I bought a pair of beer reefers at the Springfield show this past weekend. They are Athearn kits which were painted in distinctive brewery schemes. In putting them together, I find the hatches and latches on the top are loose. The hatches are fine, they open and close easily, but the latches flop around and can fall off, or into the body of the car.
What do other people do with these little things? Do you let them hang loose, or do you choose a position for them and glue them in place?
Shame on you MisterBeasley! That title is just wrong! Naughty, naughty! [8D]
Classic movie. Thanks for the memories.
Those hatches drive me crazy. I have finally given up and glue them into position. I found no way to keep them open without glue.
Who can pass up a topic with such a title?[:D]
I really like reefer cars too. You just can’t have an old steam era freight train without a couple of reefers in the mix…
As for the hatches, I glue them shut so they don’t get broken off and lost.
Tracklayer
MisterB, what you describe has been a problem with those Athearn kits since the day they were released – which is something like 50 years ago! To make the hatches “work” obviously the parts are oversize and some people replace them with scale sized, non operating parts. But if you want the option of having the hatches open, such as when the reefer is at the ice house, and closed when the car runs, then what you need is something that adds stickiness to where the latch meets the car but does not actually glue tight or dry. The kind of tacky stuff on a glue stick might work. Or the “pro grip” stuff that bowlers and golfers use. You’d be applying a very small amount, perhaps using a tooth pick.
When you get “sample” credit cards in the mail they are held to the paper with a sort of gooey clear stuff. (A commercially available version of this stuff has the lovely name of “Gorilla Snot” – no joking!)
A small small amount of, um, Gorilla Snot, applied to the Athearn latch parts that meet the little holes in the car, might stop the flopping and not look too awful.
Dave Nelson
The one Athearn iced reefer that I own I glued the hatches closed. I also haven’t and probably won’t buy another.
HD
Sorta on topic:
Reefers did run with the hatches open in some instances. A prime example is with the Santa Fe opening the hatches 1/3 - 1/2 on the reefers carrying onions. Of course this practice was only implemented when it was above freezing out. Talk about a smelly train!!