Modifying 65' Combines

[Desertdweller]

I bought an assortment of 65' N-scale combination coach-baggage cars at a good price from my local hobby shop.  Generally, a train would only have one, if any, of this type of car in its consist.

I did have a shortage of coaches and baggage/express cars.  It was easy to get the cars I needed by removing the roofs from the combines and carefully cutting the bodies of the cars in two.

Two passenger halves of a combine yield one coach.  Make the dividing cut through the center of the window on the center line of the car.  The two half-windows result in a full window.

The two baggage halves yield one full baggage/express car.  The window halves will make a single window in the center of both sides.  Perfect for a baggage/express car with an express messenger's desk and window inside.

Do not divide the roofs.  By not cutting them, they will reinforce the car body and avoid a splice line in the center of the roofs.  If you want to retain operation of the baggage doors, cut the clear plastic window material up as far as the bottom of the roof, and cut the clear pocket for the door to slide in free from the roof and reattach on the roof you are using for your baggage car.  The clear window material for the coach section can be cut free in the same way and attached to your coach roof.

If you are using the lighting system, it will work just fine in the modified cars.

I painted my modified car bodies dark green and decaled them for CB&Q and C&S cars with Microscale decals (gold lettering).  I left the roofs black.

These cars would also work well in mixed trains, especially along with an unmodified combine.  If your mixed trains carry the passenger cars behind the freight cars, or if they are pulled by freight Diesels, be sure to install a little smokestack on each car for a heating stove.

Les

[James in FL]

Nice work on your bashed coaches, you got to do it yourself sometimes to get what you want.
Got any pics?
I've been looking for some on eBay for some months now. Have yet to pull the trigger on them as I currently have my plate full. Was wondering if I could bash them into something that would roughly pass as the Polar Express. A long time ago, in a land far away, Atlas made some shorty passenger cars too. Maybe they would be a better place to start?
I've got a Berk that needs an assignment.
Guess I need to watch the movie again.

[Desertdweller]

James,

I meant to mention this in my post, but forgot to.  The cars I used were Bachmann.
I haven't tried this with Atlas cars, but I don't see any reason they would not work as well.

Never saw that movie, just the trailers.

Les

[rustycoupler]

You know, its really sad that you have to build coaches this way, if Bachmann would just listen to its customers then we would have what we need to make a decent passenger consist. I had to do the same thing you are doing a couple years ago. The way you are describing it is exactly the way i did mine. You know what they say if you hand make one then it will come out in production. Personally i think the price of passenger cars now is nuts, thirty six dollars a piece cmon.

[Desertdweller]

rusty,

I agree it is a sad state of affairs.  Coaches are the most basic form of passenger car.

In my situation, a local hobby shop had ordered an assortment of these 65' cars off e-bay.  They were all new in box, but he had assumed "assortment" meant an assortment of car types.  Instead, he received 6 combine cars.  He bought these from a private seller, not Bachmann, but they were Bachmann cars.  He sold them to me for what he paid for them.

I saved two as combines.  One, a Santa Fe car, I use as-is.  The other, I repainted silver and lettered it for CB&Q with Micro-Scale decals.

I also have a six-car set of these cars in UP yellow and gray.  A combine, an obs, and three coaches and a diner.  The diner is actually identical to the coaches.  I modified it to look more like a diner.

I'll try to take some pictures of my modified cars and put them up here.

All these cars came with interior lighting, 1980's style with grain-of-wheat bulbs.  I removed this from all cars as I did not like the effect: too much drag and current draw.  The axle wipers were useful for adding tender pickup to my Bachmann 4-8-4.

I don't think these cars are still in production.  This is why I hoped the trailer coach for the gas-electric would be available separately at a reasonable price.

Les

[rustycoupler]

Yea as far as the car lighting goes , i had to use Easy Peasy light kit but had to shorten that also.  Two solder connections, pretty easy.

[James in FL]

Alright...rusty's comment made it move from the someday dream... to my train show list.
I had also thought I could modify the easy peasy lights. Thanks for confirming that.
What trucks, couplers, and wheels are you guys using?
The show season has started and I'll pick them up as I find them.

[Country Joe]

I have a combine and 5 coaches. I took the lights out and replaced the trucks and couplers with Micro Trains passenger trucks and couplers. I haven't installed lighting but may try the Easy Peasy lights eventually.

[Desertdweller]

James,

I'm using the stock trucks and wheelsets.  Couplers are medium length Micro-Trains T-shank couplers.

Although these have T-shanks, they are not a drop-in replacement for the Rapido T-shank couplers.  You have to use the Micro-Trains coupler adapter and coil spring.  The couplers themselves consist of three pieces: 2-piece knuckle and draft gear, and the trip pin that holds these parts together.

To install these on Bachmann trucks, you need to remove the Bachmann draft gear cover, the stock spring and coupler.  Then widen the opening that the coupler protrudes through.  You will probably have to glue the draft gear cover back on.

Factory-equipped knuckle couplers on Bachmann equipment was a major improvement!

Les

[rustycoupler]

Yea i used microtrains trucks also, with a 1015 coupler. I also have end diaphrams on them by.. oh i cant remember.