01-05-2011, 12:52 AM
I may be building a rendering plant, if I ever get around to building the second level of the layout. I remember reading of gondolas loaded with offal, and what a joy they were to switch - bump into them at too high a speed, and the contents would slosh over the ends. 
The little tale of the spoiled fish was inspired by a story I recall reading some years ago. Evidently, a string of MDT wood reefers, perhaps a dozen or twenty cars, was loaded with meat, and somehow ended up sidetracked somewhere out in the sticks in New York Central territory. I don't recall if it was due to bad ordered cars or what, but for some reason they weren't immediately missed. When someone finally realised that they had never shown up at their intended destination, the search was on. By the time they were discovered (someone may have complained about the smell) it was much too late. Because the smell had contaminated the cars, they were no longer suitable for food service (and the overly-narrow doors likely precluded their use as hide cars - probably the only service for which they'd still be useful). They were ordered burned on the spot, and the metal was later salvaged.
The trucks on my two cars are held on by a screw driven from the top of the floor. It passes through the truck's bolster and is threaded into a hex nut which, as the screw is tightened, is drawn into a hex-shaped depression in the bottom of the bolster. I don't recall why that system was offered or why I used it in that manner.
That's a very good price for those CV trucks - is that for one pair or all three? I see them occasionally at the LHS, old stock but still new-in-box, from estates. The prices are usually $12.00-$15.00, but I've seen the six-wheel ones for over $20.00.
EDIT: Well DUH!
I just went to have a look at those cars and it appears that the hex nut was only holding the male component of the "snap" in place - a slight twist and the truck was off! Now, where the heck's my Zippo? 
Wayne
The little tale of the spoiled fish was inspired by a story I recall reading some years ago. Evidently, a string of MDT wood reefers, perhaps a dozen or twenty cars, was loaded with meat, and somehow ended up sidetracked somewhere out in the sticks in New York Central territory. I don't recall if it was due to bad ordered cars or what, but for some reason they weren't immediately missed. When someone finally realised that they had never shown up at their intended destination, the search was on. By the time they were discovered (someone may have complained about the smell) it was much too late. Because the smell had contaminated the cars, they were no longer suitable for food service (and the overly-narrow doors likely precluded their use as hide cars - probably the only service for which they'd still be useful). They were ordered burned on the spot, and the metal was later salvaged.
The trucks on my two cars are held on by a screw driven from the top of the floor. It passes through the truck's bolster and is threaded into a hex nut which, as the screw is tightened, is drawn into a hex-shaped depression in the bottom of the bolster. I don't recall why that system was offered or why I used it in that manner.
That's a very good price for those CV trucks - is that for one pair or all three? I see them occasionally at the LHS, old stock but still new-in-box, from estates. The prices are usually $12.00-$15.00, but I've seen the six-wheel ones for over $20.00.
EDIT: Well DUH!
I just went to have a look at those cars and it appears that the hex nut was only holding the male component of the "snap" in place - a slight twist and the truck was off! Now, where the heck's my Zippo? Wayne