Walthers/Train Miniature Boxcars without frames

[doctorwayne]

This is an MDC boxcar, which I converted to represent a Southern Su-class boxcar. The prototype had truss rods and a steel underframe:



I usually don't bother with most of the brake piping unless it will be seen in eye-level views, as I seldom have derailments involving roll-overs, where observers might see why the brakes failed. For the brake rods, I use .012" brass wire, but route it so that truck-ends of the wire terminate in or very close to the centre frame member - this keeps them from restricting the swing of the trucks. While it's not prototypical, it appears correct when viewed from trackside (although they're not all that visible here):



These TM underframes show it better, and, as you can see, I carve away only the portion of the former AB brake system which would otherwise be visible beneath the car:



If you get rid of the TM door claws, you may as well redo the door tracks, too: The top one is oversize to accommodate the working door, as is the bottom one, and the latter is also positioned higher than what would be the car's inside floor height.

This door was made by splicing parts from two Athearn doors to get the correct height:



Same with this one, possibly from a Front Range car:



Tichy wood doors, narrowed slightly, work well for most TM wooden cars:



...and you can use Tichy ends for TM cars, too, although they'll need to be modified for most of the lower cars. This one, in the centre, uses a Tichy 5-5-5 Youngstown end re-worked into a 5-5-4:



Here's a link to some re-worked TM cars, which also includes some Athearn stuff

...and some LifeLike (Proto-No-Thousand) cars...

...and some Tyco reefers....

Wayne