Scratch & Bash
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Engines / Rolling Stock
USA Gunderson Intermodal Car Modifications
Feb 2, 2005
By Wesley Drummond |
Author
Bio
I delight in running my USA Gunderson Intermodal consists on my Heartland Garden Railway. It is, however, a lot less delight when windy conditions prevail.
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I delight in running my USA Gunderson Intermodal consists on my Heartland Garden Railway. It is, however, a lot less delight when windy conditions prevail. This is especially so when running double stack (two-container high loading). The surface area exposed by the containers makes for frequent tip-overs. Not only does that pose an operational hazard but also the delicate nature of the cars at the point of the step stanchions on each corner of the cars has resulted in several of the plastic stanchions being broken. In this article I address two steps I have taken to improve the operational stability of the cars and the issue of damage to the step stanchions. First the operational stability. One can add weight to the bottom container and due to their low center of gravity to improve the stability of the cars in windy conditions. However that limits the flexibility of removing or changing the containers and reinstalling the weights in other containers. And if running empty there is no weight at all. I chose to add weight to each car at the location of each truck. This has improved the ability of the cars to handle some windy conditions that would otherwise have restricted such trains to the yard. Also, when running empty the cars track better overall.
I chose to use a section of 3/4" solid steel round bar stock and 2 metal clamps designed for 3/8" rigid electrical conduit.  I settled on this combination for ease of installation, cost and the amount of weight provided. Each 3-3/4"piece of 3/4" steel stock and the two clamps weigh right at 8oz. This provides an overall weight of 16oz. to the car placed directly over the trucks themselves.
To add the weight I cut the 3/4" stock to length and removed the car trucks to expose the well behind the truck bolster. 
The rigid electrical conduit clamps fit perfectly within the well space with no cutting required. Using the clamp holes, I marked the location for holes to be drilled through the car body. I used a variable speed cordless drill and at slow speed drilled through the car body being careful not to punch through the metal tread grid on the top of the car. Then using 3/8" #6 sheet metal screws with a nut driver I screwed the clamps in place over the steel round bar stock. 
Lastly I remounted the trucks.  You will find that the trucks will swivel with no binding on the installed weight and the weights will be totally enclosed within the truck-wheel well as to be completely hidden from view.
Next I addressed the issue of the step stanchions. These are very fragile - just thin lengths of L-shaped plastic. I did not want to invest time in making metal replacements even if I could. I chose instead to purchase some 1/8" square brass tubing stock at the local hardware and cut 2-1/4" lengths of this stock and deburred the cut ends with a small file. Then I super glued the brass sections alongside their plastic counter parts to reinforce the step stanchions. You will find that the 1/8" square tube stock will fit perfectly. 
Lastly, a bit of matching color paint, in my case, Santa Fe red, finished the job.  To be sure the car is no longer in true scale for the size of the stanchions but they are definitely much more robust and able to handle the tip-overs and other handling mishaps much more readily without damage.
These two changes have made my USA intermodal trains more pleasurable and less frustrating to run and handle. Perhaps they will do the same for you as well. Top of Page
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