tompm's 2021 Do Something Challenge part 3

[doctorwayne]

...The truck bolster is misshapped and the screw hole appears to be stripped. I cannot tightened the screw....

A quick cure for that is to cut a length of strip styrene (.010"x.020" or somewhere around that size) roughly the same length of the threaded portion of the screw.  Insert it into the screwhole, then add the screw, and screw it into place.  If you later need to remove the screw, remove the now-mangled strip of styrene, and insert a new strip before re-installing the screw.

...The screw just spins and is difficult to remove. I need to evaluate what my options are to repair or replace the truck.

Slip the blade of your X-Acto knife under the screw head, then give it a little twist to help lift the screw as you remove it.  The strip-of-styrene trick may restore that screwhole enough to be useable.

Another option for stripped screw-holes is to use a pin vise to drill-out the hole to a diameter wider than the hole, then take a piece of styrene rod that's about .004" bigger than the drilled-out hole.
Use a suitably-sized brush to apply solvent-type cement into the hole and over the portion of the styrene rod, which will be inserted into the hole.  If the rod won't fit yet into the hole, re-apply more solvent to both hole and rod, to further soften the mating surfaces, then force the rod into place.  Snip or slice-off the portion of the rod that's protruding, then set the assembly aside for at least a couple of hours to allow the bond to fully harden.

You can then drill into the rod with a suitably-sized bit, and either tap the hole or simply insert the screw and let it cut its own thread.

I always keep a good supply of Evergreen rods and tubes on-hand, as they make it easy to do such repairs.  I've used various combinations to create new mounting points for trucks on both freight and passenger cars, too.

Wayne