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Clinic
- Kitbashing a Narrow Gauge Tank Car |
Before
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After
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Tools Needed
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| Small Screwdriver |
| Pin Vise and a small bit |
| Razor Saw |
| Exacto Knife |
| Sand Paper |
| Power Sander (If possible) |
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Supplies Needed
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| IHC 29 Foot Tank Car |
| Rail Line Idler Flat |
| HOn3 Trucks |
| Couplers |
| Paint & Decals of your Choice |
| Hand Rail Stanchions
- Precision Scale #373 |
| Ladders - SS Ltd #4140 Roof Top Ladders |
| Small Solid Wire - .011 to .016 depending on the manufacturer of
the stanchions |
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We will begin with IHC's 29 foot tank car. This
car is part of IHC's Old Time Car Series. The car sells for $7.98
but has been on sale on IHC's web page for $2.98 for over a year.
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As a standard gauge car it is quite small which makes
it an ideal candidate for narrow gauge operations.
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| As the car appears straight out of the box it leaves
much to be desired. We will use only the tank portion of this car to
make a narrow gauge car that will be perfect for a freelance railroad. |
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The other piece of the construction will center around
the D&RGW Flat Car that is produced by Rail Line. This can be
scratch built if you wish.
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Assemble the flat car per the instructions. Add or
leave off whatever detail you feel is necessary. Paint and letter the
car with whatever colors you have picked for you pike. I do some
weathering at this point�just the deck portion of the car.
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| Once this has been completed we begin on to modify the
tank car. |
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First, remove the hand rails. These are easily removed
since they just snap into the holes on the walks. Remove the stock
trucks, couplers, and truss rods. The tank is made of two pieces. The
top part of the tank is the biggest of the two pieces and includes the
entire ends of the tank.
Click on the image for a larger picture |
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Using a razor saw, remove the walks from all four sides
of the car. Remove the ends first by placing the saw blade against the
bottom piece of the tank. The side of the tank has 8 supports. Use them
as a guide for the saw blade and remove the side walks.
Click on the image for a larger picture |
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After removing the walks you will be left with the back
section of the coupler pocket and the posts that the trucks mounted to.
Remove the posts and the remaining pocket with the razor saw. Try to cut
the them off as flush as possible.
Click on the image for a larger picture |
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After the walks have been removed we are ready to begin
sanding on the bottom of the tank. I used a bench mounted belt sander.
Any sander will work�just be careful and follow the standard safety
procedures. Sand the bottom of the car until flat and you reach the
actual bottom of the tank.
Click on the image for a larger picture |
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| I cut 6 pieces of scale 2x6�s to build
the platform. The length of the pieces should be equal to the distance
between the first band on either side of the dome. Glue 3 of the pieces
together to form an 18 inch wide deck. I added a small piece of strip
wood on either side of the bottom for support. Next, I cut a small piece
of styrene at a 45 degree angle on each end to act as a brace. Glue the
deck even with the top of the tank. |
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Bottom Image of the deck |
Brace Shape |
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We then drill four holes into the side of the tank (2
on each side of the ladder) for the hand rail stanchions. You want one
near the ladder and one out near the end of the tank. Make sure that the
holes are level.
I use an old guitar string for the handrail. The G or B strings (011 or
016 gauge wire) work well depending on the supplier of the the
stanchions. Next I mounted the ladders on each side. I cut a few steps
out of one end but left the sides of the ladder. This gave me room to
curl over the top of the ladder for hand rails. |
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Paint and letter the tank for your pike or favorite oil
supplier.
Mount the tank car to the flat car. Be sure to center the tank front to
back and side to side.
Mount the trucks and couplers of choice. Weather the car to suit your
taste and you are ready for operation.
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| I do not have a finished car completed at this time.
This car was hurried through the last few steps in preparation for a clinic that
I gave at the 2002 Lone Star Region NMRA Convention. Once this car has
been touched up and completed I will post some pictures. |
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