so long and light... I need to add weight to the non-sound ones (the only kind I have).

[Philip H]

Minor thread drift - I see the carbon black hoppers on the daily, and there’s a carbon black plant slated for a future section of my layout. They run in odd number groupings - never more then 5 together.

[basementcalling]

Why hasn't this thread been marked with a best of tag yet?

[Jimbo]

MRC (former Model Power) 4-4-0 American.  (Last version, with sound & DCC.  I can't confirm that this conversion will work for all versions of this model.)

The model came equipped with some sort of EZ Mate or McHenry boxing glove on pilot and tender.  Conversion of the tender was fairly straightforward, although a bit different than other conversions.

Since there is no coupler box (the bottom serves as the box) and isn't well-suited for a universal conversion, I used a Scalebox without the hat or lid.  (Bottom only.)  This is necessary to get the correct height.  (The screw hole was present in the model's tender floor; I tapped and used an M1.2x4 screw to install.)  I used a short shank coupler.



Height is spot-on.




Pilot was a bit more challenging, but manageable.  Use a short-shank universal coupler for this application.  I re-used the screw that was used for the original coupler.

I removed the old coupler by removing the screw holding the original coupler and the boss that served as a post.  The old coupler then slid forward out through the rectangular hole in the pilot.

After removing the coupler, I filed down the area where the coupler rested to clean up some flash.  I inserted a flat file into the hole in the pilot and cleaned it up to prepare for the installation of the spring splitter.

I then used small tweezers to hold the splitter by the vertical piece and slid this in through the front, after applying a THIN film of glue.  Using a toothpick, I made sure that the spring splitter was not covering the hole for the screw and I centered it as best as I could.

Next, I inserted a short shank universal coupler in through the front and did my best to properly position it relative to the spring splitter.  Again, the toothpick was helpful to keep it properly centered.  From there, it was a (not) simple matter of aligning the boss, the screw, and the coupler and screwing in the boss MOST of the way.  (The thickness of the boss is such that if tightened down, it prevents the coupler from moving at all.)




Height is a hair low; it might have been spot-on had I done a more thorough job of filing off the flash.  Not sure?



Below is a photo of an un-converted MRC 2-6-0 (basically the same model, except with a different wheel arrangement) displaying the massive boxing-glove coupler that it arrived with from the factory next to my newly converted MRC 4-4-0:



To me, the difference is stark!  And I don't have to give up the operational flexibility that a working pilot coupler offers to me.

-Jim

[thumpernickle]

I started converting my small 1948-1952 fleet this last week. I started with KATO ACF 70 hoppers. A simple conversion with a short shank scale box without the hat.  KATO had dimples to drill out for the screw location.



My first two conversions coupled together.

[turbowhiz]

Anyone done a Bowser N5 variant or a Bachmann NE caboose yet?

Cabooses with offset shank couplers (MTL, Bowser.. ? More?)

Offset shanks are dealt with by omitting box tops. Development has wrapped up for an official topless box, to be officially announced very soon. But you can also use a SBX box bottom, gently file down the top of the post, and get the same results today, albeit without any box sides and a bit of fuss.

I'm using the topless boxes for these.

Bowser N5

From this:



To this:






As an aside, my SPF side is still not happy with the Bowser N5 ride height and coupler position. The coupler needs to be milled into the end platform to properly sort this, so the coupler is placed just like the prototype. Its on my milling machine project list.


MTL Wood Caboose:

(these have a surround on the box, so you need to mill down the back side for spring clearance)

[Jimbo]

MTL Wood Caboose:

(these have a surround on the box, so you need to mill down the back side for spring clearance)

Ugh… I must have an earlier design wood caboose.  I tried installing a topless scalebox and the coupler was still WAY too low.  Not sure why?  FWIW, there isn’t any part of the box molded (cast?) into the underframe, only a complete offset-head coupler.  I still have no idea how I’m going to tackle this.  (Fortunately I only have two cabeese that are like this; the balance of my fleet are steel cabeese.)

Jim

(PS:  I am thrilled to hear about a stand-alone option for lidless scalebox!)

[Sokramiketes]

Checked a couple and I'm seeing at least three generations of MTL wood caboose underframes.  The diagonal floor boards are the earlier cast metal (Nelson Gray era tooling?) with an integrated T-shank box and a mid-era 1049 underslung coupler version.  Then a new horizontal board underframe. 

The deck height compared to the steps hasn't changed, so I think you'd need to make it up in the bolster height which is the only other thing that might be different on your specific example?

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[Jimbo]

Checked a couple and I'm seeing at least three generations of MTL wood caboose underframes.  The diagonal floor boards are the earlier cast metal (Nelson Gray era tooling?) with an integrated T-shank box and a mid-era 1049 underslung coupler version.  Then a new horizontal board underframe. 

The deck height compared to the steps hasn't changed, so I think you'd need to make it up in the bolster height which is the only other thing that might be different on your specific example?

Thank you, sir!  The one I have has the cast metal underframe (the one in the middle of your photo); however, it doesn’t have the nubs on either side of the coupler.  Not sure that this would change anything, though.

I think I’ll hold off on these two until an “official” lidless conversion option is available.  I’ve recently performed a lidless conversion during a recent battle with a Bachmann 2-6-0.  (It was a tough battle, and I entered the field insufficiently prepared.  However, in the end, the good guys won and now I have another steam locomotives pilot conversion to post about shortly.)

I sincerely appreciate the knowledge that you and others have posted here; I owe any success I have with these conversions to the many folks who have shared these experiences.

Most sincerely,

Jim

[Sokramiketes]

No problem.  And interesting note on the no-nubs version in the middle. Probably had to add the nubs to keep couplers from spinning, especially with them using those cast metal 00-90 soft screws!

[turbowhiz]

Checked a couple and I'm seeing at least three generations of MTL wood caboose underframes.  The diagonal floor boards are the earlier cast metal (Nelson Gray era tooling?) with an integrated T-shank box and a mid-era 1049 underslung coupler version.  Then a new horizontal board underframe. 

The deck height compared to the steps hasn't changed, so I think you'd need to make it up in the bolster height which is the only other thing that might be different on your specific example?

(Attachment Link)

There are at least 4, since the example I have is yet again different then yours, with the box surround. Mine is definitely recent production. The boxes are installed with plastic pins, presumably needing the box surround to stop any rotational action.

[jpwisc]

Walthers Ballast Hoppers, drilled, tapped, and installed the SBX-101, no top hat. Pay no attention to the fact I shortened the car by chopping 10’ out of the middle.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]