Tank Car
I am very glade for rule #5a, price of wheels, trucks and couplers not part of the $35. Still new at this modeling stuff, I don’t have any spare trucks. I also want metal trucks and they alone would be over budget.
Wayne… And that is exactly why I changed the rules… The price of trucks and couplers have grown in the past few years to the point that making rolling stock was just out of the price point…
If you have an extensive stash, building rolling stock on the cheap isn’t too hard. But if you are new to the hobby, or not yet a hoarder, the cost of supplies can quickly get out of hand.
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Jon said it. I now have a large parts bin. But at first I was happy to have hand me down plastic wheels. Lol. Scratch building is my favorite part of the hobby and once got hooked I started hording anything I could possibly use
So here are the start of my materials. Aluminum 3.75" diameter tube and some 4.25" hole saw centers from flat stock.
I have steel magnet holders that I removed the magnets from to use as a die to convex the discs.
They are larger in diameter than I need using the 4.25" hole saw (closest size I have). I may search out a 4" saw.
Here is what will work well as the top fill. I’ll use a tubing cutter to resize it. File a curve on the bottom to match the cylinder diameter.
Love the use of the magnet holders to form the ends of the tank, Wayne. How will you attach the ends to the tube?
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It’s not hoarding if I’m going to eventually use it right? 
I’m guilty of stocking up stuff and never using it.
If I don’t burn through the thin metal, they will be welded. Then dressed on a belt sander.
I am a hoarder, just not G scale train parts yet. That aluminum tube has been in my garage for years. I actually stopped checking out the scrap metal bin at work, every time I walk by it.
Very clever way of making the ends concave. Looking like a hell bent for stout car coming out way
Yep. My garage is still loaded with small off cuts of all types of sign substrates from when I worked in the sign business. After several years I had to just put it in the dumpster rather than my car. When I retired there was a ton of stuff squirreled away in my shop that I might use, but I knew better to bring it home then and when I retired!
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The trucks and couplers arrived today!
Don’t need the power leads, but they are what I wanted. 1:20.3 scale
Nice trucks. Accucraft?
Yes, listed as caboose trucks.
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Just a note. They are caboose tucks. If this isn’t already known, the reason being is that it has stacked leaf springs instead of coil springs. Passenger cars and cabooses (cabeese, cabeeses) use leaf spring because they provide a more comfortable ride. Coils are stiffer, better at handling the weight, but not as “springy” for a softer smoother ride.
I don’t say that in any sorta technical or critical way. After I initially posted it, i felt it might have come off that way. It was just informational as to why they look different than typical arch bars.
No worries. I’m always learning more from every post I read. Wanting to use cast metal trucks for the very heavy tank car, these looked good. I could not find any others. Ironies here, is these trucks actuality are operating spring type. Hiding behind the solid die cast (fake) leaf springs are coil springs. These give the truck a true spring suspension.
They are a great looking truck. I have not spent much time shopping metal trucks. But a friend bestowed upon me a pair of kadee trucks. Pricy but decent heavy metal trucks.
Those trucks would be perfect for me, but the wrong scale. Believe me I searched high and low, not much in die cast for 1:20.
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Nope, not since Bachmann ran out due to all the warranty replacements. I got in on some of the last sets in the warranty pack. They would only warranty one of the two cars that had bad ones so I paid for 1 set. They were the wrong shade of Oxide, but I’m not picky. I actually only used one pair of bolsters so I still have two sets of trucks in stock. I guess I really am a hoarder. I really do expect the trucks on my car that had the bad bolsters to eventually crumble. Why I’m holding on to them.
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Yeah fair enough 1:20 is tough. It’s just large enough to look wrong with standard gauge offerings. I think you are fine. Its a nice looking truck. It’s gonna be great. Besides the drool worthy aluminum work of the tank will claim all the attention. This is gonna be a great build