Large Scale Central

1/8th #3462 Arrowhead Water Bottle Car build started

Other Scales
#1

For the past twenty-five years or so, I have been planning to build a 1/8th scale Arrowhead Water Bottle Car #3462, to pull with my two 1/8th scale P.E. Baldwin/Westinghouse freight motors.

Making the large steel tanks for these cars (or a simulated steel tank) was always a problem for me to fabricate because of the spherical shaped ends to the tanks. I have found a steel fabricator in West Bend, WI who can actually weld some scale model steel tanks for me at a relative reasonable price (West Bend Railcar Shops). That little problem solved. Yesterday a major expense problem was solved when I received a nice gift from my old steamin’ Buddy. A brand new set of 1-1/2 inch scale Bettendorf trucks that he didn’t need anymore :). So now it looks like I just might actually get this car made. It won’t be a riding car…just a nice “show car” to mix in with the other rolling stock.

Below are some drawings I have made for construction and some photos of the prototype and some models in HO scale in brass.

Arrowhead Water Car in HO brass…

Sometimes you have to do some machining to correct small problems…these trucks had a narrow back to back dimension. Had to setup the wheel/axle assemblies to machine .020 from each back face to correct the dimension. All is good now, ready for the track.

When trucks are made, the manufacturer drills center holes in the tips of each axle end. So it is easy to set them up as wheel sets in a lathe to do any work on the wheel or axle. Here I put them in my 12 inch X 36 inch Atlas lathe. Chucked the one wheel in the 3-jaw chuck and the other end is held in the tailstock with a “live” center. Everything is perfectly lined up this way. I used a carbide lathe cutter to do the turning.

Just like the prototype trucks, these are only held together by the four springs in each side frame. Remove the four springs and the entire truck is dis-assembled.

#2

Kewl! Can’t wait to see this “contraption” take shape…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

#3

This’ll be fun to watch.

#4

And … Begin!

#5

Pretty neat. Any particular considerations when building such large rolling stock?

#6

Bruce Chandler said:

Pretty neat. Any particular considerations when building such large rolling stock?

Not really…this one will be a non-riding car. No passengers on this. Strictly for a large scale model. Now riding cars, that’s a different consideration. The frame and trucks are built with more “heft” in riding cars. If this were a riding car (this one will essentially be a 40 foot flat car with tanks mounted in oak supports). A forty-footer would be around 60 inches long plus the souplers…about 65 inches coupler face to coupler face. That’s room for two adults with just “enough” leg room :). Roughly about 300-500 pounds and probably another 125 pounds for the car, trucks and couplers. I usually use 1-1/2 inch X 1/2 inch channel iron for a flat car frame. There are cast iron or cast steel truck bolster parts sold along with cast end beams (cast iron or steel. Two pieces of channel iron for the sides and two pieces running down the center (center beams).

I will build a frame very much like this one above for this Arrowhead Water Car. This frame is for my wood gondola that I recently did a post about. This car has carried over 500 pounds with two pretty good sized adult men!

#7

Gary,

Thanks for sharing. Currently working on my Conner Beam Riding Car and read each of your post with a great deal of interest.

Great looking car for a small interchange railroad.

I think you’ve mastered the art.

#8

Today I started measuring for the steel for the frame of the Arrowhead Water Car. I have just about finished the MasterCam drawing for the car. A couple of little details to add yet. I will be using 1/2 inch X 1-1/2 inch and 1/8 thick steel channel iron for the frame. I will fasten the cast steel truck bolsters to these pieces using machine screws and tap the channel iron.

This is the MasterCam drawing showing the basic channel iron frame.

Photo of the actual trucks in their correct spacing for the flat car base for the water tanks. The outer faces of the 2x2 wood is the actual length overall at the end beams. The trucks are spaced 46 inches apart which represents the prototype 30 feet, 8 inch bolster centers.

I ordered the 24 investment cast stake pockets, grab irons and hand rails today from Precision Steel Car. Ordered the old time brake wheel, ratchet and pawl from Cannonball Railroad Ltd. yesterday. Couplers are coming next week from Tom Bee in Michigan. I have ordered the 1-1/2 inch channel iron (about 35 pounds of it) and that will be picked up next week at the local steel yard.

#9

Received the first order for detail parts for my 1/8th scale Arrowhead Water Car this morning…1-1/2 inch scale brake wheel set.

For scale comparison, the wheel is 1-15/16 inches in diameter.

#10

Were are you getting/using for rivets?

It looks like you will need a few!

#11

After I repair most of my buildings in Silver Onyx that were damaged by the dust devils I can get to work on my g scale version!

#12

Sean McGillicuddy said:

Were are you getting/using for rivets?

It looks like you will need a few!

Sean,

I counted them on the face as you see…needed to know when I made the MasterCam drawings. There are 100 just on this face. 600 rivets needed on six faces. There are additional rivets on the bands in the center of each tank. 400 on each of those times 2 sets of bands per tank is 800 per tank times 3 tanks is 2400. Total for the entire car should be 2800 rivets! AND yes, you DO count them in this scale :). I use copper rivets for my rolling stock and locomotives. They have a round head .175 in diameter with a .090 diameter shaft and are 1/4-.375 long depending on the thickness of the material being fastened together. I purchase the rivets from Hanson Rivet Co. here in Southern California. Big rivet supply house.

MasterCam rendering of the tank end with rivets.

#13

Doug Arnold said:

After I repair most of my buildings in Silver Onyx that were damaged by the dust devils I can get to work on my g scale version!

Doug,

I STILL have to mail the prints to you. The Blue Cut Fire put a big crimp in our railroad projects! :slight_smile:

#14

It is actually nice to be able to get back to work repairing buildings! I just about finished repairing a log cabin I bought from Bob Toohey who used to run Fairplex.

I should have it finished and back on the layout on Wednesday.

#15

Can I fit 1/8 th scale in my 12’X60’ space? This looks fun.

#16

Curves would be a big challenge!

#17

Devon Sinsley said:

Can I fit 1/8 th scale in my 12’X60’ space? This looks fun.

Devon,

Sure you can and definitely not impossible. I’m serious…build a “modified” Timesaver layout! Then learn to build switches in 1/8th scale :). Not as difficult as you think.

#18

My mom would KILL me.

#19

Is it done yet?

#20

Hey Doug…NO it’s not done yet :)! Ran into a small “snag” getting the three steel tanks built, but more on that situation later.

I did do a small turning job on my lathe for a friend at Los Angeles Live Steamers. He needed four new cast iron wheels for a small box cab electric in 1/8th scale. I had some rough castings laying around the shop, so not a big deal.

This is a wheel turning mandrel I had to make before starting this job. One inch diameter CRS. The diameter on this type of steel usually has diameters that vary less than a .0001 or two. True round stock. I turned one end down to .7495. The reamed hole in the wheel finished at .7510. Those dimensions gave me a good slip fit. This man likes to slip the wheels on and then pin them through the hub and axle. I like to actually press the wheels onto the axle stock and go up against a shoulder the establish back-to-back and wheel gage.

With the wheel attached.

Finished wheels.

Now for the problem of the three steel tanks for the Arrowhead Water Car…I had a builder lined up in Wisconsin, but he is too busy right now to take on the project. My wait time could be up to a year. Need them made before that. Contacted Marty Cozad in Nebraska (I think some of you know him… he is building a 1" layout on his property now). He suggested having a heating/AC contractor build them. Great idea. I also have a local sheet metal fabricating shop in my area that said these tanks won’t be a problem to make and are probably not going to cost a great deal. So I continue on…