Wood scraps were used to make a jig (similar to the stirrup steps) to hold the .010″×.030″ brass sides while the .015″ wire rungs are soldered (above left). Note that the uprights have already been twisted to lay flat behind the hand rail. The base of the ladder was “pinned” to the running boards using brass n.b.w. castings (left). Slivers of .005″ styrene were first softened with solvent and then wrapped around a piece of handrail to form the clamps that were used to attach the ladder to the handrail (above right).
sides were constructed around a 2″×8″ styrene core. The spur gear mechanism is simulated with a .035″ styrene rod, capped with 3″ n.b.w. (nut-bolt-washer) castings. The gate is 2″×8″×18″ styrene. (Again, see the photos.) Once the hoppers were attached to the frame, it was a good time to add the Tichy brake staff support, rachet plate, brake staff and wheel. For the stirrup steps you could use
wire and attached to a homemade brake clevis (using half a turnbuckle). The piping is also .012″ brass wire. The brake rod layout is different than most tank cars because of the discharge hop- pers. (see photos). The coupler pocket extensions were trimmed from the Tichy end beams (B1 and B2) and attached to the frame. I prefer to attach coupler lids with a small screw, so I simply shaved the post of the Tichy coupler pocket lid (B11) and cemented it into the post re- ceptacle in the coupler box. When the cement thoroughly dried, I drilled and tapped the post to accept a 00-90×¹₈″ screw, drilled a clearance hole in the lid and installed a Kadee No. 5 coupler. I mounted the Tichy drop grab irons into the ends by drilling into the small lip that protrudes from the underside of the running board. Cut levers were fab- ricated using .012″ wire and eye bolts. The dimensions for the discharge hoppers were estimated from various photos (see drawing). The .020″ styrene
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
Tichy No. 3045 which are pretty close, but I wanted to match the prototypes which are slightly wider at the top. I made a jig out of some wood scraps and constructed the steps using .010″× .030″ flat brass wire. After the second step was soldered in place a small (90 degree) tab was bent at the top of the uprights and the tabs drilled with a No. 80 bit. Af- ter using cyanoacrylate to attach the stirrups, a hole was drilled through the running board using the hole in the tab as a guide. The stirrup steps were then “pinned” to the running boards with grab irons bent from .012″ wire which adds durability to the installation. A shallow No. 72 hole was drilled into each poling pocket from above, just behind the running boards (the tanks band rods will be anchored here shortly). When you mount the tank assembly onto the frame, move slowly and care- fully so as not to snap any of the tank straps, which are quite delicate. After the tank/frame assembly was secure, I attached the center tank straps as per the Tichy directions. However, the end straps were cut .060″ above the running boards using a styrene spacer to get them even. The end straps are secured to the frame with rods on the prototype. I used .025″ styrene rod (after sanding a slight flat spot where it would attach to the strap, I also flattened the tip with a small screwdriver). These rods
are cemented to the straps and into the holes that were previously drilled into the poling pockets.
One of the more interesting features of this car (as if there weren’t enough already), is the ladders. Specifically, the way the uprights are twisted to lie flat across the back of the handrail and then clamped in place with a clamp made of flat stock. I again made a jig out of wood scraps and proceeded to drill and bend until I was satisfied. I again used the .010″×.030″ flat brass, this time with .015″ brass wire rungs. I also bent tabs on the bottom of the up- rights and “pinned” them in place with brass n.b.w. castings. The clamps that secured the ladders to the handrail were slivers of .005″ styrene, softened with solvent and then formed around a small piece of .019″ wire with tweezers, and then trimmed to size. The grab irons mounted to the underside of the platform were formed using .012″ wire and Tichy straight grabs were mount- ed to the tank along with rivets. Before painting, the car was given a gentle washing with dishwashing de- tergent to remove any dirt or oil from the plastic. The car is painted CP Rail Action Red and black (I used Grimy Black). There is an excellent set of de- cals now available from Jerry Glow. Weather, add your favorite brand of Bettendorf trucks and the Hi-Tech rub- ber air hoses and this colorful and unique car is ready to start hauling slate granules across your railroad.
References Nehrich, John. 1949 Covered Hopper (from 10000-gal. Tank Car). Mainline Modeler, September 1986. Collins,
Bob. Photo, 67
page 94,
Delaware & Hudson Steam in Color, Morning Sun Books Inc.
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