Two loading projects

[modelsof1900]

The second loading project based on this picture that I found also on the website of NYC harbour railroads.
http://members.trainweb.com/bedt/bedt/bn...ze1942.jpg – I think that this ship propeller will be a very seldom modeled load.
Searching for a car I found only more modern welded well cars. However I need a riveted car for my modeling time and there I have got a very nice model …



… a PRR F-29/2 depressed center flat car which fits my 1930 era perfectly. Do you think now that I could use this model without modifications? I think you should know me enough now – there was two or three things also those I must change before I can use the model.
First I did replace the very soft brake wheels and shafts by new parts one.



The most annoying things were these cutouts at trucks where in original the brake beams are inserted. The brake shoes are positioned exactly to the wheel rimes and than such cutouts! This must be changed! However before I could modify this I have had the same problem like with the flat car written in first post; the model did run very bad. The problem was as so often – the truck side frames have got ordinary drilled holes and this is not the correct bearing for needle pointed wheelsets. The axles do rub at walls of holes and they do not run on tips of axles. In case of the flatcar the holes have had same diameter as axles and so there was not a bit clearance for a free movability.



I solved this problem by inserting of new nylon bearings to the holes by replacement parts of Tichy Train Group seeing right in picture yet fixed at injection-molded piece. The difficulty is drilling and widening the old holes because the axle boxes are only a small bit larger than the new bearings and I must drill wider holes until near to end of material short before I would drill through the axle boxes. Also with this I must shorten the new nylon bearings in order to give the axles a small bit of movability in axial direction when wheelset and trucks are mounted.
You see in picture that I drilled wider holes at ends of truck side frame only and if you will spend a second view you will see also the already inserted new nylon bearings. Sorry, the contrast is not very high because the bearings are made from clear molded nylon. The center hole is widened a bit only so that the center wheel can turn free with the frame. But now I have got really good running models, many times better than before.







And this are pictures after adding a few of the visible brake parts – new brake beams were added to the brake shoes and I added a few parts of the brake gear there where critical modelers would missing a few parts. I must say that I needed many more time for realizing the brake gear as I thought before. Most of small levers I built a second time and also fixing to brake beams was done after second or third attempt. The brake beams are soldered at one side to brake shoes only and the short gear rods are all solvable from the truck bolster. So I can add or replace the wheelsets without difficulties to truck. However all the connections between brake levers and rods including to beams must be movable for inserting the wheelsets – without this it would not be work. So I riveted all these connections and this give more strong connections than soldering the parts together. And this was one of my problems - rivets are in most cases made from 0.3 millimeter wire (around 0.012") and they are not longer than 0.04" - 1 millimeter. However I did not lost one of these small parts because I work with a longer wire and cut off the wire after it was inserted into the holes. However while riveting many of the small levers and fine rod ends were cracked because the material around the holes must be very, very thin.



However all is done and this is the result – painting and lettering will follow (in five or six weeks, when I can give the model to my model painter). In background you see on car already the first attempt for fixing the load. I think that it will work however a few new fixing rods must be added yet. And I think also that a few turnbuckles will be needed for a well working fixing, or? (I think also that I'm cracy.)