Category Archives: Details

Adapting Kadee brake components

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Bill Welch has adapted the HO scale Kadee brake gear and brake wheel detail parts to use in updating other models. Here’s Bill with his techniques.

I have known for awhile now that Kadee sells their assembled brake gear and wheel part direct to consumers. A phone call was recently placed to Sam Clark at Kadee and I ordered a variety of their parts even though I was not sure how I would attach them to models. I know Detail Associates offers brake wheel and gears but they are getting hard to find and they are not a finely rendered as the Kadee parts.

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Uncoupling Devices

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Adding uncoupling devices (cut levers) to plastic freight cars

Here’s a crop of an image showing an uncoupling device installed on a flat car. The original photo is from the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, a special collection of the St. Louis Mercantile Library.

Peter Hall recently sent details on adding a simple detail to box car ends. Here are Pete’s tips and techniques.

An increasing number of today’s excellent plastic injection-molded HO scale models come with uncoupling devices (cut levers), but we still have all those great models that need them. This article shows how to make simple attachment points and wire cut levers for those cars that need bottom-operated uncoupling devices.

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Royal F and Universal Slack Adjusters

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George Toman returns with a technique to build fairly common underframe details. Here’s George with the scoop. Click on any image here to review a larger size.

Detailing freight car underframes has always been a high priority with me. A couple of common slack adjusters are the Royal F Type and Universal Type. I found these fairly easy to replicate using styrene. My goal was to develop a method to accurately construct these parts using common tools. One can be seen in the lead image mounted behind to the brake cylinder on a Milwaukee Road ribside box car.

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Building Yarmouth Model Works Etched Brass Ladders

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Nelson Moyer sent along assembly tips for etched metal ladders that offer another step in freight car detailing. Here’s Nelson with more.

Yarmouth Model Works has introduced a line of etched freight car detailing products that includes freight car ladders and ladder rungs. Stiles are etched to accept 0.012-inch brass wire rungs, or you may choose to use the etched rungs available separately. If Tichy 0.0125-inch grab irons are used, the holes must be drilled out with a #80 bit before removing the stiles from the fret. The stiles are phosphor bronze, which is harder than brass, and while it is more durable, it is harder to bend. Scribing the fold line with a #11 blade makes the stile easier to bend.

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