I might as well throw my hat into the ring. I have modified/kitbashed several cars over the past few years. This was mostly out of necessity as models of these cars are not commercially available in 3 rail.
The first is a Penn Central N9 transfer caboose. I started with a Lionel PS-1 boxcar. Stripped it down to the frame and built everything on top. My model represents an earlier version that used propane for heat. Later units used fuel oil for heat. The propane tanks were replaced by a rectangular tank that fuel oil could be pumped into.
This is a Penn Central N8A cabin I kitbashed. Penn Central inherited NE6 cabooses from the New Haven. Most were in poor condition and relegated to transfer duties. The best ones were modified for road service by sealing off the copula windows and adding bay windows. Toilet facilities were added, with water supply tanks installed in the copulas. Roller bearing trucks were also installed for road service. My model is based on an Atlas O NE6 which I modified by adding bay windows and sealing several other windows. The picture shows the car with friction bearing trucks, but these have since been replaced by roller bearing trucks.
This is a MTH Railking crane car right out of the box. I felt the cab sat too high and the ride was too high.
I lowered the cab by modifying the pivot. The ride was lowered by modifying the bolsters. Bettendorf trucks replaced the factory roller bearing trucks. The smoke stack was cut down. A heavy dose of weathering completed project. I was originally considering adding smoke and work lights, but the smoke unit would have required extensive modifications to the cab mounting. Wisdom told me that was a can of worms I didn't want to open.
The modifications took away the toy-like appearance and made a respectable model of a 150 ton crane.
Tom
