Hello all,
I recently acquired some F89J flatcars. They all seem to have a slight bow up in the middle. The Accurail ones I have seen also have this slight bow. I am assuming this is normal/prototypical.
What isn't normal is the wheels contact the underside of the flatcar intermittantly. This is fine until the paint wears off, then it wont be.
I decided that the best course would be to install red Kadee fiber washers. Problem: Kadee fiber washers have an ID of .125" Bolster OD is .155"
Solution: using sergent reaming tool (just happens to be .155" max OD) ream out the Kadee fiber washers.
Questions:
1. Is there a better way (a fiber washer with the appropriate ID)?
2. Will the wheels eventually rub the paint off the center sill of the car and cause a short on curves?
3. If anyone else has done this, how many shims did you add?
4. Have you had issues with the truck screw working its way out? I was considering adding some Loctite to the screw once I determined the correct shim stack thickness.
I had a similar problem with my Walthers 75 foot PRR/TTX TOFC cars. The wheels would touch the car body.
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My best solution was to replace the trucks with Kadee, install Kadee #22 (medium overset shank) couplers, and raise the car body with shims. Since I switched to Kadee trucks the I.D. od the waskers was no longer a problem.
The problem is the car now sits too high, and it looks a little silly.
Sorry I don't have a better solution for you, but maybe you can benefit from my experience and avoid similar problems.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190Since I switched to Kadee trucks the I.D. od the waskers was no longer a problem.
Kadee trucks aren't an option, the bolster sticks down and is cast as part of the sill, would still have the ID/OD issue.
How about how many and what shims did you use?
I don't have those flatcars, but other rolling stock that the wheels rub the underframe...I use a Dremel tool (with a small bit) to grind clearance for the wheels. It's usually easy to see where the wheels rub and I'm only removing a few thousandths (in a place that can't be seen) due to me putting correct 36" wheels on the car.
If you don't mind the wheels being smaller than they should be (I notice things like that), you could try smaller wheels; there are several smaller sizes you can choose from. Keep an eye on the coupler height as it may change.
http://delray1967.shutterfly.com/pictures/5
SEMI Free-Mo@groups.io
BMMECNYC Hello all, I recently acquired some F89J flatcars. They all seem to have a slight bow up in the middle. The Accurail ones I have seen also have this slight bow. I am assuming this is normal/prototypical.
I don't think it is prototypical. Yes I am aware that some truck trailers (especially) have an upward bow, but photo's I've seen of most 1960's and 1970's 89' flat cars, including the F89J were completely straight - there are photo's taken from the end and you dont' see any upward bow.
The bow is probably a warp or factory defect and it isn't all that uncommon in HO freight cars with long 89' flat cars. The recent run of Athearn Genesis tri-level autoracks had a very high incidence of warped or bowed flat cars which many complained about. I found a nice long view photo of a prototype with the channel side 89' flat car and it was arrow straight so the bow is NOT prototypical in these 89' flat cars back then.
In a few cases of some of my flat cars, I've done some gentle bending to get them straight including 60' and 89' flat cars.
What isn't normal is the wheels contact the underside of the flatcar intermittantly. This is fine until the paint wears off, then it wont be. I decided that the best course would be to install red Kadee fiber washers. Problem: Kadee fiber washers have an ID of .125" Bolster OD is .155" Solution: using sergent reaming tool (just happens to be .155" max OD) ream out the Kadee fiber washers. Questions: 1. Is there a better way (a fiber washer with the appropriate ID)? 2. Will the wheels eventually rub the paint off the center sill of the car and cause a short on curves? 3. If anyone else has done this, how many shims did you add? 4. Have you had issues with the truck screw working its way out? I was considering adding some Loctite to the screw once I determined the correct shim stack thickness.
In a few rare cases where wheels hit the bottom of freight cars, I added the Kadee fiber washer to increase the clearance and yes, I've had to ream them out before too.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Takes a little practice centering the fiber shim/washer, but I use a hole punch to cut out the shims neatly. These tyoically are a tool that looks like a big set of pliers, but has a circular head with 7 or 8 punches in decreasing sizes you can turn to. Set the washer carefully in the anvil side of the punch then bear down on the grip. You'll hear a tiny snap as the center is punched out. If you're accurate enough and get a neat ring punched out, these can also be used for various shimmking needs.
These are often used for leatherwork. Here's an image from wikipedia.
Illustration thanks to By Simon A. Eugster - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7817984
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Ive decided to go with the scientific approach. I ordered extended shank sergent couplers to replace the Kadees. Once I get them I will set the car height. Might look into if the cars are all bowed the same, or some more than others, or its just an optical illusion.
A slight bow was normal back when I was seeing them. Under load with the trailers on they would almost be straight.
As for the wheels rubbing, you can always try smaller diameter wheels as that is a clasic fix. (Also try contacting Atlas. They've had good people in the past)
http://www.atlasrr.com/
LensCapOn A slight bow was normal back when I was seeing them. Under load with the trailers on they would almost be straight. As for the wheels rubbing, you can always try smaller diameter wheels as that is a clasic fix. (Also try contacting Atlas. They've had good people in the past) http://www.atlasrr.com/
I could go down a size, but if they are already 33", I dont really want to go down to the next size (28"?). 33" vs 36" isnt really that noticeable.
I have also found that Athearn trailers do not lock into the end (cant remember proper term) hitches?. The center one works okay (these are triple 28's). Also the end hitches are not quite the right height (too short). Not sure if its the model or the trailers. Dont want to have to run the empty but that may be the case.
Any suggestions on workable trailer brands?
I finally got around to installing couplers. I used the +.100" Sergents and I made them SBE type (lower shelf, pretty easy to do, its a one-for-one swap of a single part during assembly process). I figure the lower shelf coupler should prevent uncoupling (as long as its coupled to another lower shelf coupler).
I have considered applying heat to the cars and applying weight in attempt to straighten them out.
I added a kadee red shim under each truck to raise the height to prevent wheel rub and to bring the coupler up to the correct height. It might need a grey shim in addtion to the one red.
I also figured out that the reamer that Sergent Engineering sells for couplers also happens to work on Kadee shims.
Next question:
Does anyone know where exactly to install the "Rub Rails" on the inside of the deck? These are triple 28s and only come with about a scale 20' pair of rub rails to install. It appears they go approximately where the tires of the trailers would sit on the two trailer half of the car, but I wasnt sure.
I use a rattail file (tapered round) fine cut, to ream the red and black Kadee fiber washers. Insert in the hole and turn backwards to ream out the hole, if you turn inwards, the file will cut in to hard and lockup. Turning outwards will remove material slower. Being tapered, you can get a hole thas is snug or with some play.
As with the hitches being to short on the flat cars, most HO trailers come with two sets of landing gear, shorter for when in transit and longer for when sitting on the ground.
If the trailer king pin will not fit the hitch king pin hole, 1st. - ream out the hole, sometimes the paint is to thick, or 2nd. - shave the trailers king pin to a smaller diameter.
PC101 I use a rattail file (tapered round) fine cut, to ream the red and black Kadee fiber washers. Insert in the hole and turn backwards to ream out the hole, if you turn inwards, the file will cut in to hard and lockup. Turning outwards will remove material slower. Being tapered, you can get a hole thas is snug or with some play. As with the hitches being to short on the flat cars, most HO trailers come with two sets of landing gear, shorter for when in transit and longer for when sitting on the ground. If the trailer king pin will not fit the hitch king pin hole, 1st. - ream out the hole, sometimes the paint is to thick, or 2nd. - shave the trailers king pin to a smaller diameter.
Thank you for the tips. Any idea about where the rub rails go?