In the middle of 1993, two modelers on opposite sides of the country had the same idea at the same time. Each stretched an ARISTO-CRAFT AAR 40 foot boxcar into a 50 foot car. But with the various configurations possible (single door, centered double doors, offset double doors, 6 foot wide doors, 8 foot wide doors), each built a different version.

Bill Frank's model came to our attention first; it won the ARISTO-CRAFT Manufacturer's Award at the National Garden Railway Convention at Santa Clara last year. So we'll let Bill go first. Bob Uniack already has built three different 50 foot boxcars and now has begun stretching reefers. The story of his boxcar conversion will conclude the article.

BILL FRANK'S B&O BOXCAR

I build better than I write, so let's get right to the instructions. And the first instruction is to find a scale rule. I made my own but, if you prefer, you may use an HO scale rule. That's because 1:29 scale is three times HO (1:87.1) scale, so 3 HO scale feet equal 1 ARISTO-CRAFT scale foot.

Next, buy two ARISTO-CRAFT boxcars. Sorry, it does take two.

Now follow my checklist and let's begin.

The Underbody

• If you use assembled cars for your conversion, strip off the trucks, grab irons, ladders, roof walks, and all other add-on details except the underbody brake parts. Also remove each superstructure from its chassis.
• Lift the floorboards from each chassis by first removing the six screws on the underbody and the two smaller screws inside the door openings, then prying or flexing out the yellow or brown floorboard inserts.
• Cut the bottom half of the first car at a point two boards past the small rib at the center of the underbody. The longer section should be the one with the short brake cylinder. Cut right through the single brake rod. Later you may splice in some 1/16-inch diameter plastic rod.
• Cut a 10 scale foot long section from the middle of the second car bottom after carefully removing the brake gear. (I broke mine.) That section should include the three center ribs. Your cuts should be at the joint between the second and third floorboard past the rib on the end with the small brake cylinder (1 1/2 inches past the mounting platform for the small brake cylinder) and between the third and fourth floorboards past the rib on the opposite end.
• Glue and screw the floorboard section from the first car to the new center section from the second car. Then glue that assembly to the two original chassis halves. You will then have a fifty foot chassis!

• Cut the roof of the superstructure you plan to use at the points where the door opening ends, approximately 1/4-inch past the center of each roof rib. You will then have two boxcar ends, one roof section eight scale feet long, and two bottom door guide rails.
• Cut the other car 16 scale inches past each end of the door openings. That will give you another two boxcar ends and a door opening with 16 scale inches of siding on either side.
• Cut the door guides at opposite ends on opposite sides: Measure a scale 5 feet 6 inches from each end along the top, then cut.
• Install the box ends on the chassis. The joints will be a make-fit situation. I recommend you tape the 16 scale inch long section in place, then dry fit the remaining pieces in place. When the assembly looks good, make your final trim cuts and cement those parts together.
• Remove the box ends from the chassis.
• Glue some scrap styrene sheet to the underside of the box ends, roof, and sides.
• Glue the 16 scale inch section in place.
• Glue on more scrap styrene to support the center section of the roof.
• Install the box ends.
• Glue in the center section of the roof.
• Check the position of the bottom door guides so they will match the notches on the chassis. I trimmed mine all the way across for a two-lap fit. You should now also fit and glue the top door guides in place. That will require some cutting and fitting. I salvaged as many of the press-in tabs as possible; I used glue for the rest.
• Cut off most of the lower door guide, leaving only the last four scale feet on the right half of each side of the car.
• Since all four doors are identical, we'll have to change two of them. The inexpensive way is to pop out the latch, build up two wooden notice boards, and glue them over the area where the latch had been. A better looking method involves using a fifth door (from a third boxcar). Cut out the area on two doors where the latch had mounted. Plug those cut-outs with sections from the fifth door.
• Glue a section of K&S 3/16-inch brass channel 12 actual inches long beneath the door opening where we removed the plastic. That will help keep the doors from sagging. Fit the doors in place.
• Fill any gaps or holes with Squadron Green plastic filler putty. Then build up the center door stop. I used a #72 bit to drill holes into the top door guide, inserted short straight pins, and cut off the pins flush with the bottom of the rail.
• Now for the final assembly. Remember to splice together the roofwalk sections so the pins will fit the holes in the top of the roof. When you have installed the doors, you may also add door stops. Cut triangular pieces from 1/4-inch square Evergreen strainer strip and glue them onto the brass door guides.
• Paint and letter your model. Seal the lettering with a coat of clear lacquer such as Testor's Dullcote or Floquil Crystal Cote. Then either weather the boxcar, or run it new from the shop.

2 ea. ARISTO-CRAFT 40 foot boxcars
1 ea. Evergreen .060-inch thick styrene sheet
1 bag Evergreen 1/4-inch square styrene tubing
2 ea. 12 inch long K&S brass channels
1 bottle Zap-A-Gap Cyanoacrylate (CA) cement
1 pkg. Larry Larsen Graphics dry transfers
1 pkg. Woodland Scenics Model Graphics dry transfer individual letters
1 tube Squadron Green plastic filler putty
1 bottle Boxcar red paint (I used Badger Boxcar Brown Oxide)

BOB UNIACK'S BOXCARS

I take a compromise approach to stretching ARISTO-CRAFT's boxcars. Instead of trying to make my cars exactly match a particular prototype, the existing panels and seams determine the location of my cuts and splices. As a result, my models may be slightly shorter than 50 feet but they are much easier to build. Here is my method.

Begin With The Superstructure

Locate the seventh roof rib from the left side of the car. It will be about 9 3/4 inches from the car end. Use a razor saw or a Dremel motor tool with a Tuffgrind cutoff disk to bisect the superstructure of each car on the right side of that rib. Set aside the short half of each car.

Use a coarse, flat, six inch file very carefully to trim each body shell to the center of that seventh rib. It will take time, but neatness and accuracy are critical to producing a good model. Be sure the joint between the two body halves is flush; hold them together up to the light and minimize the gap until as little light as possible shows through. Also be certain the two halves of the hole for the roofwalk tab form a perfect circle. That will be important later.

Trim the strips below the door openings to match the upper mating sections exactly. Work on a flat surface, use a square, and be patient.

If you plan to build a car with a single center door, you must fill in each side of the door openings. Single door cars require the most work, so I will describe the entire process.

Cut two wall panels from each (short) discarded body half. Be sure you cut along the right-hand edge of the rivet seam, 2 1/2 inches from the door edge. Discard the horizontal rows of rivets or door guide troughs on the top and bottom of each panel. You should end up with a total of four wall panels.

File the door openings to accept the four new panels by removing the ridges and door stop projections from the door openings on each side. Then position a one inch wide strip of .060-inch thick styrene to the underside of one roof section to act as a reinforcing and positioning gusset. Cement it to the roof using plenty of MEK (methyl-ethyl-ketone) solvent. [Warning: MEK can be dangerous. Work in an area with plenty of ventilation.-Ed.] Add the second body half and bond with more MEK. Hold the two halves together tightly on a very flat surface.

When the roof joint has set, the lower door guide sections should touch. Cement them together, too. Let the body dry overnight. Then add the four side panel sections, again using styrene strips to reinforce the joints and help to position the parts.

If you plan to build a car with center mounted double doors, you will have no need of the four additional body panels. If you build a model with offset double doors, you will need only one additional body panel on each side of the car, at the right edge of the door opening.

Your car should now have a trough along the top edge where the door guide would have gone. Fill it with .060- by .100-inch styrene strip. Retain the lower door guide but shorten it to fit the door configuration of your model. Remove the excess and add a triangular stop of .125-inch square styrene rod.

If you want to add a deeper side to sill to make your car more closely resemble a specific prototype, build it up from 1/8-inch thick by at least 1/4 inch wide strip styrene strip. Cement the strip to the model's existing bottom edge.

Doors And Roof Detail

The doors on my models are inoperable so I trim off the rearmost vertical tabs, bevel in lower door guide tabs, and trim off the right- and left-hand projections to leave only a vertical tab. Wait to attach the doors until you screw the body onto the chassis.

As you assemble cars with different door configurations, you inevitably will collect some spare doors. You may then use them, with careful cutting and fitting, to build up new doors of varying widths, with or without latch mechanisms.

Build a new upper door guide from .080- by .100-inch styrene strip. Cement the strip onto the .060- by .100 inch filler piece you added and butt it up against the top of the door. Then cement a second styrene strip .125- by .020-inch onto the newly built up section and over the lip of the door to complete the upper door guide.

Add the roofwalk. It consists of two halves of equal length. Count four tabs from one end of each original section and cut through the roofwalk and down the middle of that fourth tab so each new section will have half a tab. Place each new section on the roof, join the them at the hole at the center of the roof, and cement them together.

If you want to model a different kind of roof, cut appropriately shaped raised panels from .020-inch thick sheet styrene and cement them to the roof with MEK.

Chassis Modification And Final Assembly

Remove the inner floors from the underbody castings. Cut the underbody of each original car. Then glue together the two chassis sections. Reinforce the joint by gluing in one original inner floor section and as much of the second as will fit. The overlap creates the joint strength. Install as many of the original screws as possible to secure the assembly.

If you want to lower your cars and body mount Kadee® couplers, refer to my article in the October/November 1993 issue of Outdoor Railroader. It covers the modifications in detail. Add whatever brake hardware you prefer. I use ARISTO-CRAFT's original plastic parts but replace their plastic brake rods with 1/16-inch diameter brass rod.

Attach the body to the floor using the long screws the manufacturer provides. At this point you will be extremely glad you waited to install the side doors. Positioning the screw ends is all but impossible unless you can reach inside the car through the door openings. The screws at the car ends are unnecessary if you body mount Kadee couplers as I described.

Finally, attach the side doors and the body hardware. Paint and letter your model. I used Robert Dustin's very accurate decal sets on my cars. Spray on a clear fixative such as Testor's Dullcote or Floquil Flat Finish and your model is complete.