Building an EBT Boxcar in 1:20
The East Broad Top has a unique boxcar, that is made out of mostly off-the-shelf parts: Zee, angle, sheet. The cars were built in batches, starting in 1913. The cars were rated at 30 or 35 tons. Some of the cars were also used in carrying water, or clay. They wern’t all the same size, but were close. They were about 34 feet long, give or take.
The model we’re building is a representation of these cars, but not following any one particular prototype car. In addition to the many photographs on the web, an indespensible resource is Tim Mulina’s Quick Pic book. Also, Gary Buchnan was helpful in providing drawings of the cars. Bruce Chandler was very helpful with sizing out the parts, encouragement, and general ear-bending.
Our model will be made of acrylic and styrene, with various bits and bobs of wood (balsa or basswood), white metal and/or brass.
Parts List
In addition to the basic box kit, you will need the following:
Plastruct 90520 1/2" I Beam - (4@15") - 4 strips per car
Plastruct 90515 3/16" I Beam (5@24") - about half a strip per car
Plastruct 90537 5/16" channel - (4@24") - 2 strips per car
Plastruct 90594 3/16" zee (5@15") - 8 strips per car
Midwest 516-56 .156" angle (3@13") - 1 1/3 strip per car
Plastruct 90770 .100" square rod (10@10"). You can get two cars out of one pack.
Plastruct 90780 .125" square rod (10@10") - 2 strips per car
Plastruct 90798 5/32"x3/16" (5@10") 2 strips per car
Plastruct 90800 .187 (3/16") square rod (5@10") - 3 strips per car
3/16" x 1/2" basswood or balsa wood. About 10".
You’ll need some assorted styrene sheet, for the roof walk, brake platform, and the fascia board on the sides of the cars. Also some thicker styrene (I used .060) for the door hardware and the end beams.
Lately, I’ve been buying all my styrene from Hobbylinc . They seem to have a great selection, and mostly are always in stock.
Ozark Miniatures has a D&RGW brake wheel w/ pawl sold in packs of 2.
Brass wire (.040) for the grab irons, and some brass strip for the stirrup steps. Or, you can use commercially available grab irons, but they won’t have the distinctive EBT look. Phil’s Narrow Gauge (an advertiser, caveat) has some great grab irons in brass, that I’ve used on other projects.
Tools List
X-Acto knife, razor saw, acrylic adhesive (I got mine from TAP Plastics) and applicators. I’m using both their free-flowing, thin cement, and IPS’s Weld-on #16, which is thicker, and better for some jobs. Also dig out your styrene cement. A thin-point Sharpie to write on the parts.
Machinist squares to line things up. A good assortment of clamps, or clothespins. Rubber bands. Weights.
Large, flat surface to work on.
A way to measure in 1:20 accurate to within a scale inch. I have a scale ruler.
Table of Contents
Building the basic boxFrame and Crossmembers Car Ends - End Beams Car Ends - Zee, Angle, and some woodCar Sides RoofSide DoorDoor DetailsFascia BoardsCar EndsCar SidesBrake PlatformBrake HardwareTrucksCouplers
End Beam Details
Building the basic box
The basic acrylic components consist of the following:
One floor, 1/8 thickTwo ends, 1/8 thickTwo end peaks, 1/8 thickTwo sides, 1/16 thickTwo roof sections, 1/16 thick
You should first remove the blue plastic from all the acrylic parts. This is just a protective sheet, and is not part of the final model.
A note about the acrylic cement. Its setting time is about 10 seconds, and it is incredibly strong. It is very thin, and has an incredible capillary action. It will flow EVERYWHERE. Use the applicator bottle, but be quick with the tip, as a lot can run out in a short while. You may want to get some scrap acrylic and practice on it first. Squeezing the bottle before you tip it helps, you just let it go a bit to make the cement flow out. Also, make sure your parts are aligned as close as you can before applying it, as you have limited time to adjust. Full bonding takes place in about 60 seconds.
Despite appearances, the ends are NOT exactly square, though they are within about .010 or so. Enough to make the sides not quite line up. The easiest way to determine the correct size is to take the floor, put it on your workbench, then take the ends, and line them up on the outside the end, as in this photo. They do not go on top of the floor!
When you determine which is up and down, take a sharpie and mark the top of each end.
Take the two ends, and lay them down on your work surface. Take the two peak pieces, and, one end at a time, align them at the top of the end. The peaks are wider than the end by about 1/16 on each side. Center it, and glue using the acrylic cement.
Once these are dry, move on to attaching the ends to the floor. Lay the floor piece down on your work surface. Take one end, a pair of machinist squares, and some weights. Align the end with the floor as in this photo:
and glue with the acrylic adhesive. When dry, repeat for the other end. When this is done, you should have something that looks like this:
Building the basic box (continued)
Once the ends are attached, we can attach the sides. Lay the floor/end assembly down on one side on your workbench. Take a car side, and line it up end to end. The bit of overlap of the peak of the end will keep you from mis-aligning the car up and down.
Once you’re satisfied with the layout of the side, take the adhesive and run a bead down one car end. Place the car side over the end/floor, and allow the adhesive to dry.
Now, by lifting up the other end of the car side, run a bead of adhesive down the other end, and attach the side to it. Make sure the side and end are vertical. There may be some overlap of the side. Thats OK, we’ll remove that in the future. When both ends are dry, you can place the car on its top, and run a bead of adhesive down the length of the floor where it meets the side. Make sure the floor is level in relation to the bottom of the side. The side will overhang the floor by about 5/16". Thats OK. If you need to, use a straight edge to keep the floor flat when gluing the side to the floor.
Repeat this procedure for the other side, and you’ve completed the basic box!
Frame and Crossmembers
Now we move on to the underframe. Turn the car over on its top. Find the centerline of the floor and mark it. Now measure 6" (scale) to either side of this line, and mark there, too. Repeat on the other end. Now, using a straight edge, mark these lines down the floor every 4 or so inches. Note: The spacing between the frame members is wider than the prototype. I widened it about 3 scale inches to allow for a Kadee or Accucraft coupler box to fit in between the rails.
Now take some 1/2 I beam. Mark one 3/8" (actual) from one end. Using a straight edge, glue the beam to the floor, on the OUTSIDE of the lines you drew on the floor, with 3/8" overhang off the end of the car, marked by the measurement you just did. Using another I beam as a temporary support, put some weights on it to hold the glue steady.
Starting from the other end of the car that you just did in the above step, repeat with another I beam on the other set of marks.
Measure the distance between the end beam, and the end of the car (Should be a tad less than 4 3/4" actual). Add 3/8" to this, and cut 2 pieces of I beam to this length. Again, using your straight edge and weights, glue this to the floor, AND to the other I beam. Smoosh the I beams together to get a good frame bond. Repeat for the other end.
Now take your 5/16 channel, and, using the frame members, measure two of them to length. Mark 3/8 from the end of each one of these pieces. This mark will help you line up the channel onto the side. Using some clamps, clamp the piece to the inside of the part of the side that hangs down from the floor. Run a bead of adhesive across the top seam. The capillary action of the adhesive will draw it into the area between the channel and the car side. Repeat for the other side.
Frame and Crossmembers (continued)
The frame crossmembers are of 2 different types. One is a large wedge-shaped I beam, which is at the bolster, and a bit outboard of the door. The the others are just simple small I beams. We’ll tackle the wedge-shaped ones first.
Measure the distance from the frame to the channel. It should be around 1 1/2" (actual) Cut 8 pieces of 1/2" I beam to this length. We’re going to cut a wedge-shaped piece out of each one of these, but we need to mark first. From one end, mark 1/4" (actual) in from the end. On the other end, mark half way up the webbing. From this end, cut, using your razor saw, along the web of the beam. Stop when you get to the 1/4" in mark. From the half-way up mark, cut at an angle, again to the 1/4" in mark. This should leave you something like this
Taking two clamps, and your styrene glue, bend the piece, glue, and clamp. You’ll end up with something like this:
Repeat with the other 7 pieces. Once those are dry, trim them to fit. They should just fit in between the I beam, and the channel, and sit flush on the car floor. My cutting and gluing accuracy being what it is, not all of the pieces are identical, so I file them to fit a specific place.
We need to attach them to the car. One set of them lines up with the truck centerline, and the other is a bit outboard of the side door. From each end of the car, measure 4’ 2" (scale) and mark the I beam, down near the floor. Measure 12’ 6" (scale) and mark there, also. Repeat for both sides. Now, glue the crossmembers in place, centered on these marks, making sure they are 90 degrees with the frame, and directly opposite each other.
The smaller crossmembers are simple I beams, that will be centered in the 6 areas between the larger crossmembers. Take your 3/16 I beam, and cut 6 pieces, again, appx 1 1/2" (actual) long. Test fit and trim into their locations. Find the center of each one of these areas, and glue the cross members into place. The underframe work is now complete.
Car Ends - End Beams
The car ends are next up. We’ll first work on the end beams. On the prototype, the end beam consists of a couple pieces of sheet. The largest starts on the top of the frame members that stick out, and is bent over the ends of the frame members. This sheet is cut out for the coupler, and another sheet is bolted around the coupler itself.
On our car, we’ll simulate these parts with some styrene, and some judicious sanding. But first, we have to fix the 5/16 channel that sticks out. The first order of business is to make sure that all the frame members are sticking out 3/8" (or as close as possible). They should all be the same length. Sand them all to the same length.
Now, the car side is 1/16", which, in scale, is WAY too thick. What we’ll do is cut a 5/16 x 3/8 (actual) piece of .060 styrene, and glue it to the piece of 5/16 channel that is sticking out from the car end. After the glue is dry, trim and file this piece so that it is flush with the frame member. Repeat for all 4 corners of the car.
Next, we add the sheeting on the frame top, and end. Take a piece of .010 or .020 styrene, cut it to fit on the TOP of the frame members. Glue this in place.
Now cut a piece of styrene for the end beam, out of .060. Cut it to length, and hold it against the frame. Mark the 5/16 sides, and the location of the center beams. Cut it to shape.
Glue this piece to the frame ends, and run a good bead of solvent where this piece, and the piece above, meet. We’ll be filling and sanding this joint a bit later, and dont want any seams to show. You may also want to reinforce the joint where it meets the center beams. A piece of angle, glued to the frame and end beam, from inside, will do this
and from the inside
Repeat for the other end of the car, and go away for a bit and let all this dry.
Car Ends - Zee, Angle, and some wood
Find the vertical centerline of the car end, and mark it with your Sharpie. Measure 3/16" (actual) down from the peak-to-end seam, and mark across this line. This is the upper limit of the zee and angle on the car end. Mark 9" (scale) on each side of the centerline, and draw the lines up the car end. Take some of your 3/16" zee, and cut two lengths that go from the top line, to about 1/32 from the end beam sheet. On the prototype, the zee does not touch the end beam. Glue these along the 2 vertical lines, with the zee facing AWAY from the centerline.
Attaching both of them, and you should end up with something that looks like this.
Now, take some of your angle, and cut it to length. These pieces go from the 3/16 line, down the corner, to the bottom of the side. Mark and cut the piece of angle that interferes with the end beam, as shown.
Gluing both of these in place. Repeat with the other end.
To finish up the car end, take some 3/16 thick bass or balsa wood. What you are going to do is fill the area of the peak, above the end zee pieces, and wider than the car end by 3/8" (actual) . This area is slightly taller than 1/2", so you will need to glue 2 pieces together for height. When these pieces are dry, cut them to length (4 3/4" actual). Place this piece, centered, on top of the end zees, as shown:
When you are sure that the piece is centered, mark the peak on to the wood, using the peak as a guide. Now, take your razor saw, and cut the peak out of the wood. Using a file, or sanding block, file the peak to fit. You don’t want any of the wood to be higher than the peak line, as we will be gluing the roof on to the car end, and dont want the wood to interfere. When it is the correct shape, glue to the car end using ACC. Note the overhang on the sides of the car.
Car Sides
Now we move on to the car sides. Lay the car down on its side. From one corner, measure 4’7" (scale) and mark. From this line, measure 4’7" (scale) and mark, and, one more, measure 4’7" (scale) and mark. Repeat this from the other end of the car. As a check, the distance between the inner 2 marks, which is the width of the door, should be somewhere around 5’ 6" (scale).
Using a square, and these marks, draw vertical lines up the car side. These are the marks where the vertical Zee pieces will go. Taking some of your Zee, cut 6 pieces 4 1/2 " (actual) long. Glue these so the inner angle of the zee is flush with the line you drew, the flat part that is glued to the car side is facing the end, and the bottom of the zee is flush with the bottom of the car side. This will leave a gap at the top of the side, but it will be hidden by the roof overhang, and the fascia strip. The following photos illustrate these steps:
Note that the zees ‘face’ the car end on their side of the door.
When you have these 6 pieces attached, take some more of your zee, and cut eight 5" pieces, but dont bother to cut the lower angle on them yet, we’ll trim them in a bit. Glue these pieces down, making sure to line up the channel so the zee faces “down”, and that the zees are lined up, as shown in the following photos. Trim the bottom of each angled zee flush with the bottom of the car side.
Repeat these steps for the other car side.
Roof
We need to attach the roof now, before we continue on the car sides. First, clean out any junk that is inside the car body, since we’re about to close it up.
Take the two mid peak pieces, and line them up approximately 1" outboard of the zees on the side, that are the inner ones for the door. Position of these is not critical, they just are more supports for the roof, to avoid sag. You will have to shim these pieces with some .030 styrene on each end. Again, YMMV, depending on how your gluing has gone in previous steps.
Glue both of these in place, and you will have this
Now, take a pencil, and, on the wood car end peaks, mark the centerline of the peaks. You may want to mark the car end as well. You want to get this mark as accurate as possible. Line up one side of the roof. It should be flush with the wood peak parts end-to-end, and line up on the sharpie line you just made. Make sure the zees on the side isnt preventing the roof from touching the car side all along its length. Trim them if necessary. The mid-peak pieces should be sanded down slightly, as they will push the roof up a bit. Its a slight amount, but you may want to.
When you are satisfied with the positioning, glue in place along the end and mid peaks, and along the side.
Allow this roof side to dry, then line up and glue the other roof piece on. Dont forget to run a bead of adhesive down the centerline of the roof, to glue the two roof halves together.
Roof (continued)
A couple bits of detail about the roof. Note in this photograph that the roof is slightly wider over the door track, to protect the hardware from the elements.
We will accomplish that by taking some 1/8" (actual) styrene, cutting it to length, and sanding it to shape later. Measure the distance between the left-hand door zee, and the right hand, second zee. It should be about 6" (actual). Add a bit, call it 6 1/8". Attach it to the edge of the roof, flush with the top of the roof, and square with the roof edge, not the carside. We want the slope of this piece to match the roof as closely as possible.
When these are dry, take some fine sandpaper (320 or 400) and sand the seam between this piece and the roof, to remove any glue residue, and hide the seam. You may need to use some sanding putty to fill this seam in.
Next up are the roof battens. Some photos look like they’re 1x3s, and some look like they’re about 1 1/2" square. We’re going to split the difference, and call them 1x2s. I cut a bunch of .060 x .125 strips out of sheet stock, but you could use Plastruct or similar strips for this. Cut 4 battens to fit one side of the roof, and glue these on the 4 corners of the car roof.
We want the rest of the battens to be evenly spaced. The space in between the battens we just glued down is a bit over 33’ (scale). So, take your scale ruler, and line it up so that it is centered on this space. Draw a line every 3’ (scale). You should end up with 10 marks. Using a square, make these lines square up the roof, and then bring them over to the other side of the roof.
Now its just a matter of cutting the battens to length, and gluing them on square. The 4 battens that are over the door overhang are slightly longer than the rest of them.
Roof (continued)
Now on to the roofwalk. I use 3/16" (actual) square styrene for the roofwalk supports. Cut 12 of them 1 3/16" (actual) long. Mark a center line around each one of these. Taking a file (or, faster, a belt sander) cut these to profile. The thickness in the center of the roofwalk ends up being about 1/16" (actual).
We’re going to glue these directly to the roof, on the ‘inside’ of the roof battens we attached in the last step. What this means is that, looking at the car roof, 6 of them will be to the RIGHT of the nearest batten, and 6 of them to the LEFT. Glue these in place.
From the center line of these pieces, on every other one, mark 3/16 on each side of the centerline. These are your alignment marks for the center roofwalk board.
The actual roofwalk boards are next. You can use 1/16 x 3/8 balsa, or styrene. I opted for styrene. Cut 3 pieces as long as the roof of the car - 33’ 9" (scale). Sand one side of these with 60 grit sandpaper, to give it a bit of woodgrain. Glue one of these boards in the center of the roofwalk supports, making sure it is aligned on the marks. When this is dry, glue the other two in place.
Now you can build the short, corner roofwalks. This is an optional step, as various photographs Ive seen either show them, or don’t. Cut 4 pieces of 3/16" (actual) square styrene rod, 1 3/8" (actual) long. Glue one of these to the roof, along the edge of the batten on the end of the car, centered in the space between the roofwalk support, and the edge of the roof. Glue the other to the roof, 3/16" (actual) from the next batten.
Cut four 1/16" x 3/8" boards, 1 5/8" (actual) long. Sand these with 60 grit sandpaper, as well. Glue these to the supports, spacing them slightly.
Side door
Depending on era, the car can have different door and door hardware styles. The first is the older style, using strap hinges, and shop-built hardware.
Note the tee across the middle of the door, the angle on the bottom, and, if you look closely, you can see the strap hangers, and lower door guides, all made out of shapes.
The second style is on the newer style car, which uses Camel Co castings for hangers and door guides.
If you look closely, you can see the four door guides at the bottom, and the hangers on the top. The lower door trim is also about 4 inches from the bottom of the door.
I will describe building both types of doors.
Early Style Doors
Cut a piece of .030 styrene 6’8" high, and 5’6" wide (scale). Cut a piece of .125 (actual) angle, and glue to the bottom of the door. Using some .020 x .125 styrene strip, trim the two sides, and the top of the door. Cut a piece of 3/16 tee to length. Trim down the tall part of the tee to a bit less than 1/16", and trim the width of the tee to a bit more than 1/8. Glue to the door, a bit lower than the centerline.
Closeup of the angle on the door bottom:
Closeup of the tee:
Completed door:
Glue the door to the two inner zee pieces. The top of the door should be 7" (scale) below the roof edge.
Late Style Doors (coming soon)
[coming soon]
Door Details
There is a door stop attached to the zee, below the end of the extra overhang, abourt 9" down from the bottom of the roof. Take some of your angle, cut a piece about 6" (scale) long, trim one part of the angle down a bit, and glue to the angled zee
The lower door tracks are different depending on which style door you are making.
Early style door guides and hangers
The earlier doors use simple pieces of steel, bent into shape, and riveted to the car side, or one of the zees.
We will be using some of our zee, and a few bits of other styrene to make these. Cut three pieces of zee, about three scale inches wide. You’ll need to ‘thicken’ one part of the zee, to account for the thickness of the door. I took some .010 and embossed some rivet heads in it, and glue it to a piece of .060, and then glued the zee to it. Glue these three pieces into position on the car side. Two of them below the door, right next to the zee. The third is mid-way between the next pair of upright zees.
The hangers are simply a length of .125 styrene. Cut it to 18" (scale) long, and glue on the edges of the door, not quite touching the side trim.
Late style door guides and hangers (coming soon)
[coming soon]
Fascia Boards
Take some .030 styrene sheet, cut 6 pieces, 6 scale inches wide. You’ll need two about 9" (actual) long, two about 6 1/4" (acutal) and two about 5 1/2" (actual). These will be the fascia and door trim boards.
Take one of the 5 1/2" ones and trim it to length from the righthand car end, to the door overhang. Bevel the end of this board at 45 degrees, to be in line with the wood trim on the car end. Glue in place to the zees, and to the wood on the car end. I used some scrap 3/16" square tube (Plastruct 90622) for supports under the board. They wont show on the final model, and make the fascia a bit stronger. Glue these on the car side, right up against the roof.
Repeat on the other side of the door.
We now need to trim the door overhang paralell with the car side. Take a sanding block with some 100 grit sandpaper, or a file. You are going to CAREFULLY sand the roof overhang to profile. You want to make it paralell to the car side, but you dont want to take too much off. We want just enough of a surface to glue the door fascia to. It doesnt have to be perfect, just close enough.
Cut three small blocks of 1/8" (actual) tube. These will be supports for under the door fascia. Glue one of these to each zee under the overhang.
Take the remaining piece of fascia (the 6 1/4" one), trim it to the length of the overhang piece, and glue it to the overhang. Cut some small pieces of .030 to fill in the space between this piece, and the fascia boards on the car sides. Using your 320 or 400 grit sandpaper, clean up the upper edge of the fascia, and all seams, around the roof overhang.
Car Ends
EDITED!
Sorry folks, I made a mistake on this page. The single grab on the right side of the end is NOT a ‘stepped’ grab, but a straight one. The text in the article is correct, but the photos are not. Sorry about that.
Now we’ll finish up the details on the car ends. The grab irons are made out of 040 brass rod, bent using the jig I described in this post. For the end, you’ll need 4 ‘right handed’ grabs, one straight grab, and another picece of 040 rod for the center grab.
First, measure and mark the locations on the car end. The grab steps on the left start 1’ 10" (scale) from the bottom of the side, and are 1’6" (scale) apart. The grab on the right is 1’10" (scale) from the bottom, and the middle grab is 4’ (scale) up from the bottom of the side. I’ve marked this car end to show you how its laid out.
Start with the center grab. Drill the holes (use a square to make sure the grab is level), bend the brass rod to size, and using some 5 minute epoxy, glue it in place. Now, using your motor tool, or other, drill the outermost holes for the grabs. Using the grabs as a guide, mark the height for the inner hole (its about 3" higher, but your mileage may vary depending on how you bend your grabs). Mark and drill these holes. Take some epoxy, and put a daub of it in each hole, being careful not to get it on the car side. I use a toothpick. Put the grabs into the holes, and using some scrap 1/8" styrene rod, space the grabs away from the car side. Make sure the grabs are level, and that they all line up.
The last detail on the end is the tack board. This is a 1’ (scale) square piece of bass/balsa wood, 1/16" (actual) thick, with some 1/8" (actual) styrene angle ACCd to it. Glue it in place at the location shown (approximately centered).
NOTE
The grab on the right side in the above picture is incorrect. It should be a straight grab.
Repeat for the other end of the car.
Car Sides
Now we’ll work on the grabs for the car side. As we did on the car end, mark the car side. On the right end of the car side, the grabs line up with the grabs on the end. The bottom grab, which is not duplciated on the end, is 1’6" (scale) from the grab above it, or about 10" (scale) from the bottom edge of the car. Mark and drill these holes.
On the left end of the car side, the grab lines up with the grab on the car end, about 2’4" (scale) from the bottom edge of the car. Note that the holes for this grab in the photo are incorrect. This grab is a straight grab (see photos further below)
As we did on the car end, expoy the grabs into place.
Note the correct, straight grab in the picture below:
And here we see how the grab steps line up around the corner.
Bend a grab handle for the door. It is the same size as the straight grabs (1’6" scale), but make the legs a bit longer. It mounts 1’6" (scale) from the bottom of the door. Dril through the styrene and the acrylic and epoxy in place.
Drill and mount strap steps. I used brass ones from Phil’s Narrow Gauge, but Ozark Miniatures ones would work just as well.
Brake Platform
We’re going to cheat a bit for the brake platform, since we cant have bent supports like the prototype. Cut some 1/8 bass/balsa wood, 1’ (scale) wide, and 3’ (scale) long. Cut a piece of 1/8 styrene angle 3’ (scale) long, a piece of 1/8 strip 3’ (scale) long, and two pieces of 1/8 strip 1’ (scale long).
Assemble these pieces as shown. The angle and 3’ strap get glued lengthwise, and the 1’ straps get glued perpindicular to these. Examine the three pictures below to see the alignment of the pieces.
Glue the platform to the two end zee pieces. Line it up with the top of the tack board, in between the two upper grab steps.
Now take some 1/8 tee, and cut a 45 degree angle on one end. Cut these to length to fit as supports for the platform.
File these to length for a tight fit. Glue in place, and flood the joints with cement, to bond them tightly.
Brake Hardware
How we’ll install the brake hardware. You need your brakewheel, pawl, and brake staff. First, glue the pawl to the platform as shown.
Using the pawl as a guide, drill through the brake platform. Slide the brake rod down through the pawl, and down to the end beam. Make sure the brake rod is vertical in both directions. Mark and drill through the end beam. Slide the brake rod through the end beam. Cut it to length, so that it sticks up above the roof about 8" (scale). Attach the brake wheel.
Trucks
Truck mounting is next. I’m using some 1/2 square acrylic blocks I have, but 1/2" square wood will work just as well. Cut two pieces of this 1" (actual) long. Using epoxy, glue them in between the frame members, centered on the end bolster.
When this is dry, cut a piece of 060 styrene as wide as the frame members, and about 1/2" (acutual) wide. Glue this to the frame members and the bolster block.
Mark this piece in the center of the car, and centered on the bolster frame members. Drill a 1/16" (actual) hole, as vertical as you can make it! It is VERY important to get this hole as accurately vertical in both directions. The truck will be mounted into this hole.
Mount your trucks. I use #6 pan head sheet metal screws.
Turn your car over and admire it.
Show it off to your friends, you’ve worked hard to get it to this point.
Couplers
I am going to detail mounting Accucraft couplers, but mounting Kadee’s should be very similar. First you need to notch out the bottom of the end beam, to the height that the coupler will be. Use your coupler height gauge to determine this. Widen it as wide as the coupler will swing.
Again, using your coupler height gauge, determine how much of a shim that you will need. I ended up needing a total of about .140", so I used a piece of acrylic, and some styrene glued to it. Make the shim long enough to glue to the floor of the car.
Turning to the coupler itself, I cut off all extraneous plastic, leaving me with the base, the coupler itself, and a piece of the bottom. I also cut off the spring mounts.
Cement the coupler shim in to place.
Assemble the coupler, and cement it into place, making sure it is centered on the car. Clamp as needed.
Here I am checking that I did, indeed, get the height correct.
End Beam Details
First, we need to ‘round off’ the angle on the top of the buffer where the two pieces come together. Using your file and some emery paper, gently round this off, and hide the seam. You may need to use some putty to fill it in as well.
Details on the end beam include a coupler buffer cut from styrene:
Grab irons, one on each side of the coupler:
And a coupler release lever, a style which is unique to the EBT. You may use a more conventional style lever, as well, if you are so inclined. I made mine from brass tube, hammered flat, with some 040 rod in one end to go through the Accucraft coupler. 1/8 strap would have been more prototypical, but I dont have any in my parts box.
A bit of 3/16 rod cut to length (slightly longer than the end grabs stick out) and drilled through the center.
Drill a hole in the end beam as well, line everything up, and glue in place.
Final Details and Paint
We’re just about done, but there are a few details to work on. The EBT poling pockets are a unique beast. I made a master out of styrene and putty, and then cast some up. If I make a better quality mold, I will offer these up for sale. Meanwhile, you can use other pockets from Ozark or Trackside, if you desire, or just leave them off.
Here’s the finished end, with poling pockets.
The paint I used is “American Tradition” Ultra Enamel red primer.
I left off the rivets. I havent found a non-mind-numbing way to do them in the quantities that this car will require, and still let me keep my sanity.