25 Jun 10
This car has body mounted couplers, but the mounts are allowed to pivot. The mount for one of them was broken, the other is a little sloppy and the cover has been glued on.
I repaired on the broken coupler mount of this car by reattaching the pivot post with CA and drilling and tapping a new screw hole for a #2-56 screw.
This car is good to go.
25 Jun 10
The coupler mount is molded into the car. However, one had broken off. I shaved off the molded mount and mounted a Kadee #5 box with a #2-56 screw in a newly tapped hole. This car is ready for recertification.
25 Jun 10
Needs new wheels.
I installed new RoundHouse wheels and screwed the coupler clips.
25 Jun 10
Wheel bearings are worn and sloppy, needs new trucks.
I replaced the trucks with new RoundHouse trucks. I also screwed the one coupler clip that wasn't retained by a screw.
Later, it came back with a bad order tag that said the truck fell off. I replaced the truck screw and adjusted the trip pins
29 Apr 11
It came back a THIRD time without a B/O tag along with others that I had seen before and without B/O tags. I think that a bunch of cars that hadn't been re-certified got back into a box labeled for bad order.
25 Jun 10
The coupler mounts are molded into the frame. One is sloppy, the other broken. Then need the mounts cut off and new coupler boxes mounted to the body.
The one broken mount got hacked off and a styrene pad was built up on the floor of the car. When the CA dried, a #2-56 mounting hole was drilled and tapped and a Kadee whisker coupler and box was attached with a single screw.
The other end had a Bachmann coupler which was damaged anyway. However, the box looked like it could be saved. I mounted a Kadee whisker coupler in the box, but it was too high. I built up some styrene shims to press the box back down to the right height and attached the shims to the carbody so they won't come out. Now the coupler is at the right height.
However, it wasn't enough. The car came back with the second coupler broken off. I clipped off the box and put a new one on a shim to set it's height.
25 Jun 10
This car needs new wheels and the coupler box remounted.
There were two missing wheelsets and a third that wobbled badly. I replaced all four with Roundhouse wheels. I then replaced the broken coupler and glued the body back on with gel CA.
25 Jun 10
The couplers need remounting and one of the loads needs to be glued back on.
The remounting didn't hold in the original box on one end. I ground it off and mounted a new Kadee box on a shim to set the height.
The other mount was too sloppy so I rebuilt that one too with a Kadee box.
The car had some rolling problems if I pressed in it every so slightly. The flanges were dragging on the weight under the car. I ground clearances into the weight on both ends to allow the flanges to clear.
25 Jun 10
The trucks are entirely missing, the couplers need work and the loads need to be remounted.
25 Jun 10
The old coupler box had been glued onto this car but it was gone. I remounted a new box with a machine screw. Then I peeled off the coupler box on the other end and remounted that one too as it was sloppy.
This car has metal sprung trucks but it wasn't bad ordered for that. I don't see the problem with metal trucks. It would have been a bigger deal before DCC, but if the car derails and shorts the track, the car still has to be rerailed before operations can resume. The short would take out a section of the layout, but it is well divided anyway so that the metal trucks don't seem to be a serious drawback. If the car tracks well, and this one does, then it won't derail anyway and the metal trucks will not cause a problem.
In any event, the car is fixed and will be returned to LAMRS for recertification.
25 Jun 10
All this car needed was 1/2 oz of weight. The roof is easily removable to add stick on weights. It is now up to spec.
25 Jun 10
All this car needed was 1/2 oz of weight. The roof is easily removable to add stick on weights. It is now up to spec.
25 Jun 10
This one took 1.6 oz. of lead shot glued underneath.
Update 12 Dec 11
This one was involved in a break in two yesterday but I suspect that it was the other car. The couplers were a little sloppy though so I shimmed above the spring with a 10 mil piece of styrene.
25 Jun 10
This one took 1.9 oz of lead shot glued underneath.
25 Jun 10
This one took 1.8 oz of lead shot glued underneath.
25 Jun 10
This car has the Athearn type clip on / fall off coupler cover. The wheelsets are pretty sloppy too but the car seems to track well. The trucks really should be replaced with Athearn Bettendorff trucks.
There was nothing wrong with the car except for the unreliable coupler mounts. My standard fix is to apply a little CA to each clip, then the cover will not come off. If the coupler ever needs to be replaced, then the frame should be removed and the whole box cut off. Then a new Kadee box can be mounted to the weight with a screw.
This one took 1.1 oz of lead shot glued underneath.
25 Jun 10
This car has the Athearn type clip on / fall off coupler cover.
There was nothing wrong with the car except for the unreliable coupler mounts. My standard fix is to apply a little CA to each clip, then the cover will not come off. If the coupler ever needs to be replaced, then the frame should be removed and the whole box cut off. Then a new Kadee box can be mounted to the weight with a screw.
I added 1.3 oz of lead shot glued under the frame with a 50/50 mix of TiteBond II and water.
14 Jul 10
The trucks on this one simply snap back on. They are not really very secure, but they will stay on if not seriously disturbed. They are held on via a knob on the kingpin and what looks like the snap from a baby pajama mounted on the car. They will never be very secure with this arrangement.
The car is also wired for lighting but it doesn't work. A wire to one truck was broken, now fixed, but the connectivity between the axle and the truck sideframe is very poor. There is a homebrew lighting board inside, but the roof is attached in an odd way and I didn't remove it to try to fix the wiring because the trucks would not allow it to work very well anyway.
The car also has quite a bit of drag and doesn't roll very well. It will barely roll on a 4% straight grade.
8 Sep 10
bad coupler mount
coupler screw too short
broken coupler box mount
The coupler cover screw hole was drilled deeper and tapped, a new longer screw was added to close the box. The box itself was loose. It was jigged and reattached to the frame with CA.
8 Sep 10
bad truck mount
loose coupler clips
This car has the Athearn metal coupler covers but that were secured with screws. However, the screws were so loose that the covers had come partially off and the couplers were not restrained. The retaining screws for both box covers and the truck were tightened and that fixed all the issues.
8 Sep 10
coupler box cover had come off, was attached with glue.
Drilled through the box, car floor and weight, tapped the hole, reattached the coupler box cover with a #2-56 screw. Reattached a loose cow inside the car, reattached the shell with two small drops of CA. Filed the carbody near one coupler so it didn't drag on the carbody.
8 Sep 10
It needed a 10 mil gray Kadee washer under the truck to bring the coupler to the right height.
8 Sep 10
Replaced spring
8 Sep 10
Shimmed the low end with two red Kadee 0.015" washers to raise the coupler.
8 Sep 10
Drilled and tapped the coupler box cover and shell for a #2-56 screw, reattached the coupler box cover. Coupler was too high, ground down the truck mounting post to bring the coupler to the right height.
8 Sep 10
No problems found
8 Sep 10
Replaced box with Kadee #5 after grinding out the remains of the old box. Used a Kadee #42 overset coupler to bring the coupler to the right height.
8 Sep 10
No problem found
8 Sep 10
Replaced missing coupler spring.
8 Sep 10
Tightened the retaining screws on the Athearn metal clip on covers. Shimmed the trucks with Kadee red shims.
14 Sep 10
It has what appear to be HOn3 couplers. One was had a knuckle spring that was still there but not connected at the knuckle end. The spring was properly installed and it seems to be ok.
14 Sep 10
I added 2 oz of club weight to bring it to spec. It got two new couplers. The existing lids, which were inside the car, were attached with very small dabs of CA. The roof was loose, it was reattached with CA. The brake wheel was also loose, it was reattached with CA.
14 Sep 10
A new coupler was installed using a cover fabricated from a Kadee #5 cover. The mounting post was drilled and tapped for #2-56 and a #2-56 screw was used to retain the cover.
14 Sep 10
The coupler cover was shimmed to restrain the vertical movement of the coupler.
14 Sep 10
I ran out of centerset Kadee couplers at this point so I started using couplers from my own stock This one got a coupler in a rebuilt coupler box.
Update 12 Dec 11
This one was involved in a break in two yesterday. It was mated to BN 217633 which had bad couplers but the ones on this car were a little more sloppy that I liked so I shimmed above the centering spring with a piece of 10 mil styrene on both ends to control the slop a little. They would have probably been ok when mated to most cars, but when mated to 217633 which had small couplers that were low anyway, it was a problem.
15 Sep 10
Missing one coupler and pocket. Other coupler is plastic and broken.
Used one of my Kadee #5 on one end and my Kadee #5 and pocket on the other end.
Later, the coupler in the stock pocket had popped out so I cut the stock pocket off and used a Kadee #5 pocket on that end too.
Update 12 Dec 11
This care was in the bad order box with no B/O tag. I found nothing wrong with it except that it wobbled excessively. The trucks were way too loose so I tightened them to an acceptable degree and returned it to the club.
15 Sep 10
Both couplers were high also. I added 0.5 oz of club weight. I took both coupler off and replaced them with club low offset Kadee's.
15 Sep 10
The other one was broken off and taped to the car. I remounted the one that was taped with it's cover and a little CA. I tapped and drilled to mount a Kadee #5 cover to the other end with one of my couplers.
15 Sep 10
It was missing both couplers. I used two from my stock.
15 Sep 10
Missing coupler and the trailers are loose. I used a centerset coupler from my stock but it could really use a low offset coupler. The trailers were reattached with CA.
21 Sep 10
Donated Mantua car, plastic wheels, talgo NMRA couplers.
The trucks were crap so I popped them off and discarded them. A set of Roundhouse trucks went on. This car needed 1/2 oz of weight too. I broke the frame off the shell (will be easy to reattach) and added the weight. The trucks left a much too large hole in the frame so I attached a piece of 0.125" x 0.250" styrene strip across the hole on the inside using CA. After the CA set, I drilled and tapped the styrene for #2-56 and used a 3/8" cap head machine screw to attach the trucks. Then I measured for coupler height and found that I needed a 0.030" shim. I attached a piece of 0.030" X 0.25" styrene strip to the car floor and drilled and tapped through the strip and die cast frame to accept a #2-56 machine screw to hold on a Kadee #5 box.
Update 31 Oct 11
I got this one back because my patch failed. The glue joints inside the car broke and the trucks got sloppy. This time, I cleaned the car floor better AND I poured Alumilite resin in the overly large truck mounting holes. I then reattached the back up blocks with better and more adhesive. I then drilled and tapped through the Alumilite and backup block and reattached the trucks. The wheels were RoundHouse wheels which have proven to be crap so I removed and replaced them with InterMountain wheels.
21 Sep 10
This car is nearly Identical car to the one above except that it marked as made by Tyco and has a plastic frame. It took 1.25" of weight to bring it to spec, but otherwise, the modifications were the same.
21 Sep 10
Has plastic wheels.
I replaced the wheels using the existing trucks. One coupler was too sloppy so I shimmed it. The one at the other end was way too sloppy. Somebody had mounted the coupler box upside down and installed the cover backwards. I ground the whole thing off and installed a Kadee #5 properly. I also added 0.5 oz of lead shot underneath.
21 Sep 10
No couplers, plastic wheels, very light.
The trucks were replaced outright with ones equipped with metal wheels. I ground off the coupler mounting features and mounted #5's at each end. The car was very light. It had a molded plastic load that looked like crap so I chucked it and filled the car with #10 dark gray gravel and glued the whole pile in place.
15 Sep 11
I got this one back because it didn't roll well on the club test track. Actually, it rolled like crap. I tried to tune the trucks but it didn't get any better so I chucked the truck frames and found a pair in the club parts stock I had at home and tuned them. I put the metal wheels back in and it rolled better, but it was still not outstanding. It may pass the club roll test on their test track. If not, I'll replace the trucks again.
21 Sep 10
No wheels, missing one coupler, sprung trucks. Unrestrained Athearn metal coupler clips.
I found a set of metal wheels in the bad order box and installed them on this car. Even with the sprung trucks, it tracked and rolled well.
I replaced the missing coupler, but I don't have any screws small enough to restrain the Athearn coupler clips so finishing that job will wait until I find some screws.
I found some 0-80 machine screws and drilled the center post of the coupler mount to 0.047". The screws themselves tapped the hole but the screws had to be cut down to 1/8". They fit and the car is finished.
28 Apr 11
However, later it came back with a B/O tag that says it shorts. An inspection revealed that when the sprung trucks move around a bit, a wheel can drag on the metal truck frame. This usually happens on BOTH sides when the truck is tweaked so that it then causes a short.
Instead of mucking with a problem that probably would be hard to fix, I replaced the metal frames with plastic ones and it is good to go... again.
21 Sep 10
Plastic wheels.
Replaced the wheels and trucks. Added 0.5 oz.
21 Sep 10
Missing wheels.
I replaced the wheels. Other than that, the car was ok.
21 Sep 10
Plastic wheels.
I replaced the wheels using the existing trucks. Some of the frame rails were broken so I patched them with black epoxy. The car needed 1/4 oz, it got a 1/2 oz stick on weight underneath because that is all I had left.
21 Sep 10
Broken coupler, sprung trucks, rolls very poorly.
This car rolls poorly because it has true friction bearings. This one will need new trucks and wheels.
The old trucks were chucked and replaced with new RoundHouse ones. The coupler that was there does not rotate. The remains of the one that was broken were glued in place. I chipped it out and cleaned out the glue as best I could. I had one Kadee coupler that would fit this car. It is one of the kind with a coil spring that sits in a slot in the coupler. I installed it. The coupler moves side to side, but does not autocenter.
8 Sep 11
I got this one back with the stuck coupler now broken off. Further, the mount for the other one fell apart. I decided to abandon the old mounts and couplers. The old frame ends were pried off (the box is the center part of the frame end). The remaining pad on the frame was just the right height to mount a Kadee #5 so I drilled and tapped them for a #2-56 screw and installed new Kadee #5 couplers and old style boxes. I then cut the old coupler pocket out of the frame ends and glued the end pieces back in place. They won't have to come off again.
21 Sep 10
No wheels, missing one coupler, one load loose.
I reattached the load to make the car easier to handle, then replaced the trucks and wheels and one coupler on each car. The metal clips were retained by an #0-80 x 1/8" machine screw and washer. The car then got 0.5 oz of weight.
21 Sep 10
Same car as the one above in the same condition, but with different trailers. No wheels, missing one coupler, one load loose.
I reattached the load to make the car easier to handle, then replaced the trucks and wheels and one coupler on each car. The metal clips were retained by an #0-80 x 1/8" machine screw and washer. The car then got 0.5 oz of weight.
21 Sep 10
Missing coupler, rolls VERY freely.
I reinstalled a coupler with a metal clip. The old one had been glued on but it needs a screw retainer.
I didn't have any screws small enough so I went looking, finally finding some 0-80 screws at Ace hardware. When I started looking through my small tools kit for an 0.047 tap drill for the screws, I found a bunch of 0-80 wood screws. They would have worked but they were too long. I used one of the machine screws on the end with the metal clip and this car was finished.
21 Sep 10
Missing coupler.
I replaced the coupler restrained with a #5 cover and a #2-56 screw. The coupler is too high. Either needs a low offset coupler or needs the whole box ground off and replaced.
I elected to grind off the existing box and mount a whole new #5 box. The coupler height was perfect after grinding down to the original box floor.
Later, I got this car back with the other coupler busted off. It got the same treatment as the other end.
21 Sep 10
Plastic wheels, one missing and one broken plastic coupler.
I replaced the wheels and couplers and screwed on the coupler clips. Added 0.5 oz. It rolls poorly on 18" curves, wheels drag on the coupler box. It will do ok on the larger club radius.
21 Sep 10
Plastic wheels, one missing and one plastic coupler.
I replaced the wheels and couplers and screwed on the coupler clips. Added 0.5 oz. It rolls poorly on 18" curves, wheels drag on the coupler box. It will do ok on the larger club radius.
21 Sep 10
Unpainted die cast model. One coupler mount was broken.
Remounted the missing coupler and box with a #2-56 screw. Adjusted the other mount. Added two coil steel loads for weight.
The 2nd coupler broke off, it was not securely mounted. I broke off what was left of the box and ground out the channel under the car so I could attach an 0.080" x 0.125" piece of styrene to allow a regular Kadee box to be mounted properly.
This car had a load of steel coils, but they are gone now, probably broken off somewhere. The car is also unpainted and unlettered. but at least it has good couplers now.
21 Sep 10
Plastic couplers and wheels.
This car got new trucks, wheels and couplers. It also got 1/3 oz of weight.
21 Sep 10
Identical to the one above. Plastic couplers and wheels.
This car got new trucks, wheels and couplers. It also got 1/3 oz of weight.
21 Sep 10
Plastic couplers and wheels.
This car got new trucks, wheels and couplers. It also got 1/3 oz of weight.
22 Sep 10
I popped the Athearn metal clip on cover back into place and tightened the retaining screw.
1 Oct 10
Needs trucks. It also needed a truck bolster which was missing. I fabricated a new bolster from 0.080" x 0.25" styrene. Both bolsters were reattached to the car with CA. Then new trucks went on. One trailer load was loose, it needed the kingpin support reattached and the trailer reattached to the car.
1 Oct 10
Missing trucks.
I installed new trucks and then screwed both coupler clips.
16 Nov 10
I got this one back for being 0.5 oz light. I added 0.6 oz of lead shot glued underneath.
I got it back again for undergauge trucks and poor rolling. I adjusted the wheel gauge and tuned the trucks. It rolls better but it may not be good enough.
1 Oct 10
This is one part of a 5 segment double stack articulated car. The truck bolster/kingpin was broken off the car. I reattached the bolster with CA and then backed it up with epoxy. I cannot test this car here as I need the rest of the set. Somewhere at the club is a 4 segment stack train car.
1 Oct 10
Coupler was with the car but detached. Needs new coupler box.
The coupler that was with the car was the wrong coupler. It was a standard Kadee whisker coupler. The car needed a Kadee #147 high set coupler. I just happened to have some club supplied #147 and one of them fit the car. The Atlas cover is a push on type that cannot be easily screwed in place. Instead, I reattached the cover with two very small applications of CA. If the covers fail again, the whole mount should be ground off and replaced with a screwed on Kadee box.
16 Nov 10
I got this one back for being 0.15 oz light. I added 0.2 oz of lead shot glued underneath.
29 Apr 11
I got this one back again with a coupler that had fallen off. The CA didn't hold so I reattached them with an external bead of gel CA. This should hold them.
1 Oct 10
Missing one express truck. We'll have to buy one of these, I don't have one and the club may not have one either.
Later, somebody had put TWO express trucks on this car, but they weren't the right trucks and there was nothing holding them on the car. I found that a couple of standard washers under the screw head was enough to retain the trucks. This was an easy fix.
10 Apr 13
After almost 3 years, this one came back with a missing express truck. I found another one at the club and reinstalled it.
1 Oct 10
Needs coupler remounted
The coupler box was mounted properly with a wood screw into the wood frame, but it didn't hold the coupler securely. I added a 10 mil styrene shim inside the box and reattached the coupler.
The car is light per NMRA standards by 1.25 oz but there is little room to add more weight without interfering with the trucks. I would argue that since this car cannot see buffing loads in a train, it doesn't need to have the standard weight.
1 Oct 10
Underweight by 1/4 oz
This car carries a lead weight in each end cap. Both existing weights were loose and rattling around in the car. I pried off both endcaps and reattached the existing weights with gel CA. I then added 1/4 oz of stick on weights to each end, replaced the caps and the car was done.
1 Oct 10
Broken Trucks
Since the trucks frames were already broken, I just chucked them and used some left over RoundHouse frames. The metal wheels that came with the car fit fine.
2 Oct 10
This car gave me trouble at the club Open House today. It derailed a couple of times so I took it out of the train along with another car ahead of if that also derailed at the same times. After testing with either car in the train, the problem seemed to be with this car. The other car ran in the train for most of the day without trouble.
Both couplers are sloppy and high. There might be an issue with the wheels hitting the tabs on the sides of the coupler boxes as it derailed only on a diverging route. The car has archbar trucks so it is not an immediate candidate for a wholesale truck replacement.
The coupler boxes were glued to the car and mounted upside down. I peeled and ground them off, reattached new boxes with #2-56 screws and readjusted the height. I clipped the "ears" off the boxes to prevent the wheels from interfering with them in turns. The trucks and wheels were inspected, nothing is obviously wrong.
2 Oct 10
I found these 6 cars in yet another storage box. They didn't get run much because they had a reputation for unreliability. I did a triage on them and found nothing obviously wrong. This is not surprising, if there was something obvious, somebody else would have already fixed it.
The "road numbers" for these cars (except the baggage car) are not visible on the car unless one looks underneath. The cars all had a unique number so that I could track them individually.
Each car has truck pivots that are not centered between the axles. This is common for longer passenger cars and is not a fundamental problem. Each car was of appropriate weight and seemed to roll and track well enough on my tight radius layout.
Each car also had the couplers restrained with a single screw with no provision to prevent the box from rotating. Most of the cars had one or both couplers rotated to maybe 30° or more. This could be a problem as it would put side forces on the cars if they were actually like that when they were run. The rotation may also have occurred after the fact and not be part of the problem. These cars will bear further investigation and study.
I did the same "tune up" to each car. I checked the wheel gauge, all good. I checked the coupler height, some needed some adjustment. I tightened all the coupler boxes to prevent them from rotating. I checked the weight, all good. One had a loose weight, I opened the car and reattached the loose weight. I did a roll test on each car, all good.
I did a test run on the LAMRS layout and, beside a tendency for a couple of them to wobble a little, they ran fine. I had no difficulties with them several times around. They are ready to certify.
29 Apr 11
32081 and 1040 came back in a box with a couple of other bad order cars. I could not find anything wrong with either of them.
21 Oct 11
32113 came back for a wheel alignment problem. One truck, when mounted tightly, canted so that one axle lifted from the track. When the screw was loosened, the car wobbled badly. I found that the bolster pad on the car wasn't flat so that I filed it flat again and added a red Kadee washer to make up for the material I had filed away. I could then tighten the screw to prevent the car from wobbling, however then the screw stripped. I replaced it with a self-stripping one with larger threads and then I could tighten both trucks enough to prevent the car from wobbling but still leave enough truck wobble to allow it to track properly.
2 Oct 10
I replaced the spring. There was also a weight floating around loose inside, I opened the car and glued it back down.
26 Oct 10
Loose walkway, taped on the tank
I reattached the walkway with CA. All else was ok.
26 Oct 10
One coupler box screw was loose. I readjusted the screw and then properly bent the coupler trip rod.
26 Oct 10
The truck frame was cracked at the pivot allowing the sideframe to move and the wheelset to fall out. I replaced the truck with a Roundhouse truck and reused the wheels that were there.
21 Nov 10
A truck fell off, the screw was missing
I chased the threads in the truck mounting hole for #2-56, inserted another screw and reattached the truck. Somewhere on the layout is a screw waiting to trip somebody up.
12 Dec 10
This one was found in the cabinet missing a coupler spring
A new spring was installed.
15 Dec 10
coupler low
The coupler box was incorrectly assembled, removed the cover, turned it over and reattached the cover.
15 Dec 10
Derails, trucks too tight
Loosened trucks.
15 Dec 10
trip pins bent incorrectly
Rebent trip pins.
21 Oct 11
The car was returned as underweight and it was. I added 0.5 oz inside. It still might be 0.05 oz underweight, but my scale only reports to 0.1 oz.
15 Dec 10
Trip pins bent incorrectly
Rebent trip pins.
15 Dec 10
Trip pins bent incorrectly
Rebent trip pins. Note that this car rolls poorly on 18" radius curves due to wheel to interference. Will need to recheck at the club.
15 Dec 10
Trip pins bent incorrectly
Rebent trip pins.
15 Dec 10
Trip pins bent incorrectly
Rebent trip pins.
15 Dec 10
Body sits way too high
The car had incorrect trucks, they didn't fit. I drilled out the truck pivot to match the car and reset coupler height.
15 Dec 10
Wheel to frame interference
Ground the frame to clear the wheels on 18" radius track. Wheels still drag a little on the coupler pockets, need to recheck at the club.
15 Dec 10
Won't roll at all on 18" curves. No other obvious problem. Need to recheck at the club.
15 Dec 10
Couplers don't center, trip pins incorrectly bent.
Whisker couplers were inappropriate for this car, the whiskers didn't press against the short box. Replaced with #5.
15 Dec 10
Broken coupler pivot. Plastic wheels. Member 18.
Ground off old box and installed a #5 box.
Later, the owner replaced the plastic wheels with metal wheels. The axle of the new metal wheels was rubbing on the mounting screw for the Kadee box which made a terrible screech sound and added lots of drag. I ground off the screw head to make it more like a filister head screw and that removed the interference.
13 Jan 11
Missing couplers, very light
The coupler box covers were inside the car, but they were the plastic snap on type. I reused them with a pair of used Kadee #5 couplers but after I snapped the covers back on, I secured them with three small dabs of gel CA. This will retain the cover under normal loads but still allow it to be removed later if needed. The gel CA won't invade the inside and foul the coupler.
The car was seriously underweight. I attached 2 ounces of lead stick on weights inside, 1 ounce at each end.
The brake wheel was also loose at the bottom end. It got secured with another dab of gel CA.
13 Jan 11
This one had snap on plastic coupler pocket cover and one had come partially out. I reinstalled the covers tightly to keep the coupler height under control and applied a small drop of CA on each side to hold it in place. The trip pins needed adjustment.
The car rolled poorly. It would not roll on a 5% grade. I reamed out the truck bearings and lubricated them with graphite. Now it rolls better but it may not meet the club standard. If it fails there, it will need new truck frames.
13 Jan 11
Both couplers were too high and sloppy. I removed the covers and flipped the springs over to the top to lower them. One is just right, the other still a bit high. Then the trip pins were really low and needed adjustment.
13 Jan 11
This one disconnected on me during an OPS session and I bad ordered it immediately. The couplers have way too much vertical slop and they would just ride over the couplers on the mated car.
The car had Kadee whisker couplers but there was nothing there to properly retain them in the pocket. I built up a series of shims to hold both couplers at the right height and to restrain their vertical movement.
2 Feb 11
This is another part of the Trailer Train 5 car set. This one had a broken pivot too and it got the same CA/epoxy treatment.
23 Feb 11
I found that the couplers were too low and the trip pins were bent badly. I flipped the centering spring from the top to the bottom and tightened the boxes securely. That put the knuckles at the right height and then reformed the centering springs. The wheels are in good condition and in gauge. The truck have sufficient rocking capability and all the axles are parallel. The wheels sit properly on the track. The car did not derail on my test roll which has a diverging turnout in the middle of the grade, a customary spot for derailments, and the car handled it fine.
This one goes back to the club for more testing.
23 Feb 11
I reattached the bulkhead with a small amount of CA. The rails on the car floor are loose, but they cannot fall out. The ties in the tie box, however, are loose. I sprayed the top layer with a small amount of very dilute carpenter's glue to prevent the load from falling out in a roll over.
23 Feb 11
The trucks were too tight and didn't have the capability to rock enough, but other than that, I found no problem. I ran it in a test train with the two other cars that were bad ordered for derailments, forward and backward all the way around and I found no problems with any of them, at least after I had fixed them.
6 Aug 12
I got this one back for a missing coupler. The pieces were there, it just fell off due to loss of the retaining screw which was too short. I drilled the mounting hole deeper, tapped it, inserted a longer screw and it is good to go.
23 Feb 11
There was some light interference between the trucks and some of the brake rigging, which I clipped off. Other than that, nothing obvious and the car tested as good.
28 Feb 11
The couplers were both too sloppy preventing any kind of accurate placement of the trip pins. The boxes are of a design that doesn't tightly close so I clamped them closed and secured the box and cover together with CA. This fixed the placement of the couplers and then allowed the trip pins to be properly adjusted.
28 Feb 11
Drilled and tapped both for longer screws. Filed a mold mark off the inside of both boxes that would cause the coupler to bind if the box cover screw was tightened.
I got this car back after it involved in a derailment during an OPS session that it didn't belong in as it wasn't certified. It had not been certified and without a load it was too light. The couplers were much higher than the adjoining car but the problem with the couplers appeared to be in the adjoining car.
I checked the coupler height and there were maybe 10 mils too high. They were also secure in their mount so I decided to leave them alone. The car needs a load and certification.
21 Oct 11
I got this one back with a container load. The load itself was mis-weighted and imbalanced so that the car would tip over if the load was not completely centered in the car. I readjusted the weight distribution in the containers. The trucks were also too wobbly. I had to replace and shim the truck mounting screws so that they would hold the trucks more firmly.
25 Mar 11
It had plastic wheels, they got changed out for a set of club owned used metal wheels.
25 Mar 11
No problem found.
25 Mar 11
I adjusted the wheel gauge.
25 Mar 11
The car had an extra long screw that was hard to thread again but the thread was good so I tightened the screw.
25 Mar 11
The plastic boss for the truck screw was completely stripped out. I mixed some casting resin and filled the hole. I drilled and tapped a new thread and reinstalled the truck.
The coupler pocket covers were also the Athearn clip on types. Club rules require these to be secured so I drilled and tapped an 0-80 hole in the post for both of them and secured them with an 0-80 brass screw.
The car was also underweight, I added 1 oz of lead shot underneath.
25 Mar 11
No problem found.
25 Mar 11
The entire underframe had detached from the body. I reattached it with gel CA.
25 Mar 11
The plastic boss for the truck screw was completely stripped out. I mixed some casting resin and filled the hole. I drilled and tapped a new thread and reinstalled the truck.
29 Apr 11
The coupler box cover was loose allowing the coupler to sag. I tightened the screw and it was good.
14 May 11
One truck is marginally too tight but the car doesn't derail. The coupler trip pins have been cut. One axle needed retuning. Both couplers were very low and needed remounting. Some weights were loose inside and were reattached.
14 May 11
The trip pins have been cut. One coupler was very low so I readjusted the coupler height.
14 May 11
One truck was broken off so I drilled and tapped the remains of the plastic pin and reattached the truck with a #2-56 screw. One wheel barely turned, the truck got tuned. I remounted the couplers as they were too low and adjusted the trip pins.
14 May 11
The coupler pins had been cut. The couplers were low so they got remounted.
It got bad ordered for low couplers, they were still low. I ground off the coupler mounts until the couplers were the right height.
14 May 11
The coupler trip pins had been cut. The couplers were way low so I remounted them. Two weights were loose, remounted them.
14 May 11
A weight was loose, remounted it. I adjusted the coupler trip pins.
21 May 11
body separated from frame and missing one wheelset
I snapped the body back in place, it was secure enough. I found a used wheelset and installed it.
21 May 11
Somebody had replaced the trucks with express trucks that were not intended to fit this car. The holes in the trucks were too big and the screw slipped right through. I added two large #2 washers to fix that. The trip pins needed adjustment.
The undergauge wheels were adjusted and the trucks tuned. Then it rolled ok on my test track. I'll have to recheck it on the club test track.
21 May 11
One of the articulated couplings in the 3 car set was broken. I've fixed several of these already. I reattached the coupling with CA and then reinforced the joint with filled epoxy.
21 May 11
Initially, I found no serious problem. I readjusted the trip pins.
At the club today I found the bad order tag sitting on the test track. It said that the car derails so I tested it some more and it ran fine. After carefully inspecting it, I found that a misplaced brake line was preventing the truck from rotating in one direction. My roll test is down a curved grade and the truck was rotating in the OTHER direction so I didn't detect the issue. I relocated the offending brake line and it then did fine on both directions.
21 May 11
I was told that this was a club car, but it had a member 26 sticker underneath. A nice log load was made but it was in loose pieces which doesn't meet the certification standards. I glued the log load into once piece so that it did meet standards. The request was made to allow the car to run empty, however, it was underweight by 1.25 oz. I attached as much lead shot underneath as was practical for the open frame car, it is still a half ounce short.
21 May 11
I was told that this was a club car, but it had a member 26 sticker underneath. A nice log load was made but it was in loose pieces which doesn't meet the certification standards. I glued the log load into once piece so that it did meet standards. The request was made to allow the car to run empty, however, it was underweight by 1.25 oz. I attached as much lead shot underneath as was practical for the open frame car, it is still a half ounce short.
21 May 11
missing couplers.
I ground off the old coupler boxes and installed Kadee #5 boxes and couplers.
22 May 11
This had to be some metal to metal rubbing. This is what I found. One end of the car was low and the axle was rubbing on the coupler box mounting screw. I shimmed the truck so that the body was at the right height and the interference and noise went away. The coupler was then in spec too.
22 May 11
The car is a steady state short circuit. The issue is the metal sprung metal trucks. The car also rolled very poorly, it would barely roll down a 5% grade. The trucks have essentially plain bearings and will never roll well. My recommendation is to buy some new express trucks or scrap the cars.
15 Feb 12
The club purchased a set of ATH 90383 Commonwealth trucks for this car. These are slightly shorter wheel base than the Central Valley metal trucks, but they are express trucks so that they are appropriate for this car. They fit right on and roll extremely well, better than I have ever seen on my layout.
22 May 11
The car is an intermittent short circuit. The issue is the metal sprung metal trucks. The car also rolled very poorly, it would not roll down a 5% grade. The trucks have essentially plain bearings and will never roll well. My recommendation is to buy some new express trucks or scrap the cars.
15 Feb 12
The club purchased a set of ATH 90383 Commonwealth trucks for this car. These are slightly shorter wheel base than the Central Valley metal trucks, but they are express trucks so that they are appropriate for this car. They fit right on and roll extremely well, better than I have ever seen on my layout.
1 Jun 11
This had been converted as an EOT device (10K resistors added to each truck). During testing, both trucks fell off as the holes were stripped. I replaced the screws with slightly larger self tapping ones.
1 Jun 11
This caboose was in the process of having EOT resistors added when it was detected that the couplers were too high. It was put aside in favor of cars that were in spec.
I ground some plastic off the tops of the truck bolsters to lower the car.
1 Jun 11
The trucks and wheels did not fit up well. The wheels were so loose that they were almost falling out of the trucks.
I replaced the truck frames with Roundhouse frames and made the necessary adjustments to allow them to fit.
1 Jun 11
One coupler was way too low and sloppy in it's box. The other was ok. The problem is that the box cover (part of the frame) had not been assembled correctly and it was hung up without closing properly. I reassembled the car properly and the coupler was at the right height.
25 Aug 11
The coupler box cover was loose, reattached it with MEK.
25 Aug 11
The whole carbody sat too high. I ground off the coupler mounting posts some more.
25 Aug 11
Trip pin adjusted.
7 Sep 11
One coupler mount was broken. I reattached it with CA.
7 Sep 11
This one also had a broken coupler mount. It was fixed with CA.
7 Sep 11
This one had been wired as a battery powered FRED car. The FRED didn't work because of a broken wire on the power switch, an easy fix. I reattached the shell with four small dabs of gel CA. The bond can be broken again to remove the shell to replace the two AAA batteries. The car will be used at EOT much of the time so that it will need 10K resistors bridged across the axles to allow it to trip the club signaling system. I don't have any 1/8 or 1/20 watt resistors to do it with so that will wait until I return it to the club.
7 Sep 11
These spine cars seem to take inordinate abuse. In this case, the coupler centering spring was simply mangled. I replaced it with a new one.
7 Sep 11
This two car set was joined with a drawbar which was broken. I fabricated another one from styrene. One coupler was also missing. The other end had already been changed out with a Kadee #5 and box so I did the same thing for the missing coupler. I ground off the old mounting features and attached a Kadee #5 and box.
7 Sep 11
Somebody had installed short shank couplers on this car to get it to close couple. However, the coupler was just a little too short. The part of the coupler right behind the trip pin was riding on the coupler pocket and holding it up. I ground it back so that the coupler just barely cleared the car and the height came down to an acceptable level.
11 Sep 11
This one had Athearn metal clip coupler pocket covers and it was missing one coupler and cover. I installed a new coupler and cover and secured both with #0-80 screws.
11 Sep 11
The truck frame was broken and the wheels were missing. I found another low profile truck in the club parts box and two metal wheelsets in my club junk box. Even then, the coupler was way high. I determined that the only way to fix it was to "adjust" the frame. I heated it several times with a heat shrink hot air gun and slowly formed the frame end again so that the pocket was level and at the right height. A step was loose so I reattached it. It also needed a knuckle spring.
11 Sep 11
I drilled and tapped the car for a #2-56 screw and reattached the truck. The coupler was low so I shimmed the truck to make the height come out right.
Update 27 Oct 11
I got this one back when it failed a roll test. Some of the wheelsets did not spin well and the car hardly rolled down a 5% curving grade. This is bad. I got a blister pack of Intermountain wheels from the club and changed out the old wheels. Then the car rolled as well as any I have seen on my layout roll test. It ought to do well at the club.
15 Sep 11
Side extensions loose. I attached the extensions with a little CA. The trip pins were also too high so I adjusted them.
15 Sep 11
All the wheels were in gauge. I assume that it derailed and this was because one of the wheel sets was a 36" wheel instead of a 33" wheel. I changed it out. However the axles on the outer wheelsets still dragged on the screws that had been installed to keep the snap on metal coupler pockets from popping off. The screws were too long and rubbing against the axles. Since the screws were #2 self tapping, I could not put a proper #0-80 screw in their place so I ground them shorter so that I could screw them all the way down to clear the axles. Then I had to shim the carbody on one end to get the coupler height right.
15 Sep 11
This puppy should have never been on the railroad.
I ground down the bolsters on the couplers to lower the carbody to get the couplers at the right height. It is light because it needs a weighted load. We have those at the club. Then it can be certified.
Update 26 Oct 11
Steve found some containers to put in it, but it was still light so I added an oz.
Update 2 Nov 11
It came back, still underweight. My scale said it was just right to within 0.1 oz so it must have been a shade under. The club scale reads out to 0.01 oz. I added another quarter oz.
15 Sep 11
missing one coupler and one wheelset 36"
This is another one with a wrong sized wheelset. I replaced it with a used 33" wheelset. I don't have any more Kadee #5 couplers, I'll have to get some from the club.
15 Sep 11
The car had plastic wheels. I found a set of used metal wheels and I reused the existing trucks as the trucks that the used wheels came in didn't spin well.
21 Sep 11
Car B leaned a little. A weight in it's load was loose and rattling around. I reattached it to the center of the container. The truck on car C was pretty tight, that might have contributed to that shared truck derailing. The truck on the end of car C was loose which contributed to the wobble.
I really couldn't test this set on my layout as my tunnel clearances are below NMRA spec and don't allow double stacks. I drove it around as best I could and had only one issue with the last truck on car B picking a point and going the wrong way. This set will need more testing at the club.
26 Oct 11
The car and two supplied containers were already over the weight spec by 1 oz so I permanently attached them to the car.
Update 2 Nov 11
This one came back for reasons unknown. It wobbled so I filed the mount of both trucks to allow them to be tightened up. It doesn't wobble now. It is in weight spec.
26 Oct 11
The car and two supplied containers were already over the weight spec by 1 oz so I permanently attached them to the car.
Update 2 Nov 11
This one came back for reasons unknown. It's weight is in spec. I did notice that it wobbled some so I filed one truck mount so that one truck could be tightened. The track powered FRED obscures the other truck mount so I left it alone.
31 Oct 11
This is a wood car with metal express trucks, kind of an odd combination as the all would cars would have been out of service by the time that these trucks were introduced. In any event, it needs couplers and the railings and steps at one end. The roof is loose. The car predates any of our other standard gauge rolling stock. The narrow gauge guys may want it to put narrow gauge trucks underneath, but if not, sell it.
31 Oct 11
Somebody had done a very neat job of attaching sheet lead under this car but unfortunately, the lead sheet extended to far and the wheel flanges were rubbing on it, essentially setting the brakes. I trimmed off the excess material at both ends and then I discovered that the trucks didn't sit flat causing one wheelset at each end to lift off the track. I adjusted the truck mount and frame to get the trucks to sit parallel to the rails. I cannot test it on my tight radius track as the flanges then rub on the center frame and put on the brakes again, but it rolls on the straight just fine.
31 Oct 11
I added 1 oz underneath the car using a combination of 1/4 oz stick on weights (cut to fit) and filling in the rest with shot.
31 Oct 11
I added 0.75 oz of cut up stick on weights underneath. The car might be a hair light, but it is close enough.
31 Oct 11
I was able to get the roof off this car so I added 1 oz of stick on weights inside.
31 Oct 11
I was able to get the roof off this car so I added 1 oz of stick on weights inside.
31 Oct 11
The car was seriously underweight and the container was detached. I added 3 oz to the container and reattached it with gel CA. I also found that the couplers were low and the car would not take the standard Kadee red washers. I used #6 nylon washers and the car came to the right height.
Update 7 Dec 11
I bad ordered this one yesterday for derailments. It was running at the end of a test train and the "A" end was to the rear. The rear truck picked a point at Hunter East and then derailed on the Bear Paw trestle. All I found was that the A end truck may have been a little tight so I loosened it.
1 Nov 11
48c had a broken drawbar at the end so I replaced it with a Kadee #5 coupler
21 Nov 11
I installed another nail in this car and it's good to go.
21 Nov 11
The frame had come loose at one end due to the truck screw not being inserted all the way. This made the truck especially sloppy as well. I ground down the truck bolsters as far as I cared to go and the couplers were still a little high so I flipped the center ing springs to the top. This got them very close to the right height.
21 Nov 11
The "B" end coupler was just a tad low so I shimmed the carbody up with a single red Kadee washer.
7 Dec 11
I found this one yesterday in a box as we were cleaning out stuff to sell at the Christmas Run Swap Meet. It is a Mehano trolly trailer. However, it isn't worth saving. The power pickups are so stiff that the wheels don't actually turn and I didn't feel like expending the effort to rebuild the pickups because I don't think that the powered car exists anymore.
12 Dec 11
This one and the following two (plus OTTX 92148) were bad ordered because they participated in two separate break in two events during the Christmas run yesterday.
BN 217633 had small Kadee couplers which which I have had reliability problems in the past. Further, both were bent and too low. They used a narrow type box with the spring behind the post. I removed both boxes and couplers and chucked them. I then installed a pair of standard Kadee #5 couplers. This problem should be gone.
12 Dec 11
The car was in pretty good condition but the couplers were a little sloppy. They wanted to be shimmed downward so I attached some 10 mil styrene shims between the carbody and the coupler boxes.
24 Mar 12
After it sat at the club for a few months, I got it out to certify and it failed the roll test. There is added drag in the curve on the test track. I took the car home and worked over the frame a little under the assumption that a wheel is dragging when the truck swivels. It almost rolls on my 18" curves so it might roll well enough on the club's much more generous curves.
12 Dec 11
The couplers were way too high. This car had incorrect trucks installed, they didn't fit over the posts. I drilled out the coupler mounting hole by about 10 mils and they fit over the posts and then the couplers were at the right height.
12 Dec 11
This car was in very good condition. All I did was to check it to the certification standards (it passed) and then bent the coupler trip pins back down to the correct height.
12 Dec 11
roof loose, plastic wheels, no road or number, needs weight.
The club has lots of cabooses. I will return this one for disposition.
21 Dec 11
The container load leaned because there was a chunk of a previous container still glued in the well. I ground it off and the container stack was stable.
The car was also light so I added 1.5 oz of stick on weights in the lower container and then glued the load in place.
29 Dec 11
The car leaned pretty badly because the container load was not mounted properly. I broke the glue joints (lots of them) holding the load to the car and found that both the load and car had many lumps of plastic and glue that didn't allow the container load to sit flat in the car even when I got it back in to where it was. I ground off all the protrusions on both the load and the car and reattached it with just a little bit of gel CA.
The car still didn't stand up straight and one coupler was high. Somebody had replaced the truck and it didn't fit over the post on the carbody properly. I filed the hole in the truck a few mils bigger and then it fit. The coupler was then at the right height and the car stood up straight.
23 Jan 12
This one came back again for leaning, this time only when it was under tension at the front of a train. Somebody had filed the other truck to lower the car but didn't get it quite flat so the car favored one side. I filed it flat again and then adjusted the trip pin on that coupler as it was then just a tad low. I'll test it again tomorrow night.
11 Jan 12
I found the missing hatch, with broken hinges inside the car. It was bit of trouble rattling it until I could pick it out with tweezers. Since there was only one working hinge and no latch, I glued it in place.
6 Feb 12
no problem found
6 Feb 12
The carbody was not sitting squarely on the frame and not much was holding it in place. Straightened it out and staked with gel CA.
6 Feb 12
Replaced the truck frame with another one.
23 Feb 12
All five of these cars have the same set of problems. I was running them last Tuesday while testing locos and they kept uncoupling and I'd leave part of my train behind. All five had couplers that were too high by varying amounts. They also tended to roll poorly by varying amounts.
The coupler height issue is one I have identified as couplers that were not properly mounted, but I haven't figured out how to fix it yet. The plate that is the bottom of the coupler box isn't attached flat on each of the cars and it tends to cant the couplers upward to varying degrees.
The rolling problem has two sources. Since these cars have inside bearings per the prototype, they are implemented as friction bearings can never be expected to roll as well as needle bearing trucks. However some of them would spin a little and some not at all.
The problem is that each wheelset an this outside hung brake feature on one wheel and it rubs on the outside of at least one wheel on each car. I pried it away from the wheel with a small screwdriver on the worst offenders and that seemed to allow enough clearance to make a bad one spin at least as well as the better ones.
27 Feb 12
The coupler issue has two causes. One cause is that the screws that hold on the coupler cover are marginally too long for the holes that are on the carbody on about half of the mount points. The mounting hole isn't deep enough. I drilled and tapped the ones that bottomed out and then the covers would sit flat and hold the coupler securely enough so that it doesn't rid up anymore. However, they are all a little high and a remount will be difficult. They all need the low set version of a Kadee #5 and I don't have any. I'll get some from the club.
So now the cars roll better but won't meet club standards, we'll probably have to waive that. The couplers are now secure instead of floppy, but they are too high and too small (some cars have finescale couplers). Remounting them or lowering the cars will be impractical so they need new couplers.
1 Mar 12
The club supplied some #45 couplers (overset, standard knuckle) and #145 couplers (overset, standard knuckle, whisker) couplers for these cars but they don't fit. The standard knuckle head extends back down the shank a little further than the scale heads that are on the cars such that the rear of the standard coupler head drags on the ends of the cars and the couplers do not center properly.
Instead of getting a whole new set of scale overset couplers, I stress tested each car against a coupler height gauge and determined that the height is not ideal but will not likely cause an uncoupling problem. I'll get the cars tested again (I am sure that somebody will volunteer to run a train) to see if the repairs that I did already were good enough. There is no room to lower the carbody any more as the wheels virtually touch the frame anyway. If the couplers are still a problem, we can get new ones. The existing overset standard couplers will indeed come in handy later.
2 Mar 12
The cupola lifted right off too. I glued both the cupola and smokejack back in place.
2 Mar 12
The four cast resin loads were loose on this OPS car. I permanentely attached them to the car.
11 Dec 12
One of the loads came loose. It got reattached with more gel CA.
2 Mar 12
One of the tread plates at the end of the car was loose. It got reattached with CA. One handrail was partially broken, it got reattached with CA. The container load was loose, it got reattached with CA.
2 Mar 12
I had installed block occupancy resistors on this car but it was not detected. There was some coating on the axle that prevent contact with the resistor.
I replaced the wheels with new Intermountain resistors and reinstalled the resistors. It should work now.
7 Mar 12
Last night I scouted the layout and the club rolling stock cabinet for cabeese that did not have two resistors for block signal detection. I found 4 with no resistors and 2 with only 1 resistor. The others had been done by a variety of folks at the club.
The club has elected to require some sort of block detection at the end of a train. Without it, a CTC dispatcher cannot tell from his display where the end of a train is and we have had problems with turnouts being remotely thrown under a train. Putting block detection at the end of each train seems to have fixed this.
The club as elected to implement a "cheap and dirty" approach to adding resistors. This simply an 1/8 watt resistor with the leads wrapped around the axles on each truck. The wheelsets are reversed with respect to each other in each truck. If the axle is clean, this works well enough as the signaling system will actually work with the intermittent electrical path through a single 10KΩ resistor. The 2nd one just provides some redundancy.
This approach adds some drag to the car but there is usually only one car in a train and the overall drag isn't that high. It is quick and easy to do and costs about $0.06 per car for the two resistors. It is also completely reversible.
Two cars needed their axles cleaned up with a Dremel wire brush and on one car, the truck frame came apart and needed repair. Otherwise, there was little difficulty installing the resistors.
31 Mar 12
donation
Plastic wheels
Kadee couplers
Athearn metal couple pocket covers
31 Mar 12
4 metal wheels
4 plastic wheels
1 Kadee coupler missing on each car
Athearn coupler pocket covers (except 96574)
31 Mar 12
Missing 1 truck and coupler
Plastic wheels
31 Mar 12
Plastic wheels
Kadee couplers (except 56595 missing one coupler)
Athearn coupler box covers
31 Mar 12
Plastic wheels
Kadee couplers (except 56595 missing one coupler)
Athearn coupler box covers
31 Mar 12
Shell loose
Kadee couplers
screwed coupler box covers
31 Mar 12
Kadee couplers
Metal wheels
31 Mar 12
Kadee couplers
Metal wheels
31 Mar 12
Metal Wheels
Kadee Couplers
31 Mar 12
Kadee couplers, one was highset, changed to centerset
Metal wheels
23 Apr 12
One truck had fallen off, the other was ready to fall off. The truck screws had simply backed off.
23 Apr 12
I know how this truck got broken, I dropped it. I found and installed a new truck.
23 Apr 12
One ladder had peeled away from the body of the car. I reinserted the pins that held the bottom part in place and then tacked it with a bit of CA.
23 Apr 12
A slab of steel had been glued to the car floor, it broke loose. I reattached it with contact cement
18 May 12
The shell came completely off. I reattached it with 4 small dabs of gel CA.
18 May 12
One coupler box was loose because the screw was bottomed out. I tapped the hole a little deeper and reinstalled the cover.
18 May 12
There is another ARZC 100050 listed in this page, this is not the same car.
Both couplers were low and didn't center. The boxes were loose. Both centering springs were mangled and were replaced. Then I tightened the boxes just enough to raise them a little but not cause them to bind.
18 May 12
There is another car with the same number listed above, this is a duplicate car.
I found nothing wrong with the couplers but the loads were loose so I reattached them with gel CA.
18 May 12
One coupler box cover had come loose. I reattached it with gel CA.
23 May 12
The couplers were at the right height but a trip pin was low so it was adjusted.
23 May 12
This car was one of several that got dropped when a box fell off the lowest shelf in staging.
The shell popped off and snapped back on.
23 May 12
This car was one of several that got dropped when a box fell off the lowest shelf in staging.
Two internal weights popped loose in the crash. They were reattached to the floor of the car with gel CA.
23 May 12
This car was one of several that got dropped when a box fell off the lowest shelf in staging.
An end panel snapped off at a glue joint. It was reattached with CA.
23 May 12
This car was one of several that got dropped when a box fell off the lowest shelf in staging.
This car had a broken truck frame. The whole truck was replaced.
6 Aug 12
replaced coupler spring
6 Aug 12
This car was loaded with a die cast model of a road grader which fell apart. I reassembled it with CA and reattached it to the car.
6 Aug 12
The shell had popped off. It had been attached with some adhesive that let go. I reattached it with gel CA.
2 Oct 12
This one fell from the layout due to a derailment. One truck and coupler were broken off.
The truck was replaced whole from one taken off a caboose. The axles are not suitable for adding leaded resistors. The coupler box was damaged so it was ground off and replaced with a Kadee #5 box.
11 Dec 12
I installed a metal coupler box cover under the screw that was holding the coupler on.
23 Feb 13
The articulation coupling had broken off this car sometime in the past and somebody else fixed it with a piece of music wire and adhesive. The adhesive let go but the wire was still there. I reattached it with CA. We'll see how it holds up. The music wire will take up most of the stress, the CA just keeps it on the wire.
23 Feb 13
The club has a rule that Athearn clip on coupler pocket covers must be retained with a screw. This car had no retaining screws so I installed an 0-80 screw at both ends. The car has an OPS car card but there is no mark on the car indicating that it is certified. It'll get certified and put back in the OPS boxes.
23 Feb 13
Both couplers had fallen off this car. The car has plastic pockets with push on plastic covers, not acceptable. I ground off both pockets and replaced them with Kadee #5 boxes. The walkways were loose too, they got reattached with CA.
10 Apr 13
The #2-56 screw that holds the truck on was missing. I replaced it.
10 Apr 13
This one, and PSPX 9213 were bad ordered together during an OP session because they would not stay coupled. It was not immediately clear which one was at fault, so they both got BO tags.
T&NO 41531 was the bad actor, the couplers were quite high. Both trucks had washers under them. All the washers were removed and the couplers returned to the correct height. Testing with PSPX 9213 showed that the cars stay coupled firmly after T&NO was fixed.
10 Apr 13
This one, and T&NO 41531 were bad ordered together during an OP session because they would not stay coupled. It was not immediately clear which one was at fault, so they both got BO tags.
PSPX 9213 was fine and didn't need any repairs.
10 Apr 12
One truck was broken and the wheels were missing. I replaced it with an Andrews freight car truck but the car was a little high on that end. I shaved off the car bolster to get the coupler to the right height.