My kit came last week, and already I’ve had to spend $0.22 I reduced the plan size so I can build a 1:32 scale flat car. It will be the world’s smallest auto carrier. BTW a reduction to 62% of the plan size will be right for 1:32 from 1:20.3. More to follow!
Well, I’m on to Phase 2. After reducing the plans to 1:32, I cut some of the kit down to size, and substituted some redwood for stuff that was too wide! Assembled the flatcar according to the sketches, using Titebond III and a pin nailer. Actually it looks pretty good for my first venture into the rairified air fo building NG equipment.
Then I try to set it on the trucks. It wouldn’t fit! The wheels are much too big, and wouldn’t fit on the bolsters. I forgot that the wheels are not scaled down. So it either sits seven scale feet above the ties, or I’ve got to find some wheels and trucks that are 62% of 1.125 inches. Project stalled until this weekend, when the Great Train Expo moves into Cal Expo for three days.
Our club will set up its modules, and I’ll go searching for some O scale trucks, which should be about the right size. I’ve got a bunch of pix I took today but have never figured out how to put them up on this site.hat will be my only expense except for couplers. Maybe I’ll get some O scale couplers to fit!
Richard,
You are behind the times, man. It’s 2013 NOT 2012! <:-)~
Busted.
Dick: Make sure the name of any jpeg you want to post here is just one word, ie mygon01.jpg.
OK, John. I’ll give this a try.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_3.jpg)
This is the underside before assembly.
Success! Thanks, John. I guess I just had to move the pictures into the Freight Shed! Now I’ll show some of the other pics for this project! Plans reduced to 1:32
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_2.jpg)
Deck complete.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_4.jpg)
Side view.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_5.jpg)
Top view.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_6.jpg)
Potential load 1954 Corvette
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_7.jpg)
Potential load tractor
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_8.jpg)
Problem-- trucks won’t fit under deck. Will look for O-scale trucks this weekend.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_9.jpg)
Head down to the thrift stores and pick up an old junk Lionel car from the toy bin. a couple bucks for a set of O-27 trucks.
Could you speak to the station agent and have the Corvette delived to my house… I’ll gladly pay the shipping charges.
I like the tractor load.
You could try the Bachmann 20’ car line and they have the small trucks. Maybe finding O gauge trucks might be a better and cheaper way.
This weekend is the Great Train Expo in Sacramento (at the State Fair Grounds). I’m thinking I’ll look through the stuff (they usually have tons (or tonnes) of Lionel stuff. I’m leaning toward the Corvette myself, unless I can find an older looking tractor. The one in the picture is plastic and pretty new to be hauled into a location on a narrow gauge flatcar. Probably a Corvette is too! I’ve got a bunch of 1920-40’s cars in 1:32, so may look there. I know I’ve got an ambulance! I did some work today on the car, painted the undercarriage a medium grey, and stained the deck and ends a walnut-ish stain I use to stain my ties.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_11.jpg)
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_10.jpg)
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_12.jpg)
So far, total expenditure is 22 cents, for reducing the plans to 1:32. It may not be the best build (make that, "It’s not…), but it’s working on being the cheapest, until I go for the trucks and couplers! Not sure how to install the turnbuckles, as threading through the whole length of the car will be tough with solid wire! Probably should have installed the needle posts after threading the truss rods!
The truss rods are decorative, And unless you plan to highly detail the underside try just drill a stub hole in the inside of the end beam for one end, and make them in two halves, overlaping in the middle. Cut them off slightly longer then the turnbuckle and CA into the drilled out ends.
My math works out to, that this car is only 7.44" long and 2.6 inches wide. Now thats a “Shorty”
I’ll give that a try, Dave. Your math is probably correct, but it’s 21 feet long and about eight feet wide. Right now it’s in the train shed, with a 1928 Chevrolet Ambulance sitting on it. The Ambulance is likely to be the load, as it’s bright red and already lettered for Mercy Hospital! I’ll take a picture tomorrow and send it along, since I now know how to do it.
Dick FriedmanProblem-- trucks won’t fit under deck. Will look for O-scale trucks this weekend. [url said:
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dick44/_forumfiles/BLD_9.jpg)
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That picture has me laughing out loud, Dick! O scalers might look right, but I’m darned if I know what wheelsets you’d fit into them - those trucks are very small by our standards. Good luck with that! Take the carbody along with you - it looks as if it’d fit in a shirt pocket! You might want to try a set of NewBrite trucks while you’re at it. A complete NewBrite freight or passenger car can be got for $5.00 just about anywhere, or if you’re lucky, for $1-2 in a thrift shop. No, I’ve never been that lucky, but I’ve heard… Oh, and if the NewBrite trucks don’t work - but they will - the wheels work great for handcars. Peel the chrome off them and paint 'em all rusty-like. (Yes, I’ve done that.) 
I AM NOT a deleted member. Maybe a (deleted) member! I resemble that remark. After the update to the site, I was no longer a member, but I’ve re-upped, as we used to say.
Here are a couple more pix. I’ve finished the upper deck, installed O-scale trucks (and O-scale wheels, which are about two feet in diameter) and installed the O-scale couplers.
I’d have been done a little earlier, but I’ve spent most of yesterday afternoon searching for truck springs! How did I ever do this in n-scale?
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Dick, After looking at the latest pics. I’m not sure how you will use truss rods! It looks like there isn’t enough clearance for the trucks to pivot, and still slide the rods past them. 4 sure looks out of the question, but 2 might be rigged. Don’t even try a queens post, as that would make the angle under the bolster really steep. None of my O-27 stuff has truss rods, so I can’t help. I think that the rule here would be to just make it look OK, and not worry to much about prototypical.
It may be that shortie ng equipment is stiff enough without truss rods? Maybe small screw eyes could sub for queen posts?
leave the trussrods be. if you got an eyecatching load on the flat, nobody will miss the rods on a shorty.
Finished the build this evening. I put some truss rods in (only two) and it was tough. I had to remove the truck beams, AND cut the truss rods. I had nothing to use for turnbuckles, so I installed shrink tubing. I used tiny eye screws (used in ship model building) for the queen posts, put the bend in the music wire, and then put the truck beams back!
Then I put redwood ties on the flat car to hold my ambulance on. I’ll figure a way to chain it to the car.
Then I built a short section of dual gauge track for this to ride on.
Tomorrow I’ll take some pictures and put them up. Total cost for this project was $0.22 for reducing the plans to 1:32. All the other stuff I was given, or found in my junk bins. Got piles of redwood lumber, including RR ties, beams, etc.
Many thanks to all for the suggestions, to Mr. Taylor (sp) for doing the initial kit. Nice work! Maybe next time I’ll figure out a ng engine to haul my ng cars (I’ve got two now, this 20 foot flat and a 40 foot boxcar.