Bashing a Märklin NYC 19000's series caboose

[Schraddel]

Hello!

This posting is part of an answer to Ray. Here i will describe how to make a better prototipical appereance for this caboose with simple methods.


Left, a caboose just out of the box. Note the freight car trucks
Right, a some years earlier reworked caboose. Fitted with Kadee T-section trucks converted to leaf springs. at this time there were still no caboose trucks by Kadee available.


The same seen from underneath.
Left original. Note short coupling device, for US rolling stock useless as there are no side buffers which could hook up themselves in tight radii.
Right reworked.


Today it es easier. I choose a pair of Kadee HGC Caboose trucks with leaf springs. There may be better cabosse trucks by Tahoe Works, but thes are very hard to get them here overseas.
Also a pair of those Kadee scale head whisker couplers and a pair of the new narrow width coupler boxes.


Note the collector's item differences. They will pay for the differences; i as moder RR will not. These cabooses were purchased at bargain prices.
And it will be equal if you get the Märklin or the Trix variant, they are all the same with exception of wheel sets, couplers and the "collectors's difference" as pictured above.


Remove the short coupling device (KKK). Here i made it quick and dirty by cutting. You also can demount the car completely the remove the KKK.


The narrow Kadee coupler box was simply glued onto the bottom of the car. There are also made provisions to fit a classic Kadee #232 coupler box by screwing.


The bashed car.

Lutz