how much is too much(Lincoln Funeral car)?

[J3a-614]

Took a look at the Bitter Creek parts site; what's featured are a bunch of parts that used to be made by Red Ball (going to have to link this into the Early-Time Kits thread!)  If you were going in for the truck replacement route, T-22 looks like it would be your type (despite what the caption says about "1880"). 

I think your proposal to body-mount the couplers is the best and simplest, and it looks like that's what the prototype had.  Use styrene or wood shims or spacers to get the coupler height down for a closer match; matched coupler heights greatly improve operating reliability.  And I would definitely change out those wheels with what look like pizza-cutter flanges if you plan to run the car; again, this is for operational reliability. 

http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/lincoln/hebelongstotheages/ExhibitObjects/LincolnFuneralCar.aspx

Enlarged image (warning--may time out by the time you see it, if so, just enlarge at the link above)

http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/lincoln/hebelongstotheages/ExhibitObjects/LincolnFuneralCar.aspx?Enlarge=true&ImageId=9f919a4b-2f63-4022-868a-5384f915b78d%3afe22b805-477b-48fe-9b53-487e4de25eb8%3a138&PersistentId=1%3a9f919a4b-2f63-4022-868a-5384f915b78d%3a10&ReturnUrl=%2fExhibitions%2flincoln%2fhebelongstotheages%2fExhibitObjects%2fLincolnFuneralCar.aspx

Those missing ventilators at the ends of your model are visible in the photo and somehow look familiar.  Did anyone offer them, or something similar, as a detail part?

http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/ohiopix/Image.cfm?ID=5553

http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/ohiopix/Image.cfm?ID=4974&criteria=&start=1

http://www.mrlincolnandnewyork.org/inside.asp?ID=29&subjectID=2
http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/news/train.htm

http://www.kinglyheirs.com/Palmer/Lincoln01.html

Not the funeral car, but still an interesting vehicle:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_(Pullman_car)

OK, now for what Jonathan calls a "homework assignment" (but which is better than any homework you ever got):  I highly recommend "The American Railroad Passenger Car" by John White (former curator of the Transportation Department of the Smithsonian; the book has a considerable section on this car), and "The President Travels by Train," by Bob Withers.  Both should be available through your library or interlibrary loan service.

Have fun!

[richg]

Here is a photo of the setup I will use. This is from a 16 wheel 36 foot flatcar but I am using the same for the passenger car. I used the KISS principle since some of the underside will not be seen. I am using thin basswood for the body bolster as I did in the flatcar. The span bolster is 1/16 inch thick PC board drilled and tapped for 2-56 screws. I use a #2 wood screw to attached the span bolster to the wood body bolster on the underside of the car.
The only rub is, some trucks have a different height where the body bolster sits on the truck. I bought a appropriate set of trucks but they were somewhat higher at that point than the Kadee trucks  I finally used. I replace the wheels with all metal wheels. Much better running.



Rich

[BaltoOhioRRfan]

How its mounted, you can see where the original mounting was on the bar below the box


Diffrence in hiehgt, its not real noticable anymore, the coupler hangs down just enough for a secure couple.

[J3a-614]

Ah, the virtues of simplicity--especially when they work out right!

Congratulations!

And keep the old parts--who knows, someday somebody may regard your car as an antique to restore!

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

you talking about the two that got smashed? the baggage car appears to be fixable, coach 1 is destroyed, coach 2 is warped(was in the pass car shops when the roof collapsed on the roundhouse).

Sounds like that's what he means.

Yes, that is what I meant. 

Having those trucks riveted in is unusual, too; how are you supposed to work on something like this when the parts are assembled permanently with rivets of this size, and in steel?  What were the designers at Pocher thinking?

Maybe that nobody would be meddling with the car after they bought it? 

[J3a-614]

I don't know if this other project is "vaporware" or not, but the firm involved has built a replica 19th century locomotive that was a tremendous hit at the rail festival at Oswosso, so maybe. . .

http://leviathan63.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leviathan63/

Look what one of the future projects is!

http://leviathan63.com/projects.html

[BaltoOhioRRfan]

anyone have or seen this book?

http://canteenbooks.com/The_Lincoln_Funeral_Train.htm

I just ordered on on friday, looks promosing on what I been trying to find for a while now. B&O's version of the train so i can model it. Been trying to find pics of it for about a year maybe two. B&O musuem wants to charge me $20 just to look in thier archives of photos for information on it. and they wont even tell me if they have any. if they told me they did i'd gladly pay that much to look through it. but if they didn't waste of $20 for me. and I'd find that book interesting eather way looking at the preview pages.

[lvrr325]

Pocher is Pocher, not related to Rivarossi in the least beyond both companies' products being imported by AHM.  Some Pocher items were most recently imported by IHC; I had one of the engines and never even took it out of the box to see if it was still Pocher or perhaps the dies were sold to Mehano (was one of those, buy dirt cheap at one train show, reprice and put out and sell at the next show things). 

So the dies to this car may still exist, but anything related to IHC is up in the air with the bankruptcy of Mehano and the illness of the guy who runs IHC. 

[richg]

There are drawings, I think O scale in the Model Railroader Feb 1995 by Wayne Wesolowski
Abraham Lincoln's Funeral Train.
I was looking at the drawing's recently.

Might be a little info in the below link.

http://tinyurl.com/29rpumh

Rich

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

If anybody is interested, I noticed another Lincoln car listing on eBay this morning when I did my daily check. I'm sorry I don't have a link, but it should be easy enough to find it. I found it by accident.

I was in the HO listings, and I went to the last category, "Other," at the bottom of the list, and did a search for "passenger." The car isn't identified as the Lincoln car, just as a Pocher passenger car.

Both smoke jacks are present on the roof, but the car seems to be missing one platform end railing. I suppose both railings could be replaced with brass. That would probably improve the look of the car.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

This I cannot believe.

Somebody has a listing on eBay right now that includes three--THREE!--of the Lincoln funeral cars.

(I would post a link, but whenever I try, it keeps "linking" to my own "Watch List," which I don't think I want to do. I'm "watching" because I'm curious to see the final selling price for the batch of five cars that includes the three Lincoln cars. I don't intend to bid. I don't sell on eBay, and I have two Lincoln cars already. I don't need three more. The listing appears under Toys & Hobbies > Model Railroads & Trains > HO Scale > AHM/Rivarossi.)

[GRZ]

  HI bolto-r-r-man, you are lucky to find one in any  condition today, I had  to sell my layout -30 years ago. and being a Lincoln collector that was one thing I hated to let go, but, a year or so back I got a call from the man that bought my layout asking if I would like to buy it all back. well when I went to clinch the deal not only was all my things there but over the years his kid bought him things for his layout that never got  bult  [2 big pickup truck loads] when I got going through the haul I found my 16 wheel  Lincoln car STILL-IN-THE-BOX,  I watched  them come and go on the bay thinking should I ?? well I did, now  have two, and glad of it. my original is in the box in my special glass show case to be looked at every April 15 th  from this past april on it will make a run around the layout-- to me they are a special reminder of a great man . The one I got from the bay I installed link & pin couplers, and took a early look alike and bult a monitor roof, they make a neat duo behind a 4-4-0. Grz

[BaltoOhioRRfan]

some guy at the local model train show has had one for sale for quiet a while now, but I can't see spending $95 on one. though he just recently lowered his price by $10 i do believe.

I've fixed mine up a bit, added on roof vents body mounted couplers.

[Doneldon]

Balto-

I'm not sure if you mean a Precision Scale car from the Lincoln funeral train but, if you do,
buy it as fast as you can. Those sell for hundreds of dollars.
                                                                                             -- D

[BaltoOhioRRfan]

Balto-

I'm not sure if you mean a Precision Scale car from the Lincoln funeral train but, if you do,
buy it as fast as you can. Those sell for hundreds of dollars.
                                                                                             -- D

I'm talking about the AHM one.