Hi, I live in the United kigdom and make most of my own freight cars as it is easier. In making the buioldings for my hamlet/village I use a PVC solid foam board which I think in the USA is called Sintra board. Tjhis time I used the material for making my latest boxcar. Here is the building log - Hi, I was making my freight cars from plywood, covered with pre-scribed styrene card. However the plywood has now run out so I have made the latest boxcar from PCV solid foam board (in the USA called Sintra I believe). This has several thicknesses – I use the 5mm thick version, and over here in the UK there seem to be various degrees of hardness; I used a medium hardness version made better with the fact that I can go round the corner and buy some from a friend when ever I need more! The boxcar is one of the first ones that were built for the Denver & South Park RR by Barney & Smith according to my (superb, I would not be with out it!) book of plans by Rod Rudnick. I scaled his plan up on my computer to full size and joined the sheets together and started cutting the sheet: the floor ends inside the sides and sides are all cut together. The sheets I am using can be easily cut with a heavy knife blade (like a Stanley type knife). Then the long job of scribing the planks was started; I use an Olfa cutter but others are also available. Do not pull the cutter through the material as it will pull chunks out of the surface: instead push it – scoring a groove in the matreial. This was done for the sides and ends and then the body was assembled around the floor, which is inset by 5mm or so. For glue I use an epoxy ‘contact’ cement – in the UK there is a make called Evo-stik – it is very good, and stays slightly flexible, being Latex based. I think that Walthers ‘Goo’is about the same but do not know. The underside of the floor is then fitted with 4 ‘end to end’ stiffeners made from wood that I had in stock: I do not make the underside of the floor to competition standards as it is not very often seen – the only item I fit is a scratch built air brake cylinder, made up from scrap from the ’scrap’ box. With the (open) box now complete the end/side joins are strengthened by adding small right angled triangles in the corners and also some scrap 5mm square strip as well; the latter is also used along the floor join. The truck bolster positions are determined and inside the body I add some scrap lead flashing to weight the vehicle to about 1.5lbs. To keep the sides from bowing I add a couple of stiffeners across the body, (divide the internal measurement into three and add them at the locations from that), about half the depth of the sides and with the same shape as the roof angles – these also provide mountings for five ‘end to end’ stringers (two each side of the centerline and one on the centerline) that both will keep the roof flat, and provide an ample area for glue – these are again from scrap: check that all are level before the glue sets. The roof is from 1.5mm styrene, in two halves, again score out the plank lines, the scoring will cut a sliver of plastic out of the surface – give the roof a quick sanding to remove the swarf – the scoring is OK on the harder plastic of styrene. Then the two pieces can be glued on: I add a ‘filler’ to the gap at the center and when dry file it to shape. The walkway is also 1.5mm styrene card scored for the planks it is made from: add the fixings from scrap. The underframe is completed by adding the bolsters for the trucks – I had sawn off a couple of the last bits of the bolsters from a Bachmann underframe and these were fixed to my (from scrap) bolsters as an experiment – one is swung by 90 degrees and it seems to run better as a result. The needle beams are again from scrap, with the two truss rods being made from bicycle spokes (approx. 1.8mm diameter stainless steel) that is somewhat difficult to paint so I coated them in a thin layer of glue before painting to give a ‘tooth’ to them for the paint to ‘grip’ onto. The ends just outside the bolsters of the tie rods are also made from the bits of bicycle spokes, on plastic packing to get them looking correct. The trucks are from Bachmann, but are heavily modified first – I buy when I can the Bachmann flatcar kits as donors of the trucks, the body will donate its center part fro boardwalks for my buildings so there is very little wasted! Back to the trucks – file off the center, and axlebox details using a sanding drum, and be careful as the waste can get hot when being sanded off. Round off the base of the axleboxes. Mark the centerline of the top bars of the truck and remove the outer half, add 1.5mm thick strips 6mm wide, and also a 6mm square piece at the extreme end to the plan, and then also add the diagonals as well, with the upper end inside the 6mm square pieces on the end. When dry remove the projecting piece on the bottom horizontals. Use plenty of glue. The photos will make all clear; in the center add a central framework from 1mm styrene card, and then the ends of the swing planks from Sintra (PVC solid foam) board scrap. One of the truck sideframes locating spigots can be given some compensation by enlarging the hole in the base and filing the vertical lower sides of the spigot slightly – when assembled it can then pivot slightly. LGB versions of the Bachmann trucks (they are virtually the same) have this done already. I also add the brake shoes – these need a central pair of (scrap) blocks, and a couple of end to end strips that the brake cross beams are fitted to with the brake blocks pre fixed to them, don’t forget to pre paint the blocks themselves as it is easier then! On the front of the axleboxes are fitted some small rounded top pieces to replicate the inspection doors for the axleboxes. Cross members between sideframes are made from scrap are fitted, after re-assembly of the truck(s), file out a small amount of the top of the extreme ends to provide a glue area for them, and fix them in position. The outer (with the coupler) end are two small slightly sloping upwards to avoid the coupling. Re-assemble the trucks, after an initial paint (don’t forget the wheels at the same time) and weather to your choice. Vacuum or air pipes are from bits of spoke and a pipe from the outer flexible tube of our electrical wire, leave a single wire inside to provide some stiffness, and add a small piece of ‘chain’ from twisted fuse wire. Finally paint the body – I used a primer then acrylic paints, the decals are partly my own and partly Hartford ones. Then for the ‘fun part’ – the weathering – first seal the decals with a coat of Johnson’s Klear for varnish then lots of very thin layers of paint + windex, as a wetting agent to keep the paint laying down correctly, in many shades are overlaid to your satisfaction – don’t forget the roof would be darker from the locomotives soot. Don’t use black if you can avoid it: is too powerful and deadens everything too much, shades of gray or brown I find look much better. The thin layers of paint will look darker than when they are dry, practice is the key. In addition I run a pencil down the plank joins to enhance them – this is gray, and as it is done early on in the weathering the shine from the graphite is hidden by layers of thin paint as time goes on. Well, that is somewhat over a thousand words (!!) rather than any more here are some photos of this vehicle, which I hope explain things far better! A top view of the boxcar ready for painting - the doors are from 3mm thick sheet glued in position. Turning it over here is the underside with the amount of detail I add here; this was after an article by Bruce Chandler in the magazine 'Garden Railways' A view of the boxcar with the base coats complete with weathering just started Yours Peter.
Boxcar building - continued Hi, Some photos of the trucks and the modifications to them - A top view of the trucks with the right hand one as deklivered from Bachmann. The left hand one has all the modifications in white styrene. Turn the trucks over for another view - this time of the underside showing the blocks close to the center of the trucks that the' end to end' str5ips that hold the brakeshoes and beam are glued to - to lift the beams a but and for close alignment wit the wheels I insert a tiny piece of 12mm styrene card on the inner edge to tilt the brake beam. The strips are quite flexible to allow for track irregularities. A final photo shoping a truck painted, and the weathering started - don't forget to paint the wheels - they look much better for it. There is still a bit of adjustment needed re aligning the brake blocks but is is getting there. Yours Peter.
Mighty nice work! What kind of glue do you use for assembling the trucks? As I think, trucks are Delrin? And as I recall, nothing sticks to Delrin very well?
re glue Hi Kieth, The same as for the rest of the vehicle - Evo-stik. The joints I have made on earlier versions of the truck modifications have all held well; the modifications are not in the stressed areas as the basic truck is still doing its job. I add to that. I did a much larger modification on the trucks for the first D&RG boxcars which is not quite as sucessful, but it does still work - it needed some more glue to add some extra stiffness to the joins, again I used Evo-stik. Don't forget that I live in the UK - and therefore do not know the full properties of your American glues. Evo-stik is a latex based 'contact' style glue - it is tenacious and flexible when dry; and for this purpose I used it as in the instructions - two layers, let it (almost) dry, and fix together, with full strength when left for 8 hours (so leave overnight) - its is good, and aslo waterproof as well: needless to say I use a lot of it. Yours Peter.
