The Re-tooled On30 Bachmann Boxcar

[hminky]

I have an web article examining the re-tooled On30 boxcar at:

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/bachmann_boxcar/



Thank you if you visit
Harold

[shayman]

  Thanks Harold
Does this mean you are still in On30? I have always found your site a great help. I have used your hint at lowering the cars and find it simple to do. Always good to hear what your doing. 
shayman

[hminky]

Thanks Harold
Does this mean you are still in On30? I have always found your site a great help. I have used your hint at lowering the cars and find it simple to do. Always good to hear what your doing. 
shayman

Yes, I am still in On30. I have found "rubber gauging" breaks up the modeling and sticking points in the progress.

Harold

[ole]

These are good looking improvements although I still would like to see the sliding doors open to the right and those small end doors eliminated. I looked at your site and the body lowering is noticeable; I also looked at the Bachmann on-line catalog and none of these newer cars are shown as far as I can tell. So, if I should order or bid on one of these new boxcars, is there a part number I should look for? And what road names are available? Thanks, Lee.

[Freshwater Models]

These improvements are great and shows that Bachmann is improving their line of On30 offerings.  Thanks for the effort Bmann!

One, make that two, things are still missing.  The cars still have only two truss rods and should have four.  I can live with it but would have preferred four truss rods to match the four nuts on the end sills.   This is kind of basic to any wood framed car.  Bmann may have thought there is a radius issue but the offending truss rods could be removed by the 12" radius crowd.   Maybe in the future.............

Jack

[hminky]

The model is based on the Ohio River and Western boxcar as shown in Cass's Hidden Treasures book on the OR&W. That prototype has all those quirks, including only two truss rods.

The box car is a typical design of the late 1870's-early 1880's. The left sliding door and other "odd" things are typical of that era. A Car Builder's dictionary of that period shows that there were no standards. Thank you Bachmann for getting it right.

Harold

[Ken]

  Dug out a boxcar for a quick conversion project (I had hoped) to lengthen
to make a couple of MEXICANO 2½ gauge boxcars, width is right on, however body side height is about 1½ scale feet short, back to scratchbuilding a couple of cars.
Do like the seperate ladders though. Will likly pickup a few more Boxcars,
a bit of fitting & filing fills in the end doors.

Still looking for OorS scale Ferrocarril MEXICANO decals.

  KC
   GWN

[Freshwater Models]

Harold,

Unless there is another example OR&W boxcars nos. 401-420 have 4 truss rods as do the flat cars. See NG&SLG Jan/Feb 98 for a drawing by Cass and also look at pictures of wood frame freight cars. Number of truss rods is more of a structural requirement for freight cars since the intermediate sills and needle beams can't support the load with out them. One sure clue to how many truss rods a car has is to look at the end beam and count the nut/washers on it. I may be wrong but I think most wood frame NG freight cars have 4 truss rods and maybe a few have 6. I think that the OR&W is a great prototype and generally speaking Bmann has done a good job. I love vacuum brakes!

Jack

[hminky]

The drawing in Cass's "Hidden Treasures",pg 226, shows #605 a two truss
rod car. He has it reported as second hand acquired in 1900. The
Bachmann car is a good reproduction of that car.

In White's "The American Railroad Freight Car" shows several examples
of standard gauge boxcars of the early 1880's with only two truss rods.
So two truss rods is not out of the norm for an early 1880's prototype.

Harold

[0n30nutz]

 I'm liking the retooled boxcars a lot, and continue to be grateful for Bachmann's continued efforts to upgrade their products...Although I have been called a picker of nits by many of my friends, I can live with the two truss rods (for now..I have too much other stuff to do).
  But, when the time comes....Precision Scale Co. has queen posts and turnbuckles..add some brass wire and......