Finishing The StromBeckers

 Back to the StromBecker kits and reproductions.

After picking up trucks and couplers from Marx Train Parts (thanks Jim!), it was time to get these cars rolling. 

The first thing that needed to be done was making bolsters for mounting the trucks. For these, I used "craft sticks", basically wooden "Popsicle" sticks, fairly tough variety wood (I suspect fine grain birch, as nobody wants splinters with dessert). These are nominally 3/8" wide by 1/16" thick. Two of these were enough for six bolsters. Before cutting them apart, each was marked, and the centers of each bolster drilled for a #4 screw. 

Next, I turned my attention to the brake wheel mount. These were punched from cereal box cardboard using a 1/4" hole puncher (one of my favorite cheap materials, though if you've been following along you probably know that). They were then cut to shape and glued into place. 

The mounting locations for the bolsters were marked onto the underside of each car using a guide I made on an information card for these models. The center needed to be 11/16" from the end, which meant that the edge of each bolster was 8/16" (1/2") from the end.

The bolsters were cut to size.

After they were cut they were glued into place. I decided at this time to hold off on drilling the pilot holes into the undercarriages until after they were painted.

Since these models are extremely simple I decided to paint the undersides flat black. If there was more detail I might have gone with more prototypical appearance. Once the paint had dried the pilot holes for the truck screws were drilled. I should mention that I use a twist drill for small work like this.

Turning to the brake wheels. These were made from small clothing snaps, which were glued using E6000 silicone adhesive onto a short length of thick florist wire. Mounting holes were drilled into the brake mechanism, the rest of the brake detail drawn into place with a felt pen, and the wheel pushed into place.

Using #4 x 1/2" steel wood screws, the truck and coupler assemblies were screwed into place, each topped with a #4 washer.

And now, a mistake.

The NYC AAR 40' Pacemaker boxcar had its brakewheel put into the wrong place. It needed to be near the roof line. This meant carefully removing the whole assembly, redrawing the detail, and moving it up to the correct location and doing touchup as needed. 

To err is human, I suppose.

(oops... fixed!)

And with that, the three StromBecker cars were finished. Admittedly, the oversized knuckle couplers from Marx look a bit odd, but for now they will do until I determine which style I will use.

Will I do this again?

Well, the G-D boxcar is waiting, and chances are pretty good I will do more.