Converting an MTH 50' High Cube to 2R

Mike,

Here's another method from Jack Hill's Wellsboro and Corning blog.  Or what became the New Castle Industrial blog.  I stockpiled a few of these cars with the intent of performing this conversion.  

http://oscalewcor.blogspot.com...remier-hi-cubes.html

Jim

Excellent conversion, the ride height looks really good.  Thanks for sharing the process.

Thanks Jim and Chris. 

I saw the refrenced conversion and thought there must be an easier way so I used the one noted above and achieved good results in terms of ride height and prototypical appearance. 

That being said, I do like the Lionel Roller Bearing trucks as they have a more scale width, hopefully soon to be equaled by the new Atlas trucks!

Yes lets hope so.

Mike,

It's true about the level of involvement.  The blog post was made at a time when new Atlas sideframes were a fantasy, and many modelers considered the lionel 100 ton truck the best looking available.  The blog hasn't been updated in a long time.  Which is a shame as it's always interesting to see new layouts develop.  And there was a lot of firsthand prototype operations context he was providing as well.

Jim

Great blog from Jack Hill, anybody know the mfg of the centerflow hopper,looks like a Lionel aluminum car[ well detailed] but could not find that paint scheme in there catalogs. The prototype photos were nice, the Lititz branch was a feature in Railpace magazine last year. This area is near where the Strasburg O scale meets are held 3 times a year and of course not too far from York.

http://oscalewcor.blogspot.com...-hoppers-arrive.html

The cars are lionel.  Decals are Microscale.  Custom painted by Jeff Sohn.

Jim

Absolutely Jeff does amazing work. 

You can tell the cars are custom as well since Lionel puts their born on date on the cars, these cars don't have that printing.

I just converted three of these today using the MTH 2R replacement trucks. Coupler height was dead on and the cars look good. My only problem is that I've got the bolster screws as tight as I can and the cars still rock really bad. Any suggestions on a solution would be appreciated!

Also, Mike, did you find tapping the 2-56 holes worth it? I didn't really have much difficulty getting the screws in.

Thanks!

CN_Hogger

 Sometimes you need a washer just on one truck to take out the shake. There are some cars that come with these washers on them. They're fairly thin and have a hole large enough to go around the mounting pin. They stiffen the truck's rocking by taking out the slop.

Thanks Joe! I didn't see any of these when I was taking them apart. Off to the hardware store I guess.

CN_Hogger

 You might need to find them maybe from Lionel?? some of the MTH??

I tried at the hardware and they didn't have them. The inside hole is almost as large as it can be. I steal one of them from a car that has them on both trucks.

 Maybe Microfasteners??

I have a MTH TTX 50' high cube I would like to convert to 2-rail.

Has anyone used the Protocraft 100T trucks to do this conversion?

http://www.protocraft.com/category.cfm?ItemID=354&Categoryid=31

The trucks cost more than the car!

Good point, but they look a lot better than the new Atlas offering.

http://www.atlaso.com/images/Trucks/7066.jpg

Definitely nothing wrong with the PC trucks.  Wish they were a little cheaper and I would use them exclusively.   You'll likely have to build a small bolster for the trucks to ride on so you won't have to chop into the bottom of the car to get the coupler height correct?

After being out of model railroading for several years, this project might be a good start.

Mike, I still haven't decided to use the PC, but I really like the details in O scale--I may just try one set.  I have two other MTH 50' high cudes to convert.  If the first conversion goes well, the others should go smoothly.  Thanks for the info on the bolsters.

Mike, what kadees did you use?

I was looking at the kadee website and there are newer style couplers with the metal or plastic gear boxes, have you considered these for this project or future projects?

http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page740_745.htm

My personal choice for Kadee couplers now are the 740/745 couplers with a more scale coupler head.  I tend to stick with 740's with the metal/metal combination where possible.  I do however use some 745's with the plastic gearbox especially when I need to modify the gearbox such as shorten, trim the ears, etc...

Thanks again Mike.  I ordered one set of PC trucks to try out.  The new Atlas trucks are about a 1/3 of the price of the PC, and maybe an alternative to the much more expensive offering, that's when they become available. 

http://www.atlaso.com/images/Trucks/7066.jpg

http://www.atlaso.com/o2railtrucks.htm

I'm disappointed that Atlas is not using their new trucks on the Trainman Bulk Head Flats.

I have never tried posting pictures here and will do that in a couple of weeks.

I suspect we'll see the new trucks on the master line stuff before a TM car.  But you never know.  I guess it will depend how many of the existing sideframes they have to go through?

Hey Mike, all of MTH's trucks are top mounted so how did you connect the Atlas bottom mounted trucks?

How are the Atlas bottom mount trucks connected to the car when the MTH are top mount screws????????

Vince

Sweet!

I have several MTH "UP Heritage" cars I want to switch over to match the scale-wheeled locomotive I bought to replace the hi-rail unit. Yes I know they're fantasy, but it'll get them out onto the tracks instead of in storage.

Tried it on my box car. The atlas insert is much smaller than the hole on the MTH floor. Is there a fix to keep it centered? I also tried them on other MTH cars and can't seem to tighten them down enough, are you guys using a washer or just letting it go?

I looked at one of my 50' high cube boxcars that I converted several years ago and realized that I did use a small washer which centers the insert and which helps remove the slop in truck movement. I use the same insert to convert several MTH 50' airslide hoppers and the insert fits tight without the need for any washer.

Travis

MaineTrains,

The washers were some that I found. I believe I found them at lowes.

Yes a small washer an be used for centering, but it's not absolutely necessary.