Reinventing the 40' Gondolaby Jack Hess |
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This project is a simple way to give the 40' gondola a slightly different look without having to do any body modifications or using additional detail parts. Originally, this was two separate projects and I wrote up the chassis modification first. Then, after seeing I had several drawers full of projects, I decided to combine the two. |
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Part 1: Chopping the Athearn Chassis |
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| The Athearn 50' Express Reefer chassis is a scale 49' long. By removing 8 1/4 scale feet, a freight car chassis is created that has an interesting look due to the center bearing, the short wheelbase and the unusual trucks. Conversion time is quick and only a few hand tools and materials are needed. | ||
| MDC/Roundhouse produces a similar car but there are differences in the way each company has integrated aspects of the model. The Athearn car has the roof and body as one casting, with separate floor and underframe. The MDC/Roundhouse model has the floor and body as one piece, with separate roof and underframe. The MDC model is indentifiable by the roofwalks around the hatches, whereas the Athearn model does not have roofwalks at the hatches. | ||
Parts and Tools |
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Athearn 50' Express Reefer Parts 53306--steel weight 53301--floor 53302--underframe 53308--express trucks 90601--couplers (shown but not used) 90602--coupler covers 99010--screws (weights-optional use) 99004--screws (trucks) |
Optional Parts IRC 40052--Intermountain metal wheelsets 148--Kadee whisker couplers 1pr |
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Tools/Materials for Chassis --mitre box --razor saw 54tpi --modeling knife --flat screw driver --Ultra Fine Point Sharpie --Testors Styrene Cement in tube --5-miniute epoxy --ruler --single cut file |
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Procedure |
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| Cut the underframe on the inside of one bearing and on the outside of the other. Cut slow and straight. Clean up the cut with the file if necessary or use the knife blade to scrap away any burrs. |
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The cuts don't have to be perfect, but if they have large gaps, these gaps may show when the car is finished. Work on the bottom of the mitre box. Put tube cement on the piece without the bearing and push the pieces together with the bolsters and the bearing against the mitre box lip. Make sure each arm of the centersill is aligned with its corresponding arm. | |
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| The floor is cut in two places, sectioning it into three pieces. The 1st cut is on the floorboard line that falls at the edge of the notch. This is the end of the floor without the nob for the brake part. The 2nd cut is on the 14th floorboard line from the nob, not counting the line at the nob's edge. | An alternate method is to make the first cut, glue the long floor piece to the underframe and then lay the other floor piece on the bolster and mark the location of the joint. | |
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The first section of floor is glued to the underframe. Note how the joints are offset. | |
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| The completed floor/underframe combination showing the bottom and the top. Turn the chassis upside down onto a flat surface, use light weights to hold it flat if necessary. Make sure the weights don't misalign the pieces. |
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| Cut the steel weight into three pieces with the longest piece (which contains the holes for the brake pieces) at 3 1/4". Cut the short piece to 2." File the edges smooth. | ||
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After the weights are cut, make sure they are still flat so they don't warp the plastic chassis when installed.
Nubs are cast into the floor where the screws hold the weight. But since the weight is cut into two pieces, they tend to rotate on these nubs and cause the hole for the truck screw to be out of alignment with its corresponding hole in the floor. The truck screws can be inserted if needed to keep the weights aligned. The weights can be installed with the screws only or can be glued with epoxy with or without the screws. |
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Install the Kadee Whisker couplers and the Athearn coupler clips, and then add the wheelsets to the trucks and attach the trucks. Coupler height is checked with a kadee coupler height gauge while car is sitting on a section of track. | |
Part 2: Preparing the Gondola Body |
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| I chose four different bodies, but five in all. Right Photo (also top in Left Photo): left is Tyco, then AHM (green body), center is Lifelike, and the last two are an older style Varney or Revell or ???. | ||
Parts and Tools |
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Tools/Materials for Body shown in photo: --paint and decals --various styrene strip --plastic cement and CA --screwdriver --clamps shown in photos below: --93% Isopropanyl Alcohol --plastic sandwich bag --stiff brush --plastic nippers --modeling knife with chisel blade |
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Procedure |
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Put the body in a sandwhich bag and pour in some of the alcohol. Be sure to seal the bag and prop it up so the alcohol won't run out. Let it soak. The amount of time needed to melt the lettering depends on the type of paint used. Test after 15 minutes and see if any lettering scrubs away with the brush. The white paint used for lettering usually does not come off easily. Choose a body with small and/or sparse lettering if possible. Re-soak and re-scrub until lettering and paint is removed. | |
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Three of the 40' gondola bodies after stripping. One car was cast in yellow plastic and only had the red Union Paciific lettering painted on, this came off easily. The other three yellow cars were painted yellow and I stopped stripping once the lettering came off so I could create a texture under the new paint. The green car's paint and lettering didn't melt quickly, so I left it. | |
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Remove the protrusions and smooth the bottom of the body. | |
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Chassis and trucks were painted in my railroad color. All chassis needed their ends trimmed by one of the cast boards. | |
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Tyco body: a strip of .060 x .060 is glued across the bottom of the end. | |
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| AHM: a piece of styrene is used to fill the hole where the chassis tab was. .040 X .040 strips are glued inside the body. | ||
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LifeLike: a strip of .020 x .060 is used to cover the area where I cut out for the chassis coupler. | |
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???: A piece of .060 X .060 was glued across the bottom of the end, shown here before it is trimmed. A piece of .010 X .100 was glued over the notch, and .060 x 080 strips glued on the bottom of the sides. | |
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The chassis and the trucks were spray painted with Rust-O-Leum Satin Redwood and the bodies with silver. Homemade decals were applied and the bodies clear coated with flat clear. Safety appliances were painted gloss orange. | |
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The chassis are glued to the bodies and held in place with clamps at the body bolsters. When clamping over the bolsters, the circular nob for the trucks may slightly distort. | |
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Couplers and trucks added and cars are complete. | |