Equalizer Bars:
Keith Hayes - While the PBL trucks result in a free-rolling passenger car, the C&S truck sideframe has a continuous piece of steel that extends from brake beam to brake beam under the lower equalizer beam. This gives the C&S cars a delicate look that the D&RGW trucks lack. Both railroads used a Master Car Builders (MCB) design, which was widely used under wood passenger cars in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Keith Hayes - While the PBL trucks result in a free-rolling passenger car, the C&S truck sideframe has a continuous piece of steel that extends from brake beam to brake beam under the lower equalizer beam. This gives the C&S cars a delicate look that the D&RGW trucks lack. Both railroads used a Master Car Builders (MCB) design, which was widely used under wood passenger cars in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
So I picked up some 1/64 x 1/16 K&S bar at Caboose (it was the smallest they had--I got lucky as it is just right).
Cut four pieces about 7/8" long, and clean the ends up with a file. Bend one end up a bit to match the equalizer bar. Then place the brass piece on the truck and scribe a line at the opposite end where the equalizer bar turns up.
This is the bend point at the opposite end. Be sure to bend the bar perpendicular to the length. Cut the bar to match the opposite end. File the cut face flat and parallel with the bottom portion to provide a larger gluing surface. Don’t add too much bend, the bar should be just below the lower portion of the sideframe.
Measure three times and do as much test fitting as you can stand. This bar fits between the two inboard bolts holding the journal boxes in place. There is a great image of a truck on Hayes Hendricks' C&S passenger car sit under car 70.
Mix some epoxy and place a small dab inside the cast in bolt. Then place the bar flush with the outside face of the casting and wait to dry.
Don't get too carried away with the bend or you will have a truck that looks more like a pickup for third rail power.
Got a mail car model—you can use the same PBL trucks with some modifications. The PBL trucks model a composite wood and steel MCB truck. In the early 20th century, several companies offered an all-steel version of the truck with the brake shoes suspended inside, rather that at the end beams. You can approximate the steel trucks by removing the brake beams from the PBL truck and shaving off the two pairs of bolts in te top beam of the side frame. Also, remove the hanging links between the coil springs and the spring plank. If you really strive for a closer match, use CA to glue a small piece of styrene along the bottom edge of the lower equalizer to simulate the flange on the cast part.
Thanks to Chris Walker for providing the prototype examples from the DPL Western History Collection.
Keith Hayes
Modeling Leadville in Sn3
Darel, thank you for posting this series the substance of which was collected from posts over at the C&Sn3 Discussion Forum. If you are a recent visitor, please click on the switch stand and search for the original articles to read the lively discourse that followed the original postings.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Keith Hayes
Leadville in Sn3