1:22.5 TRUSS ROD AND TURNBUCKLE SET
Manufacturer: Shortline Car & Foundry, 14918 Lake Forest, Dallas, TX 75240. Price: 5091 truss rod kit with medium turnbuckles $18.00 suggested list.
"DO IT YOURSELF Dave" Cummins may enjoy coring and tapping brass turnbuckles, but many of us tremble at the thought. Shortline Car & Foundry has come to our aid.
Their truss rod kit contains eight steel truss rod halves, threaded on both ends, eight threaded square brass nut/washer castings, and four threaded brass turnbuckle castings. The threads on each are 2-56 right-hand.
The turnbuckles measure 15 inches long in 1:22.5 scale with an overall diameter of 3 scale inches. The "washers" measure 5 scale inches square and the "nuts" 2 1/2 inches square. For those compulsive enough to care, my official D&RGW blueprints show the turnbuckles on high side gondolas were 12 inches long; on the 3000 series boxcars they were about 8 inches. Shortline Car & Foundry's owner, Chuck Allen, makes no claim that the parts are exactly to scale. He says they're "'standoff' scale, and a whole lot better looking than what's on most cars now." Of course, most cars have no turnbuckles now, so Chuck is on pretty safe ground.
I am remiss. I have no micrometer. I can only report the rods are a little smaller in diameter than those on LGB and USA Trains rolling stock and slightly larger than those on Delton/Caledonia and D.A.N. cars. Each rod is 8 1/4 actual inches long.
The parts seem too large for most applications of 1:24 scale and smaller but quite useful for 1:20.3.
The end washers in our kit were very clean. They needed no clean-up with a file. A couple of turnbuckles might benefit from a few seconds with a file, but only if you're particularly fastidious. All the parts screwed together smoothly and perfectly.
The instructions are thorough and friendly and simple enough for a novice. Chuck takes you through the entire assembly process, and points out most problems you could encounter in car building before you find out the hard way. Besides, most hobbyists tackling a kitbash or scratchbuilding project involving enough detail to warrant using Shortline's truss rod kit will have had some prior experience. Chuck's diagrams and suggestions probably will serve more as the icing than the cake.
No, I neglected to construct my own finescale 1:22.5 version of Do It Yourself Dave's Rio Grande caboose so you could see how the truss rods will look on a finished model. Yes, I may...someday. When it's done, if you send me a note, I promise to run a photo of it in the magazine.
I did hold a set next to an LGB boxcar to see how it would look. Definitely an improvement. So, for now, let me say only that Shortline Car & Foundry's truss rod kit contains strong, good looking, high quality parts. Scratchbuilders and kitbashers should find them very useful and convenient. Four drilled and tapped medium turnbuckles also are available separately in kit number 5022 at $5.60. All are excellent products.--RR
