Wood boxcar

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wbarbe
Posts: 299
Joined: Fri Jan 10, 2003 12:03 pm

Wood boxcar

Post by wbarbe »

Has anyone ever done a construction article for any of the hobby magazines for building a wood boxcar? Looking for plans for something from the 19th century to hold a propane tank.
I have seen some great cars on line but would like to find a set of plans
Thanks
mattmason
Posts: 587
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:37 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Wood boxcar

Post by mattmason »

Modeltec did one for a 1" scale turn of the century boxcar. I think it was in the 90's.
Matt Mason
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SteveR
Posts: 372
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:17 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Wood boxcar

Post by SteveR »

From the Modeltec index:
Freight cars by the train load May 97 p8 – 13 Jun 97 p28 – 31 Jul 97 p28 – 30 Aug 97 p20 – 24 Sep 97 p18 – 24 Oct 97 p32 – 35
Nov 97 p34 – 37 Dec 97 p28 – 30

and from Live Steam Magazine:
Live steam boxcar list.PNG
SteveR
12x36 Enco Lathe, 9x42 Bridgeport, SMAW, O/A, Miller MIG w/gas, plasma
Not enough measuring tools...
1.5" Allen Models Consolidation on air.
1" FEF in progress
1" & 3/4" LE Projects
Measure twice, cut once, wait - it was supposed to be brass! :)
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Greg_Lewis
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Location: Fresno, CA

Re: Wood boxcar

Post by Greg_Lewis »

One resource is Railway Car Construction, by William Voss, 1892. This was reprinted by the Orange Empire Railway Museum in 1999. It contains lots of great info on construction with lots of dimensioned detail drawings. I see an online edition here: https://books.google.com/books/about/Ra ... M1AQAAMAAJ
I would most certainly get this one.

Another source is The Car Builder’s Dictionary. There is one from 1888 and 1881, both are on Google books. I have copies if you can’t get them. Just let me know.

And while a little later than you need, the 1913 catalog from the Seattle Car And Foundry Co. is also on line. This has lots of good photos: https://archive.org/details/seattlecarfoundr49341gut
Again, if you can’t get it let me know and I’ll send it to you.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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SteveR
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Location: Los Angeles

Re: Wood boxcar

Post by SteveR »

My apologies - the Modeltec series does not have boxcar building included. Here is a summary:
Freight cars by the train load by T. Parkinson.
May 97 p8 – 13 - Introduction and Planning
Jun 97 p28 – 31 - Part 2 - Starting on the Swing Bolster Trucks
Jul 97 p28 – 30 - Part 3 - Finishing the Swing Bolster Trucks
Aug 97 p20 – 24 - Part 4 - The Pneumatic Brake System
Sep 97 p18 – 24 - Part 5 - Folding the Gondola - sheet metal work to make a gon. Also a nice article about Jerry Brown's Steam Crane.
Oct 97 p32 – 35 - Part 6 - The Punch and Die Show - making corrugated ends for the gondolas.
Nov 97 p34 – 37 - Part 7 - Fabricating the Frames
Dec 97 p28 – 30 - Part 8 - Concluding with a hopper car

Alternatively, I just bought a very nice HO Scale wooden reefer kit made by Suncoast models - likely from the '70's. Has a scale drawing and detailed assembly instructions. May scale it up.

SteveR
12x36 Enco Lathe, 9x42 Bridgeport, SMAW, O/A, Miller MIG w/gas, plasma
Not enough measuring tools...
1.5" Allen Models Consolidation on air.
1" FEF in progress
1" & 3/4" LE Projects
Measure twice, cut once, wait - it was supposed to be brass! :)
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makinsmoke
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Location: Texas Hill Country

Re: Wood boxcar

Post by makinsmoke »

You can build it to scale, but if it were me I would incorporate a steel tube running the length of the car where the center sill is. Big enough in diameter to accept your draft gear or coupler shank. You can sheathe it in wood to hide it.

But you will never pull that car apart.

Otherwise the slack running in and out is working on the center wood sills and/or car floor depending on how you built it. If you put a few people on cars behind it all that weight running in and out will eventually pull the car In two.

If it’s just the engine, boxcar and caboose no worries.

Just my two cents.
Mark Landgraf
Posts: 100
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2013 9:42 pm
Location: Albany, NY

Re: Wood boxcar

Post by Mark Landgraf »

Were you thinking 36 or 40 feet long?
Were you thinking single or double sheathed?
Smooth ends or corrugated ends?
For safety sake, please put good sized holes on the floor to vent any leaking gas. Or, consider doing a stock car to get rid of any leaking gas.

I have drawings for each style. If interested contact me off list at: mark_landgraf at yahoo dot com

Mark Landgraf
Albany NY
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