Has anyone tried to convert the Lionel Die cast coal hopper to 2 rail?
I like how these cars look and would like to own a few if they can easily be converted.
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Curtis1983 posted:Has anyone tried to convert the Lionel Die cast coal hopper to 2 rail?
I like how these cars look and would like to own a few if they can easily be converted.
Should be easy, with those new funky thumbtack trucks use the 2 rail kit from Lionel.
Does this car have the older good 3 rail sprung trucks? If so I bet guys with the new ones will trade.
Depends on how accurate you want the end result to be. You can just put 2-rail wheelsets in, and use wood shims to put coupler boxes on the body.
Or, like K-Line, you could look for someone who has cast a bolt-in bolster casting, and use real 2-rail trucks.
The K-Line was really close to the Lionel 716, so bolsters became available for a short time.
My question: how come Lionel will make hoppers out of die cast, but won't do die cast Diesels? I would be forced to buy a die cast PA or E7. Forced!
BobbyD posted:Curtis1983 posted:Has anyone tried to convert the Lionel Die cast coal hopper to 2 rail?
I like how these cars look and would like to own a few if they can easily be converted.
Should be easy, with those new funky thumbtack trucks use the 2 rail kit from Lionel.
Does this car have the older good 3 rail sprung trucks? If so I bet guys with the new ones will trade.
From pictures I see, the trucks with the hidden uncoupling mechanisms are installed on the coal cars. I have a dremel that I use to cut off the Lionel couplers from these trucks so I can install NWSL wheels and I can use the working coil springs. At least that is what I've done on my acf centerflow aluminum covered hoppers. The equalizing springs and rotating bearing caps look and operate perfectly.
bob2 posted:My question: how come Lionel will make hoppers out of die cast, but won't do die cast Diesels?
We stand a better chance of finding out how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop. 
I converted 2 of these cars a few years back, and it was quite straightforward. I mounted the Kadee 740 directly to the end , first drilling and tapping the holes and using Athearn 2-56 x 7/16 truck mounting screws. The trucks are Atlas 100 ton roller bearing. They make really nic looking hoppers, albeit a little heavy, but they track really nice.
