Cushioned Drawbars

On the railroads, some freight cars have cushioned drawbars to help protect their load.  They absorb some of the shock of coupler slack running in and out.  They are most commonly found on cars which carry shiftable loads, such as centerbeam cars, bulkhead flat cars, vehicle carriers, and some box cars.  They can be added to model trains, although they require some minor modifications to the pocket that holds the coupler.  This project can be completed in just a few minutes though.

Original coupler pocket.  Photo by Steven Ogden.

Typically, inside the coupler pocket on most HO scale freight cars, there is a round peg that holds the coupler in position.  This allows it to swing from side to side, but usually it occupies most or all of the mounting hole in the coupler.  I use Sergent Engineering couplers on my cars, which have a round mounting hole, with a rectangular slot on the knuckle end of the hole.  By trimming the sides off the mounting pin, this will allow the coupler to slide in and out, while still allowing it to swing from side to side and holding it in the right place.  These modifications will work best with Sergent couplers, but they could be adapted for just about any type of coupler.

Modified mounting pin.  Photo by Steven Ogden.

To do this you will need a hobby knife or similar cutting tool.  You will also need a small spring for the cushioning effect.  If you are using Sergent couplers, you know they come with a small spring, and those work just fine.  For those of you who do not use Sergent Engineering couplers, the springs are available for sale on their website.  They should work just fine, regardless of what coupler type you are using.

Since the Sergent couplers already have a slot in them, in addition to the mounting hole, I cut the mounting pin down small enough to fit into that slot.  This will restrict side to side movement of the coupler when the drawbar is compressed, but on model trains, they serve very little useful purpose anyway!

Cushioned drawbar, with the coupler pocket still open.
Photo by Steven Ogden.

Once you have tripped the mounting pin to the appropriate size, it is time to put the coupler and spring in.  Inserting such a small spring can be a little tricky.  I find it is easiest to do with a small flat head screwdriver.  You can insert the screwdriver into one end of the spring, and then insert it at an angle.  Once it is in position, the screwdriver should come out without disturbing it significantly.  At that point, you will want to close up the coupler pocket before testing.  Testing it with the pocket still open could result in the tiny spring flying out and being lost forever!  Once you close it up, make sure to test it.  It will work best with the coupler centered.  If it works, put the car back together and enjoy!  If you notice that it is hanging up or is not working, you may have to open the coupler pocket again and make sure the modifications to the mounting pin are clean.  If there is any plastic that has not been removed properly, it could catch on the coupler and prevent it from working properly.  Chances are if the coupler does no work properly right away that is the problem.

Once the cushioned drawbars are complete, you will have protection from coupler slack for your model railroad loads.  However, because model railroad cars weigh so little, the cushioning will have very little effect on overall train handling.  In fact, unless your cushioned car is the first in a long train, you will hardly notice it!  If you put a couple of cushioned cars ahead of about 20 other cars, and then shove hard, you'll notice the drawbars absorbing some of the force, but they only work under extremes on the model railroad.

Upgrading Sound for an SD70ACe

As many of you are aware, we recently wrote a review of Athearn's new SD70ACe models.  These are one of their latest releases in their Genesis line of locomotives.  They are well known for their outstanding level of detail, which sets a new standard for plastic models.  The paint job is excellent, and the overall quality of these locomotives is very good.  They are offered as with a DC control system, or with a factory installed DCC system, which includes sound.  I got my first sound locomotive just over a year ago, and since then I have been hooked, so I purchased two of the DCC and sound equipped models.  I had heard good reviews, and they sure looked good in the pictures, and I was sold on them.  One just did not seem like enough, but three was about of the budget, so I settled for two.  If you read my review, or if you are reading it now out of curiosity, you know I was very happy with the models.  I was quite content with them without making any changes, until the other day.

A couple of days ago I was browsing through Tony's Train Exchange, for some DCC components, and just for kicks, I clicked on their locomotives section to see what they had.  I stumbled upon an article that described how to improve the quality of the sound.  As I read the article, I found it was a simple project, and I decided to try it.  I figured, I had two locomotives, if I made one sound strange, it would not be the end of the world, and I would just undo what was done.  The article describes a flaw with the speaker housing, inside the locomotive.  The flaw is actually surprisingly obvious, and it is a bit disappointing that it was overlooked by the folks at Athearn.  There is a hole in the speaker housing.  For the highest quality sound, and to emphasize the bass sounds, the speaker should point into an airtight housing.  This amplifies the sound, and especially amplifies the lower pitch sounds.  To hear the difference, click on the links below, and turn up the volume!  I recorded similar sequences of the modified locomotive, and the unmodified locomotive.  Pay special attention to the differences in the bass sounds.

• SD70ACe without any modifications
• SD70ACe with modified speaker housing

Now that I have have teased you with the result of this project, let's do it together.  It really only takes a few minutes, and it is fairly simple.  I will be modifying my second unit as I write this, and there will be pictures, for anyone who finds those helpful.  The first thing you will have to do is remove the plastic shell from the frame of the model.  To do this, you will need to remove the couplers and two screws in the bottom of the frame, above the fuel tank end of either truck.  I found it helped to access them by also removing the fuel tank, but that is not necessarily required.  Once you have removed the screws, carefully pull the plastic shell straight up and off the frame.

Screw locations for removing the shell.  All photos by James Ogden.

Be very careful removing the shell from the frame, as there are wires that connect the light bulbs in the shell with the electronics fastened to the frame.  The speaker housing can be found right behind the cab.  After removing the shell, you will need to remove the speaker housing.  This is attached by a single screw on the engineer's side, which connects it directly to the frame.  Removing the screw will not immediately free the housing.  Once the screw is removed, you will have to carefully slide the speaker housing forward and up for it to come away from the frame.  I found that it helped to remove the tape on top of the housing to do this.  It gives you a little more wiggle room.  The frame and speaker housing are both very durable, so do not be afraid to wiggle the housing gently if you need to to get it out.

Location of the speaker and speaker housing.  The screw to remove the housing is on the other side, see the next photo.

This screw needs to be removed to remove the speaker housing.

Once the speaker housing has been removed, you will need to remove the speaker.  This is attached by two screws, on either side of the speaker.

These screws hold the speaker itself in place.

Once the speaker has been removed from the housing, the hole will be obvious.  It is in the bottom of the housing.  Placing a piece of styrene or similar material in the hole will solve the problem.  Some suggestions I found specified that 0.020 inch styrene would do the trick.  I found it was even simpler than that, and you will probably laugh when you read this.  I had an expired MetroCard from the New York subway system.  I cut that into pieces that would fit in the hole, and glued one piece in the hole from either side.  I also glued them together to prevent them from vibrating together and rattling.  Primitive?  Maybe, but it did the trick!

That hole is what needs to be filled.

I told you I cut up a fare card!

In the above picture, you can see two screws in the speaker housing.  Unscrewing those will allow the two halves of the speaker housing to be separated.  A gasket can be placed between the two halves to create a better seal, or they can be glued together, as I did.  While I had the halves apart, I first glued the plastic into the hole, since it was easily accessible that way.  Then I put glue all the way around one half, and placed the other half on it, and screwed it back together.  Once the plastic and housing halves were all glued together, the speaker can be mounted in the housing again, just like it was.  The housing can then be reinstalled in the locomotive.  Make sure to screw it back into the frame, or it will make awful vibrating noises, and you will wonder where the extra screw came from!  Once the speaker housing is replaced, it is time to replace the shell.  This is a delicate operation, because all the wires have to be stuffed back inside the shell, and the sanders have to be gently pushed apart to allow the shell to slip over the frame again.  It can be tricky, but patience is key.  Be very gentle, so none of the details are damaged, and double check often to make sure you have not pinched anything.  Once  you have the shell back on, replace the screws and couplers, and then find some track and fire the engine up.  Sit back and enjoy the diesel rumble!

Weathering a Covered Hopper

Over the weekend, I tried some weathering techniques published in the April 2011 issue of Model Railroader. I'm not claiming any of these techniques as my own, because they aren't, but I do want to share how I weathered an Athearn covered hopper car. I did not take a photo of the car before I started, but you can find the Athearn stock photo of it here. I am also uploading these photos and others to a Facebook album, viewable here.

I started by airbrushing the car to be a little dirty. I wanted more rust than dirt, so I kept the dirt pretty light. I used Polly Scale Railroad Tie Brown, thinned 1 part paint to 9 parts isopropyl alcohol. This will give the car a very light coat of paint. Don't try to put all the dirt on all at once, it's best to do several thin layers of paint rather than one thick layer. It's a good idea to fade the paint before making it dirty. Do this by using a light gray or a white paint. I skipped this step since I was using a light colored car and I figured fading wouldn't have any affect, but looking back I wish I had done it because the lettering is not faded at all. It is also a good idea to bring the car back to your railroad room between coats of paint and see how it looks under railroad lighting. If you're anything like me, I was painting in a room with very different lighting than the railroad room. The lighting will affect how the car looks. Finally, when you're done painting, make sure you clean your airbrush. Any paint left over in the airbrush will gum it up, making it harder to paint next time. I was using an acrylic paint, so I filled the bottle with water and shot the whole bottle out of the airbrush to clean it. Use a paint thinner for enamel paints.

Next I put reflectors on the sides of the car. These became mandatory a few years ago, and they started showing up on railroad cars all over the place. There are very few cars now that do not have them, but they are still out there. Since they are pretty generic, I did not look up prototype photos to see what pattern they were placed on the real thing, because chances are they are all different anyway. I used Highball Graphics decals, and just arranged them in a uniform pattern across the car. The reason I did not do this first is because the car has a build date of 1990, and the reflectors would have been added much later. Most of the dirt on the car would not be on the reflectors, and I wanted them to look newer than the rest of the car.

Finally, I rusted the car. I wanted it to be a bit rusty from 20 years of use, but not so rusty that it is no longer recognizable. I achieved that by using burnt sienna oil paint. These paints are expensive, but you use so little of it that one tube will last you quite a while. I took a piece of wire and used it to spread paint along the top seam of the car and random spots on the side of the car. I let the paint dry for two hours and then came back to finish up. I took a paintbrush that fit between two of the exterior posts and dipped it in turpenoid, which is a paint thinner for oil paints. Starting at the top of the car, I pulled the color down the side of the car with the paintbrush. This streaks the rust in the same way that rain does on the real thing. I did this on all four sides of the car. It is possible to do this with the car standing up, but I would not recommend doing all four sides at once, because then you don't have any dry areas on the car to handle it with. Finally, I did the same thing on the roof. Keep in mind that the roof walks and the hatches don't get as must rust as the rest of the roof, because people walk on the walkways and the hatches get replaced as they wear out. I kept the rust in those areas lighter than on the rest of the roof, but I did put a little rust on them.

After letting the rust dry, I took a hobby knife and scraped off excess paint from small areas such as grab irons and posts and wheels. While heavy rust is realistic, globs of paint sticking out from the side of the car is not! After doing this, I sprayed the car with dullcoat to seal everything together and to get rid of the shiny sheen. Then I installed a pair of type E couplers from Sergent Engineering and put the car on the railroad. Here is a photo of the finished car: