Over the last 15 years I have accumulated about 30 Bowser ACF 2 Bay covered hopper kits. I finally built one today and found the coupler height to be way high. The bolsters have a protruding "boss" like the old Athearn kits, however the supplied trucks have mounting holes that are too small to fit over the boss (picture the old Athearn kits, the truck mounting screw hole is large enough to fit over the bolster boss). So I tried an Atearn truck on the car and it fit fine, however the wheels rubbed on the underframe and the couplers were too low. BTW, I am using Kadee #5 couplers in the stock car draft gear box. If I use an Atearn truck with a 0.015" Kadee washer the couple height is OK and the car runs OK on straight track, however the wheels rub the underframe on curves.
So, I assume I am not the only guy that has any of these cars, and would like very much to know how other modelers have resolved this issue. I emailed Bowser, but they have not had time to reply yet.
Thanx.
Mike
I have a number of those cars, too, and your query prompted me to pick out one at random to investigate.Mine have the original Bowser trucks, and the wheel flanges can rub against the outlet gate tracks if your curves are fairly tight, although that's not a problem on my layout. I removed the screw which retains one of the trucks, and found that the mounting boss had been expanded by the screw, making the truck not easily removeable. I then checked the other truck and found the same issue. Since I have no reason to remove the trucks, it's not a problem.
It's been some time since I built these cars, so don't recall if the boss was initially too large or not, but I have built other cars, recently, that did have that problem. For them, I used a #11 blade in my X-Acto, placing it into the opening in the truck bolster and twirling the truck or blade to enlarge the hole. You could, of course, use a suitably-sized drill bit or a reamer, but this was easy and the tool readily at-hand. Take care, though, to not make the hole larger than the screwhead.I used Kadee #5s on these cars, and the Bowser trucks, with their original wheels, put them at exactly the right height.
Wayne
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Hi Wayne,
Thanx for the reply.
doctorwayne I have a number of those cars, too, and your query prompted me to pick out one at random to investigate. Mine have the original Bowser trucks, and the wheel flanges can rub against the outlet gate tracks if your curves are fairly tight
I have a number of those cars, too, and your query prompted me to pick out one at random to investigate. Mine have the original Bowser trucks, and the wheel flanges can rub against the outlet gate tracks if your curves are fairly tight
Well, the mystery continues. I opened a few other kits, and found the trucks included in those kits indeed have mounting holes large enough to fit over the bolster boss. So I guess I just got a pair of trucks that were incorrect for the kit. Hower, after installing the correct trucks, the wheels still rubbed on the underframe (even on straight track). I found that adding a Kadee 15 thou washer to the boss eliminated the wheel rub and coupler height was just a tad (maybe 3-5 thou") high. I decided I could live with that. I have no idea why my kit differs from those you have. I guess I'm just lucky. When I build a few more I will see if that trend continues.
doctorwayne I used Kadee #5s on these cars, and the Bowser trucks, with their original wheels, put them at exactly the right height.
I did replace the wheel sets with Intermountain 33" wheels, but I doubt that would have much effect. The real mystery to me now is that WHY the height is OK now (right Bowser trucks and 0.015" washer) but when I used Proto trucks the heaight was way high. I'm too lazy to pursue this further, but it is a bit weird.
Thanx again for the info.
Hear Bear,
... I then checked out 3 more, previously unopened, kits to see if I had your problems of the trucks not fitting over the bolster boss, which again I don’t.
What I did find, and remember, was that the hole in the bolster boss wasn’t quite deep enough for my liking and that I was forcing the screw, so to save the worry of stripping the threads out of the bolster boss and as I have the Kadee 2-56 tap and corresponding drill bits, I deepen the hole and run the tap through . As I also like to set up my rolling stock with one “tight” truck and one “loose" truck, I take a swipe or two with the file to the "top" (as it's upside down) of one of the bolster bosses so the head of the screw will nip on the truck instead of mushrooming the bolster boss. I also add, from memory, an ounce of weight. Being your first build, I’m curious if the other kits have the same problem or if you have encountered a, hopefully, one off lapse in Quality Control.
MikeyChris....The real mystery to me now is that WHY the height is OK now (right Bowser trucks and 0.015" washer) but when I used Proto trucks the heaight was way high....
I'm not familiar with the particular Proto trucks which you may be using, but the height of the portion of the truck's bolster through which the screw passes can vary from one manufacturer to the next, and where that height is situated in relation to the bolster will determine the ride-height of the car.If the excess height is above the bolster, the car will ride higher than if it were on trucks with that portion of the bolster lower.
Here are three trucks selected at random from my stock of freight trucks:
The one on the left, from Accurail, measures, from the bottom of the wheel flange to mounting (top) surface of the bolster, .310". For the middle truck, manufacturer unknown, the height is .320", while that of the third, from Train Miniature, is .326".
Any of these trucks may allow the cars for which they were made to ride at the proper height, but won't necessarily work similarly on a car from another manufacturer.
Hello again Wayne,
doctorwayne I'm not familiar with the particular Proto trucks which you may be using, but the height of the portion of the truck's bolster through which the screw passes can vary from one manufacturer to the next, and where that height is situated in relation to the bolster will determine the ride-height of the car.
I'm not familiar with the particular Proto trucks which you may be using, but the height of the portion of the truck's bolster through which the screw passes can vary from one manufacturer to the next, and where that height is situated in relation to the bolster will determine the ride-height of the car.
I had considered this but discounted it because I have previously replaced many trucks with Athearn trucks and never had an issue with couple height. Then I realized that was because I usually had either adjusted bolster height, or had adjusted the coupler pocket height. I guess I was assuming that all trucks/bolsters were following some NMRA Standard (otherwise how do replacement truck people sell their tucks?) In any ase, that was a bad assumption on my part.
I have since assembled a few more Bowser kits and have found some variation in the trucks. Some have the BOWSER name embossed in the truck and some do not. FWIW I have maybe 70 cars that I have accumulated over 25 years or more, so it is possible Bowser's kits (or trucks) have changed over the years too.