Let me start off by asking you to please forgive my ignorance and lack of terminology. I’m very new to this hobby and don’t really know what I’m doing, though I’m eager to learn.
My son and I are building a layout somewhat based on our town, featuring elements of the current day as well as the way I remember it growing up in the 1970s. Accuracy is questionably, but that’s ok.
I purchased a couple of boxcars off ebay that reminded me of my childhood. One was a Conrail car (it was a conrail line that ran through town, on the way to Boston) and the other a Polaroid car. My dad worked for Polaroid at the time and he brought home the exact same car for my brother 40 years ago. So I found one on eBay.
Both cars have the old “toy” style couplers. I bought some Kadee coupler kits that I think will fit with a bit of modification on the cars. This I can handle.
While tinkering with the cars I noticed the wheels and trucks are in bad shape. When I roll them on the track it feels much rougher than some newer cars I purchased.
I’d like to replace the trucks on these cars. Even though I only paid a couple of dollars for the cars themselves, I would like to run them on my train. I would also like to use this opportunity to learn more about boxcars and maintaining them.
Trouble is, I am overwhelmed by all the choices out there and I am ignorant of the make/model, type of boxcar, etc.
The listing for the Polaroid car read “AHM Roco HO Scale Polaroid Land Film Box Car 5274”. The brand on the bottom reads “Roco / Austria”. The couplers are on the truck.
The Conrail car has no make/model markings of any kind. The listing simply said “Circa 1979.” The coupler is mounted on the body of the car.
Is there a generic truck out there that might work? Is there one that would be “close enough”? I don’t need them to be perfectly accurate, I just need them to work. I love the feel of the new,
I only use Kadee trucks on my stuff, so that is what I recommend. They come in many different styles and all with metal wheelsets. For your cars, I would use the #500…http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page500-550.htm
Since you have no problem with gluing, screwing, etc., the Polaroid car may need a little work done on the bolster by filling in what is probably a large hole. Then you can drill a new hole and screw the Kadee truck in place.
Sometimes all these old cars need to perform well are better wheels. The original trucks may be fine, but the stock plastic wheelsets and/or axles could be either in bad shape, or just poor quality from the start.
The Burlington boxcar at the left of this photo is an old Cox train set car from the 1970s that I’ve had since I was a kid. While I’ve weathered it and added some decals for a few things, you can still see the cast-on running board. It retains the original trucks, but I removed the truck-mounted couplers in favor of body-mounted Kadees in Kadee draft gear boxes. I replaced the wheelsets with Kadee metal wheels as well, as those are what I had on hand at the time.
There are multiple axle lengths and contours. Kadee axles fit this car perfectly, but others may do better with a different brand like ExactRail or Intermountain. Reboxx sells varying axle lengths.
It may be a plan to experiment with new wheelsets before going to the effort of swapping trucks.
I second teh Kadee web site. Their couplers set the std for a long time. There are a few that are making some more proto typical in scale now.
One thing I like about Kadee is, if you go to their site and you know the manufacture of the set they spec the correct Kaddee coupler. They also sell wheel sets. I am not that familiar with that portion of the site.
Sorry I can’t advise on what truck is a good physical and prototoype fit on these cars. I don’t have the extensive experience that some in the forum do, but in the 3 years I’ve got back to the hobby I’ve re-discovered my enjoyment of building freight car kits. Thus, I’ve built a number of new models (e.g., Accurail, Bowser) as well as older ones (e.g., Athearn blue box, MDC Roundhouse). I’ve seen lots of advice here on the forum and sorted through that to my general approach.
Many will recommend first that you acquire a “truck tuner” (e.g., from MicroMart) that is used to ream clean the axle resting place for pointed axles. Often this works wonders. It can be needed as much on a new car as an old one.
I was curious what trucks versus wheelsets (wheels on an axle) cost. In the Kadee example, I see they run about $7-8 for trucks, I assume this example is for a pair, one car). Wheelsets are $8 for 12, or about $3/car.
In my case, I purchased 33" Proto2000 and Intermountain metal wheelsets. I bought the Intermountain by the hundred, so it costs me $2.40 per car in that case. There are different opinions on metal vs plastic wheels (even different kinds…turned versus cast) and there are threads here on those finer points if interested.
Besides the truck tuner, I also bought a MicroMart digital caliper (about $24) as I wanted to compare existing axle length with replacements.
Any new pair of trucks from Athearn, Roundhouse, Kadee, or any other model railroad company will work just fine. “Bettendorf” syle trucks, the kind with journal boxes and a slightly curved top of side frame would be prototypical. “Archbar” or “Andrews” or roller bearing trucks with rotating axle caps are either too early or too late for the style of box car I think you have.
It may be that merely cleaning the existing wheels will make them run right. Or, just replacing the four wheel sets with new metal wheel sets will do the trick.
Coupler replacement. Body mounted couplers look better and work better than truck mount couplers. If the cars currently have truck mount (talgo) couplers, you can convert to body mount without much trouble. Buy Kadee #5 couplers with draft gear. Secure the Kadee coupler boxes to the end sills of the car with a 2-56 screw. Fit the coupler box by hand, mark the screw location with an awl, drill a hole. Use a #50 drill. If the couplers come out low, not unusual, put a #6 flat washer under each truck to boost the car up a bit.
While you have the trucks off, they will look better if you paint them rust color. The shiny black plastic isn’t very realistic.
Nice website by the way. Good pix of the old Carling brewery. I grew up on Lake Cochichuate and used to take the family rowboat down to the brewery. Fishing was good by the water outlet.
Don’t think it’s been mentioned yet…you will need.to add weight to those cars.to get them to NMRA weight…without the weight, it won’t much matter what you do to the trucks… David B
The couplers you are referring to are known as Hook & Horn. They work well for keeping the cars together but are a pain when it comes to uncoupling. Knuckle couplers have become the standard. There are a number of different knuckle coupler manufacturers- -from OEM to aftermarket brands.
I use Kadee couplers exclusively. After only a few months back in this hobby; after a 40-year hiatus, I’ve had bad luck with other knuckle couplers in that short span of time.
Check out the Kadee website. It’s pretty extensive and offers data sheets to convert almost any situation to a Kadee. Also, Sam at Kadee is always willing to give personalized advice.
New trucks will definitely breather new life into your old rolling sock.
One thing I’ve learned about R&R trucks is definitely go with body mounted couplers as opposed to the truck mounted couplers. “Don’t ask me how I know, I just know.” Taking the time to mount the couplers separately make things roll smoother both forwards and backwards. Especially important if you do a lot of coupling and uncoupling.
Thanks, everybody. I think I have enough information to find the right trucks and replace them. I’ve also ordered some Evergreen tubes because I know I’ll probably have to drill and tap a hole or two. I’m actually looking forward to doing these modifications!
Thanks also for the kind comments about my website. I thought documenting it would be a good idea, both for us and for anyone else just getting started. I’ll be sure to document my truck and coupler replacements.
