# Building a 1:29 scale Trinnity 50' HiCube boxcar



## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

It's probably online somewhere, but I'm darned if I can find it.

I'm planning to build a 1:29 scale Trinnity 50' HiCube boxcar. What size styrene sheet would you guys recommend for:

side panels , end panels, doors and roof

U channel framing on sides
underframe I beams (between the coupler boxes)
underframe cross member I beams 


and finally, which KD coupler looks most 'scale' for a 1:29 freight car. 


The only reason I'm contemplating building my own is because I can find no contemporary US boxcars for sale in the UK at anything like prices I can afford. Nor any of the super resin kits that seemed to be around a couple years ago. Also it might be fun...


I already have a pair of 100ton trucks in store ready for the job, plus some Ozark parts on order.


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## Rod Fearnley (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike I live in the UK and I built a shorty High Cube. Finding Styrene long enough for a 50 ft will be a problem. I use polycarbonate clear sheets. Its available in B&Q


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

Rod, that's interesting - what thickness, how did you cut it and what did you glue it with?

Is the floppy stuff used for shed window glazing?

Ihave no idea how to go about making the distinctive braced roof as yet - oh well, one problem at a time eh?! 
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## DTI356 (Jan 3, 2008)

Michael,

I use 1/8" (3mm) ABS or Styrene for the basic box. Can you get Evergreen styrene strips? Or Plastruct strips? Both of those are great for the many shapes and sizes they have. Do you have a drawing of the car you want to make? If so, then that will define the size strips to use for the ribs.

For gluing ABS or Styrene it's best to use solvent (MEK - Methyl ethyl keytone) which welds the plastics together.

As for the coupler, if you want it close to scale then go with Kadee #820 (#1 gauge body mount).
Personally I've started to use Accucraft couplers. They work with Kadees but in my opinion look a little more real, and definately operate more realistically. I've found the #1 gauge version is right on size wise for 1/29 scale. It's Accucraft #AP11-738

Good luck and post pictures here of your work!

Brian Briggs


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

Thanks for the info chaps! Rod, I forgot to mention your hicube was one of the inspirations for my little project - did you have a construction article here at one time? I seem to remember something, but all the articles are currently unavailable.

I shall look out for accucraft couplers - ideally I'd like operating cut levers... I'm (very slowly) building a G scale switching pike. Track is all hand made, but rolling stock is like hens teeth over here. If you want contemporary that is...

I have some drawings but they have no dimensions, so I've had to extrapolate them from a variety of sources. I can get hold of plastruct shapes easily enough, once I work out the dimensions I need. Pictures will follow for sure.


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Michael

Maybe the following will be of some help on dimensions. 

50' Plate F Boxcar[/b]

60' Hi-Cube Boxcar[/b]

Hi-Cube Refrigerated Boxcar[/b]


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## Rod Fearnley (Jan 2, 2008)

Michael the polycarb is 2 mm and yes it is the shed window stuff. I use either Plumbers thick polystyrene glue or Butanone LR. The latter of which I buy by the Ltr. (£15.00 per 2.5 ltr) I also back it up with odds and sods of plastic that I have laying around. I use a lot of plastic barge boards and the like.


I'm afraid the pictures that I published at the time had no instructions with them. Basically my models are from the Marty Cozad school of modelling. That is to say they look like the real thing, but lack the precise details that guys like Bryan (DT&I), Burl and Mark Horsted include in their beautiful models. The actual model pictured is built over a Big Hauler box car frame. If you look closely at the Evans boxcar next to my HighCube, you will see that the roofing ribs and side panals are the same profile. What I did was to make a box out of the Polycarb, then use foil to rub into the the roof of the Evan's Roof and side's. These sections are then affixed to the blank box using Evostick. It wears well too.
The use of foil is an idea that I picked up from Yogi Wallace.


Please feel free to contact me if I can help further (PM for phone number) I'm in Mid Norfolk


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## DTI356 (Jan 3, 2008)

Michael,

Here's the PDF I put together of my 40' Hycube boxcar build.

Enjoy!

http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/mi...282%29.pdf

>>http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/mikereilley/Car%20bashing/MODEL%20PS-1%2040ft%20Mini-highcube%20appliance%20cars%20%282%29.pdf


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By SteveC on 21 Jun 2011 06:25 AM 
Michael

Maybe the following will be of some help on dimensions. 

50' Plate F Boxcar[/b]

60' Hi-Cube Boxcar[/b]

Hi-Cube Refrigerated Boxcar[/b]

How in the world did you find a PDF of a builders drawing? Do they have other ones on their website?
Craig


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## WSOR (Jun 27, 2010)

if a websites's directories aren't blocked, then you can browse the files just like on your own computer. This directory on their server has pdf files of their products. 

http://www.gbrx.com/files/files/NAR/


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

Steve C thanks for the Greenbriar links - I found them randomly searching, nice PDFs of a whole range of freight cars there. DTI356 thanks for the article. 

Thoughts atm tend towards a basic box of abs or similar, with an overlay of styrene sheet to give the 'thin edge' look at the car ends and bottom, plastruct shapes for the side channels, end braces and underframe girders. Rod's stamped foil roof panels is an awesome idea. If only I had an Evans car to take a stamping from...


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

I don't seem to be able to post a link to my boxcar construction images...


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## DTI356 (Jan 3, 2008)

Just type it into the message and we can cut'n'paste it if we have to.


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

OK, so I made some progress:

side view

door 

incomplete side and underframe 

It's taking me a lot longer than I thought - that door has 21 separate pieces, and I still haven't fabricated a latch and so on. Also as it's taking up so much plasticard and structural shapes, it's gonna end up as pricey as an rtr car... 

So seeing as it's my first ever scratchbuild in any scale, I'm pretty pleased with it so far. What do you fellas all think? 

I can see that if I wanted to make a number of cars, resin casting would be the way to go. Does anybody have PDFs of Burl's excellent articles?


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## Rod Fearnley (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks great Mike. More info on the bolsters please. Did you cast your own? Using what casting material from the UK? 
Rod


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

Rod, the bolsters are Ozark Miniatures 'generic wide swing bolsters' 

bolsters

They're cast in resin - I've not done any of my own casting yet, but if I want to build a fleet of cars it's the only way to go. Manufacturing a car the way I'm doing it now is expensive and time consuming to say the least!


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

Had a quick dry run, just to check the general fit and flow of the parts so far.

dry run

I've set the body too high on the underframe. It'll sit slightly lower when it's finally together.

3/4 view

Both sides and ends are finished, I need to add the ladders, stirrups and grabs but that can wait until the basic box is complete, to avoid breaking when handling.


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## DTI356 (Jan 3, 2008)

Looking real good there Michael ! 

Thanks for sharing with us.


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

I’ve had a big burst of creativity over the past six weeks or so, but it’s finally the last day of the summer vacation so I made a bit of a push to get the big rust box completed. Well, completed except for end ladders, stirrups, cross over platforms, air hoses, brake rigging, hand brake, tackboards, detailed roof panels, a replacement wheel set and couplers, final paint and decals… so in fact, it’s complete only in as much as it is now assembled, and looks like a rust box, not a set of parts.


And it is big, and it ate a huge amount of plastic card and structural shapes. If I did this again, I’d seriously have to consider making one side and one end and then resin casting. Which would also allow me to mass-produce a number of cars relatively quickly. The way I built this was too costly and too time-consuming – in all senses, a one-off hand-built prototype. It probably cost as much to build as it would have to have bought one rtr, not that the LGB RBOX (the nearest equivalent in rtr) is ever available as far as I can see…


Anyway, here it is.


3/4 shot


HO scale comparison shot

the end shot

I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turned out, and thanks for all the help and encouragement chaps. It'll probably stay like this until I get another block of time off work in October for a final paint and decal. May well end up in blue as a Golden West Service rust box.

Watch this space.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Major progress! Looks really nice! 

Chas


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

" big burst of creativity " are you pregnet?? 
good job. I have to wait till winter to start building.


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## Mark L Horstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Rod Fearnley on 21 Jun 2011 01:58 PM 
That is to say they look like the real thing, but lack the precise details that guys like Bryan (DT&I), Burl and Mark Horsted include in their beautiful models.

Thanks, Rod.

I haven't done much modelling for some time, and have only peeked in here occasionally, as I've been wrapped up in a couple of lengthy overseas business trips over the last four years.

This is the car to which you were referring:










The prototype was built by National Steel Car in Hamilton, Ontario.

The basic model was built from 0.080 and 0.060 styrene, with a variety of Evergreen strips used to build up the detail. I used drawings created by a friend, checked (after the body was finished) against a set of blueprints that I managed to weasel out of NSC, and hundreds of photographs that I took. I built one side in two sections, split along the right-hand edge of the door, one end, and one-fifth of the roof, made RTV rubber moulds from those, and cast the actual bits in resin. I have several sets of castings kicking around for eventual completion. Detail parts are still a problem.

I have an extensive collection of drawings copied from magazines and blown up to 1/29 scale. Another method is to buy H0 scale cars and multiply dimensions by a factor of three. Models can also be photocopied and enlarged.

Trucks are LGB, as Aristo's were not even in the design stage when I began this, wheels are Gary Raymond semi-scale, couplers are Kadee 820s, handbrake housing is Sylvan, and ladders and end platforms were cut from Aristo ladders and roofwalks. Door handles and rollers and the brackets for the rods are all cast in white metal from masters and moulds that I made and the rods are various brass rods and tubes. Decals are CDS Lettering dry transfers rubbed onto clear decal paper.

Someday I'll get something else built. Really.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Welcome Home Mark! It was good to visit with you, if only briefly last month. 

Chas


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

Can anyone point me in the direction of a how-to guide for resin casting from rtv moulds? I'd like to have a go at this technique. Bear in mind I'm in the UK, so one that has product names suitable for the UK modeller would be really good.


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## Mark L Horstead (Jan 2, 2008)

There were a few sites online where one could find information regarding mould-making and casting. None of those that I used work anymore.

You could order http://www.modelbuilderssupply.com/...37&y=8 - this business caters mainly to architectural and other professional modellers but also to hobbyists. It's about five kilometres south of where I live.

There was a fair amount of trial and error involved with my project; fortunately light on the error side. I got rather lucky on my first attempt. It's really not that tricky though, so long as one uses normal common sense and care.

You should be able to find a variety of mould-making RTV rubbers and resins in your area. There are several plastics dealers within reasonable driving distance of my house. Cure times for resins and rubbers vary, as does stiffness of rubbers. There is a trade-off between detail and durability. If you have a lot of undercut detail, you will need a more flexible rubber, but it will tear easier. If there is none, then a stiffer and more durable rubber can be used. The dealer should be able to provide advice as well.


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## Mark L Horstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By wchasr on 06 Sep 2011 08:18 AM 
Welcome Home Mark! It was good to visit with you, if only briefly last month. 

Chas 


Thanks, Chas, and the same to you.

I'll see you there next year.


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## Mark L Horstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Rod mentioned Burl Rice in his post above. I do not consider myself to be in the same category - Burl is a master. I have his centrebeam flat car kit, still in a box and unstarted.

He dropped out of sight some time ago. I got curious tonight and did a web search.

His website http://burlrice.com/index.php is back up, and he is producing his kits again.

I also came across a link http://grw.trains.com/en/How%20To/C...sting.aspx to one of his Garden Railways articles. The others may be available too.


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## Rod Fearnley (Jan 2, 2008)

Yes, welcome back Mark








Burl, DT&I and yourself are great modelers and give people like me inspiration to stretch ourselves, especially in the modern era of rolling stock.
Glad to see Burl back in the kit making business. He has sold parts from his kits in the past. I must make contact with him.


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Posted By Mark L Horstead on 10 Sep 2011 07:41 PM 
Rod mentioned Burl Rice in his post above. I do not consider myself to be in the same category - Burl is a master. I have his centrebeam flat car kit, still in a box and unstarted.

He dropped out of sight some time ago. I got curious tonight and did a web search.

His website http://burlrice.com/index.php is back up, and he is producing his kits again.

I also came across a link http://grw.trains.com/en/How%20To/C...sting.aspx to one of his Garden Railways articles. The others may be available too.

Hmmm, I had some email correspondence with Burl a few months ago and he definitely said he was out of kit building... can anyone confirm yes or no he's back in the business?


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## Burl (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry for any confusion, but I am NOT back in business. I still read the forum on a daily basis though.


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## MichaelP123 (Mar 13, 2009)

Thanlks for clearing that up, Burl. Now, if you;ve got any instructions on resin casting... I can;t find any on the web, they seem to have vanished into thin air - the archives here don;t work?


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## Burl (Jan 2, 2008)

They were in the old forum... I think somebody converted some of them to PDF's.


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## DTI356 (Jan 3, 2008)

So, whats the status on this car? 

Michael, did you ever finish this? 

Does anyone know?


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## Conrail Mark (Feb 18, 2012)

Michael, I am in the UK and regularly build rolling stock which has included a couple of HiCube boxcars over the last year. Great work your doing. As for casting, I use Aluminite bought from Hobby Ltd in West Norwood, London. They have a web site at http://hobby.uk.com/moulding-casting.html that will provide details of quick set rubbers and casting resins. Aluminite have a good website (US based) that explains everything as well. There are disadvantages with some resins so a bit of homework goes a long way - The natural resin I uses has not let me down when I have cast whole sides/ roofs of trucks, even in the warmth of an English summer (not that warm then!) 

I presume you have a supplier for Styrene (sheets and shapes) already. I use 80 and 60 thou sheets that are about 4ft x 6 ft and cost about £16 from Garden Railway Services in Princes Risborough - not easy to post though so worth popping in if you live in the South. 

I recommend Stan Cedarleaf for decals; have had a couple of sets off him for locos and they have always been good quality, at a reasonable price and delivered really quickly from the US. Microscale do some G Scale decals and I tend to use O Scale transfers if the size works as well. 

Keep up the good work!


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