There's a few scale NYC caboose's to chose from. I always thought the Williams had the nicest detail as far as more scale like details such as handrails, ladder and grab irons. It's drawbacks are the window glazing, incorrect trucks and long wheelbase. Also with any caboose. T
rying to adapt Kadee's. These are somewhat easily found. Expect to pay around $70.00 dollars for one. Mine will be eventually lettered for the Boston & Albany. These were often decaled over. The roadnames that never had them can sometimes be a bargain.
You are pretty much going to strip the entire chassis. Trucks and wiring. They did come with a smoke unit. If you want to remove it. Grasp the smoke unit with your fingers and insert a phillips head screwdriver through the stack to aid in holding it. It just unscrews. To remove the marker lamps if you want to go with lighted ones.
A little heat from a soldering iron and they pull right out. The window glazing involves bending some tabs and sliding them out. The lettering was removed with nail polish remover.
You will need a few items.
From shapeways.com. 2410059 Atlas truck bolster
66035 Atlas friction bearing caboose trucks
Plastruct 90202 3/16 square ABS square tubing
K&S 8246 brass strip. .064x1/2
Marker lights from Tomar. (Optional)
A set of numbered drill bits, small taps and some hardware wI'll be needed.
Start with your brass stock. Use the Kadee lid and mark holes at both ends.
I drilled and tapped the hole for a 2/56 screw. Screw the coupler to the brass strip and square it up. Then drill and tap the second hole.
What was once the mount for the truck. Will now be used to mount your newly made bracket. Lay the bracket down and mark and center the hole. It should be a 3mm screw. Drill it for a snug fit. Do one end then the other. Don't cut anything yet. Just set it aside.
Next we will mount the truck bolsters from Shapeways. They fit the frame very well. Clamp in place and square it up. Make sure it is centered. You can slip some paper on the sides if needed. The square end of the bolster should be tight against the factory truck mount. This will center the trucks at just a couple inches shy of 20ft which the prototype had. I secure the truck mount with some no. 2 sheet metal screws.
Now line up your brass stock to the mounting hole. You want to cut it slightly long unless your really good at this. Carefully file back the brass till it fits tightly up against the square end of the new truck mount. If done right it should hold it square. Screw the brass piece to the original truck mount. If it has a little bit of play. A drop of super glue on final assembly should hold it square. I had to slightly enlarge the Shapeways truck mount to except the factory Atlas screw I was using. The trucks can now be mounted. I bent the center rollre tab up and added a plastruct square tube to guide the wires.
Initial tests looks like I will have to add just one Micromark shim. Make sure your frame is still level from the drilling. Now onto the body. First off. It will have to be notched in 4 spots. The screws mounting the truck bolsters will hit the car body.
If you are opting for the Tomar lights. You will be looking at a square hole where the original was removed. The 3/16 Plastruct is to big for the hole. Sand all 4 sides so that you need pressure to insert it.
Trim it to fit. Leave it about 1/2 inch long. Scure it with CA and drill a hole for the wires to pass through. There is a hole to get you started and it should be still centered after sanding. I drilled the hole to mount the Tomar lights with a no. 26 bit. Start a little small and work your up. Drill it just deep enough to accept the light and it should require a little twisting motion to get it in place. You shouldn't need any glue to keep it in place.
Final pic for now is how it looks mocked up. I'll have to paint and letter it as well as reglaze the windows. The basics are here for a nice looking NYC caboose.
