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the tank top line. I marked this in pen- cil for reference.


I also marked with pencil two dis- tances from the bottom center line, 18 and 36 scale inches above the line, first on the paper measuring strip, then transferred onto the tank near the ends. I drilled these locations with a No. 77 bit for the end tank grabs. The grabs were fabricated from .015″ brass wire and in- stalled with cyanoacrylate cement. For the dome, I used K&S aluminum


MODEL PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR


This is the Tichy underframe, built according to kit directions, except for narrowing the tank cradles by about a scale foot. Brake gear has not yet been added.


long and will not interfere with the fu- ture truck screws at the bolster loca- tions. I glued these inside with model aircraft canopy glue and let it dry thor- oughly before adding the ends to the tubes. I prefer this type of glue to join dissimilar materials.


I rotated the finished tanks gently to determine the lowest center of gravity due to the weight inside, then scribed a line along the “bottom” of the tank. Next, I centered the tanks end-to-end on the underframe and drilled No. 52 holes, tapping them 2-56 for future truck screws; the locations were deter- mined by the Tichy bolster centers. The Tichy tank cradles on the bol- sters provide a large gluing surface and, together with the truck screws, of- fer secure tank attachment, but don’t do this yet. It is easiest to add the tank grabs, dome, and handrails with the tank separate from the frame. I made a measuring gauge by wrapping a strip of paper around the tank, starting at the scribed bottom line and marking where it wrapped around the full circumfer- ence. Carefully folding the paper in half to this mark provided the location of


Seen from above (above right), the brake valve is supported on small pieces of styrene strip. Brake piping has not yet been added. The narrowed transverse width of the tank cradles is also evident here. The addition of AB brake gear looks like this (right). A piece of styrene channel has been added to provide a second sup- port for the reservoir, and styrene strip pro- vides a support for the valve. The brake cylinder is attached at the kit location. Brake levers and rods are in place.


RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN 63


tubing, ⁷/₁₆″ diameter by .016″-thick wall. Using a spare length of the ³/₄″ Plastruct tubing used for the body, I ground and sanded one end of the aluminum tubing to match the tank contour. The dome height, measured from the top of the tank, is about 28 scale inches for the Becco car, about 36 inches on the acid car. I cut this off in a miter box to keep it square, then cleaned up the cut sur- face with a fine file.


For the dome tops, I used .060″ styrene sheet. For the Becco car, a hole


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