# DR 3 axle boxcar project



## GN_Rocky (Jan 6, 2008)

* After hearing and seeing a few pictures of some short 3 axle boxcars, I just had to try to make one myself. *
*It is not as easy as it looks to add a third axle into a frame. I think I should have widened the original wheelbase, but by doing that the third axle mounted in the middle would need a wider "swing" area to travel across the car bosy. This would be harder to do and more that would have to be changed out/modified and what I've done was reletively do-able for a first time attempt. Here is a few pictures of my project...*










* Please excuse the messy table*








*But on the underside, you can see the section I removed and I left the styrene unpainted as to show it's positioning as to be used as a guide for the axle assembly. *










*I had chopped up a shortie cable reel/container type car in order to get the extra axle assembly and found that I could always use the 2 piexes of square stock that holds the axles in place to hold in this 3rd axle on the boxcar. Worked out rather nicely I think







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* The third axle springs and journel boxes fit real well under and behind the step under the door. There was very little cutting required to mount it in this way. Most of my time was spent filing/sanding down the spring assembly to make it fit heightwise to the exsisting frame being it is mounted right in front of the frame.*










* It turned out so nice as for the frame and axle position. *










* So now I've just got to re-letter and number the car, add a couple small details and I will be changing the single buffer on the ends to a double buffer to make it more like the real thing







Work should begin soon on car #2.* 
*Rocky*


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Don't forget that one buffer, the left as you look head on, is slightly 'domed', and the right one is flat. This is to prevent buffer lock on sharp curves. 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org


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## GN_Rocky (Jan 6, 2008)

* I'd love to make a mold for the buffers. *
*Best I make them all slightly domed. This would avoid alot of confusion in the wee hours of the night.*

*Rocky*


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Nice work Rocky. Very inventive solution with the wider springs cleverly hided behind the steps. 
Did you made a testrun allready?


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## GN_Rocky (Jan 6, 2008)

* Hi Paulus, *
* The car has not been test run in a train as of yet, but I did push it around a curve of 4 ft. Dia. curves which it tracked just fine. I do like the smooth action of the floating middle axle that slides back and forth as the car goes thru the curve. I look forward to making the second boxcar and perhaps modifying a couple mid-sized flatcars to the 3 axle configuration too.*

*Rocky*


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