Freedom Train Exhibit Car to Streamlined Auto Loader
Apr 24, 2017 16:51:06 GMT -5
stretch likes this
Post by JNXT 7707 on Apr 24, 2017 16:51:06 GMT -5
I had the opportunity to pay a visit this past week with Randy (rbturner) and managed to snag some "stuff" while he wasn't looking 
BTW, Randy has a model railroad empire that probably rivals most brick & mortar hobby shops. An amazing layout. Randy, you need to get that camera working!
But anyway, among the "stuff" was a shell from one of the Lionel Freedom Train cars, a modified streamlined passenger car that has the Liberty Bell, the Lunar Rover and an antique car showcased behind glass panels. The antique car had been lost along the way, along with the roof and glass panels.... and the remaining Liberty Bell and Rover will go on to find a spot on the layout.
There was also a chassis in the parts that looked like it belonged to a heavyweight passenger car that had a couple of modern looking 4-wheel trucks riveted to it (Made in England).
I got to looking at this stuff once back home and started brainstorming what could be done with it. There was someone on the Model Train Forum a while back that was floating an idea of creating a streamlined car carrier that might run as part of a streamliner consist. I don't know if he ever tried his idea out, but I liked it and kept it in the back of my mind. And there it was: this body shell was already set up for the job.
So out came the Dremel and files. I removed the ends and diaphragms - I thought about keeping one end with the door, but the more I thought about it, the more cumbersome I thought it would be in usage.
I removed the ends of the spare chassis along with the riveted trucks, and then cut out rectangular holes in the bottom of the shell to accept them, as mounting them onto the bottom of the shell would have raised it up too far.
Kadees were added to the trucks at this time, while they were still loose. I replaced the wheelsets with some spare P2K 36" metal ones. I had a couple of thin weights that were CA'd to the top of the truck assemblies, plus the 6 cents worth of weight glued to the shell floor.
Tyco Auto Loader floor racks will hold the vehicles. I'll need to locate an extra set because they aren't long enough - the Lionel shell is 72'.
Pics below show the progress so far. The car will be painted and decaled for the JNXT home road, for business/excursion train use. More to follow....
BTW, Randy has a model railroad empire that probably rivals most brick & mortar hobby shops. An amazing layout. Randy, you need to get that camera working!
But anyway, among the "stuff" was a shell from one of the Lionel Freedom Train cars, a modified streamlined passenger car that has the Liberty Bell, the Lunar Rover and an antique car showcased behind glass panels. The antique car had been lost along the way, along with the roof and glass panels.... and the remaining Liberty Bell and Rover will go on to find a spot on the layout.
There was also a chassis in the parts that looked like it belonged to a heavyweight passenger car that had a couple of modern looking 4-wheel trucks riveted to it (Made in England).
I got to looking at this stuff once back home and started brainstorming what could be done with it. There was someone on the Model Train Forum a while back that was floating an idea of creating a streamlined car carrier that might run as part of a streamliner consist. I don't know if he ever tried his idea out, but I liked it and kept it in the back of my mind. And there it was: this body shell was already set up for the job.
So out came the Dremel and files. I removed the ends and diaphragms - I thought about keeping one end with the door, but the more I thought about it, the more cumbersome I thought it would be in usage.
I removed the ends of the spare chassis along with the riveted trucks, and then cut out rectangular holes in the bottom of the shell to accept them, as mounting them onto the bottom of the shell would have raised it up too far.
Kadees were added to the trucks at this time, while they were still loose. I replaced the wheelsets with some spare P2K 36" metal ones. I had a couple of thin weights that were CA'd to the top of the truck assemblies, plus the 6 cents worth of weight glued to the shell floor.
Tyco Auto Loader floor racks will hold the vehicles. I'll need to locate an extra set because they aren't long enough - the Lionel shell is 72'.
Pics below show the progress so far. The car will be painted and decaled for the JNXT home road, for business/excursion train use. More to follow....
. Cured only by a quick infusion of Ho scale junk and parts and pieces from the bottom racks of a train store.
