I make four changes to my ARISTO-CRAFT freight cars: I lower them (the most time consuming alteration), replace the stock couplers with body mounted Kadee® couplers, replace the existing wheels with Gary Raymond "G" scale metal wheels, and file a little plastic off the truck sideframes. The finished cars seem to look much better and easily negotiate 4 foot radius (LGB 1600) curves.

UNDERFRAME MODIFICATIONS

Remove the truck and the screws securing the underbody truck bolster to the floor. Then use a Dremel motor tool and a file to remove part of the bolster on each end of the car. When you have finished, the bolster will no longer have its plastic top; it will resemble an open box with walls 9/32-inch high, the same height as the center sills where they drop down to clear the brake rigging.

Also remove the rib to support the long Talgo coupler extension on the ARISTO-CRAFT truck. The entire "plate" molded onto the floor should then be flat and smooth.

Cut the ends of the body bolster (at the car sides) to a height of 1/8-inch above the floor, then taper the bolster from the 9/32-inch high area between the center sills down to the ends.

Cover the open top of the body bolster with rectangles of .040- or .060-inch thick sheet styrene and cement them in place with a solvent type liquid cement such as Tenax, Testor's Liquid Cement for Plastics, Weld-On, or Methyl Ethyl Ketone. (Caution: The vapors from such cements, particularly MEK, are very harmful; be certain to provide plenty of ventilation.) Then laminate two or three pieces of sheet styrene into a second plate .100-inch thick. It will become the bolster pad. Cement it in place onto the flat middle section of the body bolster.

When the cement has dried thoroughly, drill a hole 1/4-inch in diameter through the center of the body bolster pedestal and cement a 1/4-inch diameter styrene tube into the hole. Be sure the joint is strong; the trucks will screw into the hole in the tube. I tapped mine for a very common 6-32 machine screw and drove the screw straight in. In some cases, it may be necessary to secure the screw with a nut from inside the car. Obviously, that would be inadvisable in the case of a flatcar.

Finally, it may be necessary to remove some material from the intermediate sills to prevent the wheels from rubbing because of the lower bolster height.

THE TRUCKS

As I indicated above, I replaced the stock plastic wheels with Gary Raymond "G" scale metal wheels. Dean Lowe Metal Wheels work equally well but have larger flanges. Both work out to an almost perfect 33 scale inches in diameter, the correct size for most standard gauge freight cars.

You must also enlarge the mounting hole through the truck bolster to a diameter of 1/4-inch so it will fit over the new kingpin. Trim the top of the kingpin so it projects just slightly beyond the "floor" of the truck bolster. When you mount the truck, add a washer to protect the bolster and 6-32 a roundhead screw to secure it.

Cut off the Talgo coupler mount extension so the length of each tab protruding from the truck bolster is about equal.

I reshape the truck sideframes to represent more closely the appearance of actual Bettendorf trucks. I use a small file to make the very simple modification. Closer-to-scale wheels lower the position of the sideframes so I remove about 1/16-inch from the bottom of the brake shoes to prevent their rubbing on the rails and file off about 3/16-inch from the top to balance the appearance.

ADDING KADEE® COUPLERS

My preference is to body mount Kadee's number 830 couplers in the large draft gear box. Since the height of each car will vary depending on the precise amount you remove from the body bolsters and the thickness of the styrene covering them, you'll have to mount the car on its trucks and new wheels to determine the exact coupler height. In all cases, the coupler must drop below the level of the floor of the underframe. Add shims of sheet styrene ranging from .010- to .060-inch thick until you arrive at the correct position for the draft gear box, laminate the styrene together into a rectangular mounting plate, and cement it to the floor of the carbody.

Mount the draft gear box. The forward hole along the centerline should line up with the existing hole in the carbody, so turn the car right side up, find the hole, and drill it through the shim. Enlarge it to accept a 4-40 roundhead screw, and use the draft gear box to locate the position of the second screw hole. Also drill it to accept a 4-40 screw.

Now attach the trucks and couplers.

COUPLER LIFT BARS

Lift bars were the only detail I added to my cars. They dress up the ends enough to enhance the already good detail on ARISTO-CRAFT's boxcars, reefers, and stockcars.

I use 1/32-inch diameter cotter pins as lift bar brackets. They are available from machinist's supply houses. Drill the top of the Kadee coupler just behind the trip pin so the cotter pin will be a tight press fit. Shorten the shank to avoid its interfering with the coupler's operation. Notice the loop runs parallel to the end of the car, but wait before installing it.

As the drawing indicates, the other cotter pin mounts between the two rivets molded onto the downward projection from the left side of the car end. You also must shorten its shank and, for additional strength, you may crimp the ends from behind. Notice how, in this instance, the loop runs vertically. Again, test fit but wait before installing the cotter pin.

Bend a length of .040-inch diameter brass rod to form the lever as in the illustration. Slip on the cotter pins and attach them in place on the car. The lever should be a loose fit through each cotter pin's "eye". That will allow it to slide and avoid interference with the coupler's operation.

PAINT AND FINISH

Paint all the hardware to match the car's finish as closely as possible. I airbrushed the ladders, grab irons, roof hardware, truck sideframes, wheel faces, coupler release levers, and even the couplers themselves. Floquil and Scalecoat paints closely approximate the shades of color ARISTO-CRAFT uses, and weathering will obscure any differences. I use a combination of washes, pastel chalks, and oversprays to weather my cars but even a light overspray of Boxcar Red or Grimy Black will blend together varying shades. When the paint has dried, put your cars on the track, couple 'em up, and they're ready for service.