Upgrading MDC/Roundhouse boxcars

[doctorwayne]

..... My TM cars have dreadnaught ends. Should be easy to convert. I was curious, what styrene thickness do you use for redetailling Z bars?

The bracing on the TM cars is fairly thick: I think that it's supposed to represent Z-bar, but that would have required an undercut mould. I use Evergreen HO scale 1"x4" - also too wide, but it does overhang the edge of the cast-on bracing somewhat and imparts a little more depth to it.
While I enjoy modifying freight cars, very few of them are detail-for-detail representations of specific prototypes. Some of that is due to ignorance of the prototype at the time which I built them, others to a lack of really suitable models (or suitable ones which I couldn't afford) with which to start. That's one reason why I've never faulted manufacturers of cheaper cars (Athearn, TM, MDC, and Walthers) for putting incorrect paint schemes or numbers on their models, although it would have been nice if they had included a note about that possibility. LifeLike Canada did include such a warning on their versions of the Canadian Proto 52' gondolas and flat cars, and also on the Fowler boxcars, stating that the models may not be totally accurate models of the prototype cars. It didn't seem to scare away too many customers.
I think that most who see my cars in photos aren't aware of the discrepancies unless they're pointed out (and I don't mind if others do point them out - that 50' Athearn automobile car which I showed earlier has been modified somewhat and will make another appearance when it's re-finished). If it bothers me enough, I'll redo them, but in many cases, they simply help to fill out a train or a scene. With over 300 freight cars in service, I can usually fake my way past the rivet counters.

Wayne