Large Scale Central

Converting a Bachmann 1:22.5 Tank Car to 1:20.3

Modeling
#1

My first experiment with this upgrade in scale stuff has progressed far enough to start another one. The log of that work is here - http://www.largescalecentral.com/LSCForums/viewtopic.php?id=10102 So now we begin the tank car conversion. Same process. Here is progress, so far. To achieve the proper width, I had to add the first piece of wood under the deck.

The second piece of wood is wider and brings the height up even with the deck. It was laminated in place and brings the width of the car equal to the dimension of a 1:20.3 flat car. Yes, I use West Systems 2 part 5 minute epoxy. We sell it, why wouldn’t I use it?

My first thoughts were to strip the deck clean, lay the deck and then build on top of it. I use scrap lead weights to hold the wood in place until it dries.

Decided instead to remount the deck hardware and glue the deck around the chocking hardware.

#2

Ric,
I think ripping your lumber on the band saw adds a real nice detail as it gives it a rough sawn look. What is the CRC product in the picture and what are you using it for?
Dave

#3

“What is the CRC product in the picture and what are you using it for?”

That is OD Electronic Cleaner. I use it to clean electrical parts like when my grandson, bless his little heart, drops one of the Train Engineer Controllers in the pond and it has to be dried out and cleaned. I also use it for trailer plug connections and light sockets on sailboat masts and generally to clean up anything of an electrical nature in a low voltage system. Pretty good stuff and a good back up to brake cleaner that will drop a wasp in 20 feet. :wink:

#4

Oh ok…I forgot they made that stuff! I use CRC products at the garage and I thought perhaps you were using brake clean as an adhesive or something…lol

#5

Progressing along on the flat car bed of the tank car.

(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rgolding/081210%20004.jpg)

As I stated, I decided to work around the tank car bunking boards.

(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rgolding/081210%20005.jpg)

I felt the tank would look better sitting at the original height.

(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rgolding/081210%20006.jpg)

The lead weights are used to hold the wood in place until the glue dries.

(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rgolding/081210%20007.jpg)

#6

Coffee stirrers? That’s going to look great. Now there’s room to do a railing down the sides like the EBT tank.

#7

“Coffee stirrers?”

Yeah, one of our club members got a deal on cases of them for $8.00 per thousand. Not certain where he got them.

“Now there’s room to do a railing down the sides like the EBT tank.”

Yeah, that is my insentive.

#8

The decking is complete and compared against an Accucraft 1:20.3 flat car.

(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rgolding/081212%20001.jpg)

(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rgolding/081212%20002.jpg)

Had to try test fitting the tank.

(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rgolding/081212%20006.jpg)

(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rgolding/081212%20007.jpg)

And the whole thing is painted flat black

(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rgolding/081212%20008.jpg)

(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rgolding/081212%20012.jpg)

Now to apply hardware.

#9

OK…I’m just a dumb kid pushing 40…could someone tell me what “No Heater” means on the side of the tank?
I have an idea but need to confirm.
Nice work Ric…now please build me some 70’ centerbeam flat cars when you have some spare time!

#10

I think it means you’ve got to supply the steam if you want this stuff to flow out before Spring.

#11
Ric Golding said:
I think it means you've got to supply the steam if you want this stuff to flow out before Spring.
Thats what I thought...
#12

Bunker oil is a lot like asphalt. It needs to be warmed up a bit to flow through the pipes.

#13

I was looking at one of my 1:24 Aristo/Delton box cars sitting next to a Bachman 1:20.3 boxcar over the weekend. This idea of adding width to the existing shape and then finishing with scale details might just work well on boxcars as well. For sure you would end up with a short box car (length), but it would at least look more to scale with the wider 1:20 cars.

I don’t know if I have the patience to glue on a bazillion coffee stir sticks, but some scribed siding would do the trick perfectly, especially if made from wood about 3/8" thick. I’ll have to scout around for some of that.

I might even try using the cast resin steel ends that I got form Bob a couple of years ago on one of them.

#14

Jon,
there have been many documented projects that basically follow your outline. From memory, the cars were also raised in height. Stirrer sticks were added to the modified plastic bodies with excellent results. However, for someone considering this method, Fn3 AMS cars have been selling recently for only a handful of dollars more than 1/22.5 and 1/24 scale cars. Unless one had actually purchased the models and already gotten ‘value’ out of them, then financially, simply not worth the effort.

#15

Just stay away from those plastic stirrer sticks… :wink:

That looks neat Ric. I may have to look for some of those cars if I go to York this year.

#16

That looks really terrific–and a clever way of doing it too. I have some aristo wood floor flatcars that are going to need some coffee stirrer augmentation, I can see

#17
Tim Brien said:
Jon, there have been many documented projects that basically follow your outline. From memory, the cars were also raised in height. Stirrer sticks were added to the modified plastic bodies with excellent results. However, for someone considering this method, Fn3 AMS cars have been selling recently for only a handful of dollars more than 1/22.5 and 1/24 scale cars. Unless one had actually purchased the models and already gotten 'value' out of them, then financially, simply not worth the effort.
Thanks Tim -

I already own a boatload of 1:24 cars. Attempts to sell them to free up dollars to buy Fn3 haven’t been very successful. I will be trying eBau again soon, so I might get lucky.

I went back and read through Bob’s Composite Boxcar build thread. It seems I had this same idea 2 years ago when I first got the steel ends and after some discussion decided that they were way too short for steel framed / steel end composite cars. But all wood cars could quite possibly been that short, so I am within my rivet budget.

#18

Hi Rick,

Thanks for posting the build on the tank car. I have 18 or so of the 122.5 tankers and plan on doing what you did to bring them up to 120.3. Has anyone measured the tank against an AMS tank?? Just wondering how it measured out compaired to the AMS, I remember someone posting that the b-man 122.5 was a bit oversize, and that they would work ok with 120.3

Chuck

#19

The Bachmann tanks scale out (in 1:20.3) to 6’ wide by almost 23’ long. I don’t have an AMS car to measure, but published drawings of the prototype for the AMS car has a tank a bit over 6’ wide and around 24’ long. Without locating my drawings of the EBT’s tank car, I do recall the B’mann tank measuring equally favorably against that prototype in 1:20, though I think it was a bit shorter. The Conoco car drawing states that the tank capacity was 5000 gallons, where the EBT’s tank had a capacity of 6000 gallons. The UTLX (Gramps) cars had capacities between 6,000 and 6,500 gallons.

(http://home.comcast.net/~kcstrong/trr/pics/gallery/alongcoles.jpg)

While not the best photo, here’s my version of the EBT tank “up-scaled” to 1:20. Actually, it’s more like 1:21, because when I built this, I had not yet made the firm commitment to 1:20.3, so the flat car is a touch narrower than it should be so it would mix in better with my 1:22 and 1:24 equipment. Ric, Vance Bass wrote an article a few years ago about kitbashing three standard Bachmann boxcars into two D&RGW box cars in 1:20.3. The result was quite convincing, and served as the impetus behind my conversion to EBT “1st generation” boxcars. If I recall, he added a bit of height to the car via a new letterboard, but the width stayed the same. (The length was extended through splicing two cars together.) I don’t know if the article is online somewhere, or if he sent it to me as a .pdf. If you’re not in the mood to splice the cars, there are a fair number of examples of 25’ boxcars that lasted until the ends of their railroads. Granted, their longevity was probably due to the fact that the railroad couldn’t afford to replace them, but still, they were out there. Here’s one that I did from a B’mann box car:

(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/eastbroadtop/TVRR207/TVRR20711.jpg)

Photos in progress: http://archive.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=37979 Later, K

#20

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the measurements on the tankcar. Do you know where I could get a copy of V Bass’s boxcar rebuild??

Thanks, Chuck