Need Advice on Lowering a Tender

File down the boss as long as no other interference.   G

It might not be that simple G I have a similar problem with another engine and the height issue is so that the electrocoupler on the rear has room.earlier models of my engine - a NYC L3 - without the e/culer sit right

Mike

For this model shown, the coupler is on the truck and we are not adjusting the truck height at the wheel or truck sides.  Instead the pivot point for the tender frame is what has the tender body and frame sit high.

It looks like you can file/grind down that boss and the frame lowers without changing the truck height.  Basically machine work.  G

Lowering the locomotive may be more problematic.

It does look like you could drop the tender without too much trouble.

Is it possible to turn the stamped frame upside down? 

All good feedback guys and just the ones I wanted to hear it from. Basically it means that this isn't something a bunch of people have already done and I should proceed with caution. My idea was to remove the shell and cut down the bosses where the shell attaches to the chassis -- if that's an option. Then I can shim with small washers as needed to adjust height.

Sometimes the tenders are high to allow the electronics to fit inside.

You could open the tender, find the highest/tallest component, and place a small ball of modelling clay atop it with some wax paper atop the clay. Then put the tender body back on, fully compressing it. Remove the tender body and measure how far the clay ball has been compressed. That will give you the absolute limit of your lowering job.

As you slowly move toward more realism, check out the three rail scale folks.  Once you start looking at things like this, you are on the downhill slide.

Trust me Bob, I sure would like to but the really good stuff in 3RS just won't make the turns on my 036 layout. I have a couple of the smaller 3RS steam engines and you're right I would much rather have that level of detail.

Your not lowering the shell to the frame dimension.  The owner feels the gap between the tender frame and the trucks are too high.  He wants the tender frame to sit lower.

G

Actually G I would be perfectly happy if the shell were lower. I should have been more specific in the OP.

I think lowering either part will have a similar effect on the appearance.

I've done it, on this very tender (and a couple of others). I hate the high-water look; some say that it is needed for tight radius curves/truck swing, but many a PW Lionel tender sat nice and low on the trucks. My old 2055 tender sits down realistically. I don't do much RK-size stuff, but this flaw has kept me off a few project locos.

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So - there was plenty of room for the PS2 electronics after the shell was "chopped and channeled". Raising the trucks (lowering the body) can sometimes be accomplished by turning the frame upside down, but this just depends on how the frame is formed. Case by case.

I shortened the mounting post at each corner of the shell (measure more than once). Seems I had to drill out the posts a bit and re-tap some threads. Not as spooky as it sounds. Be careful and treat it as a learning experience - and a good excuse to buy a Moto-Tool. Now you can start abusing all sorts of equipment.

Anyway, I also needed to cut (Moto-Tool, again) out a notch at the front bottom of the tender shell, or on the steel frame (I forget - you'll see which) so that the tether could continue to get out of the tender.

Be patient. Don't get filings in your electronics - in fact, remove them (usually 2 screws) during the process. 

It did look better.