I have a big fleet of MDC shorty flats for log cars, a slew of them I have acquired over the years, a bunch from Dr. Tom’s C&S, via the abandoned logging operations at the club, and a number I inherited from John Patterson, also via the folded club operations.
I’ve always loved the size of these cars, and their reliable operation, which can be tricky in a flat car. It kind of bothered me that these were steel cars, unlikely for a logging outfit in the 1920s.
I had trimmed the fishbelly sides down on some, to more closely resemble a wood car, but the cuts on some of those came out ragged. I made a jig out of some stripwood, and some cardstock that lets me get a neater cut, and have been working on a stack of 19 cars.
I have most of the bodies cut down, and I started modifications on 5 frames, adding queen posts, and drilling holes to do truss rods with strings. Doing the car work when I’m at the lake, and can’t work on the layout.
Have the conversion comple on the first 3 cars, using insulation stripped off of wires to represent turnbuckles
Using a nipper to get close
Smoothing it up with an Emory board.
Four blocks glued to the frame
I sand the blocks lightly, and then add a plank. When the glue is dry I sand the edges and ends flush, and drill the holes for the truss rods.
Then I take them down to the basement, and paint them
Truss rods and turnbuckles in place.
Two of the three converted truss rod flats.
16 more to go at the lake, and God alone knows how many are on the layout to convert.
Am on spring break. Had a scare at work, the Central Office was wanting to pull me to work in a different school. I thought I’d have to start at a different school, but when HR got to looking at the paperwork, Montgomery Central High Had dotted all their Is, and crossed their Ts, so they have full rights to me so I get to stay with my school family.