The modular design of the Accucraft J&S coaches make them a great start for kitbashing, and narrow gauge railroads were known to be frequent "kitbashers" of second-hand equipment, rather than buying new to suit their particular needs. The Belden Falls was in immediate need of a combine for the excursion train, as well as for revenue service on the mixed freight. For this, I went to my frequent source of ideas and dimensions, Don Heimburger's book "Along The East Broad Top".
By the time I was ready to start, numerous posts on MLS and elsewhere had pointed out certain errors in the model. Following suggestions discussed in these posts, I first closed the gaps under the doors, lowered the carbody on the trucks and prepared a more secure mount for the couplers. Kadee 850's are standard on the BF, as they provide additional side travel, and I like the slack action. The amount of slack is reduced by nesting a second drawbar spring within the original at assembly. A suitable mounting plate for the 830 draft gear was made from 1/16" aluminum. The area was prepared by removing the original aligning tabs and the plates glued in place, with a flat head screw into the original mounting hole and a snug-fitting hole for the truck-swivel-limiting brass pin on the car frame to provide a secure mount. Two tapped holes receive the draftgear mounting screws. New cut levers were made, as the factory ones were of a type not favored on the BF.
Next, the trucks. All power pickups and wiring into the carbody was removed, as I do not use interior lighting. Rough handling during shipping caused the brake beams to be damaged and/or bent, so they were repaired next. For better appearance, the hangers were rebent so that the faces of the brakeshoes were inside the OD of the wheel flanges, eliminating the excessive daylight there. Kevin, remember our discussion about the lack of a bottom tension bar on the AMS trucks? I had not previously noticed that some narrow gauge passenger trucks omit them, while others do have them. I wanted them, so they were fabricated from sheet brass and attached with existing screws. At the time, I was satisfied with the way the trucks rolled after being lubed, but now seeing how much effort is required to move a string of four cars, Aristocraft ball bearings will be retrofitted this winter. The trucks were washed, repainted with Krylon, weathered with Bragdon powders and clearcoated.
Now, the carbody exterior. I wanted a large baggage section with windows, since it was to also contain the Conductor's office space, for when it was in mixed train service. With EBT cars 14 and 18 as guides, it was decided to take eight of the thirteen window units, making about a 60/40 split, the passenger section being the smaller part. With the exception of removing the toilet roof vent in the baggage end, all exterior changes were to the car sides only. All clear glazing was removed and put aside. The car theoretically received all new lower window sash during rebuilding and the top sash openings were covered. Evergreen .020 styrene sheet was cut and CA'd for these. Areas around windows to be blanked out and the baggage door openings were prepared in my milling machine, an antique with long table travel, with the plastic sides fastened to a wood backing plate. Evergreen has v-joint siding with a .100 pitch, close enough to the car's molded .095 pitch. Pieces of .020 siding were fitted and CA'd in place to obtain the desired arrangement. Baggage doors were fabricated from strips milled to size and glued to a .080 back sheet. Door opening molding was milled from styrene, using a corner-rounding end mill. Once I found a prototype in EBT #14, I cheated by omitting glazing in the doors. Grab irons are formed from 3/64ths brass and Ozark BNW's. The stirrups below the doors were made from 3/32 brass tubing, flattened in a vise. This gives material with a smooth edge and without the twist that shearing produces in narrow strips. Also about this time during repeated trial fitting of things, I got tired of the prying made necessary by the way the floor assembly engaged the grooves in the car sides. The floor/frame assembly was milled narrower so that it just drops between the sides.
For the interior, a partition with a non-opening door was made by gluing v-joint siding and rectangular pieces to .080 styrene. Angles were first attached to the walls in position to receive the partition. Styrene "pallets" were glued up and pre-painted to represent the wood slats used to protect the window glazing in baggage compartments. In the passenger section, some seats were reversed and then all painted to represent rattan cusions with black arm assemblies.While I didn't bother to panel the walls, they were painted with the same Testor's Leather color as used on the end platform doors. Three Railroad Avenue passengers are engaged in discussion with a Bachmann Conductor (1.29 and raised up on a block of styrene), probably about the impending fare increase. Originally, I intended to detail the baggage compartment with a conductor's desk and chair, parcels, etc. But, it is so difficult to see into it, with no glazing in the fixed baggage doors and boards on the windows, that it just recieved v-joint panelling painted cream and a black pot bellied stove.
The original lettering was removed with Scotchbrite, to prevent a shadow in the repaint. Floquil Pullman Green was an exact match. It is also available in spray cans, which I ordered directly from their website. The car was masked and only effected areas were repainted. New graphics are vinyl from Del Tapporo of G-Scale Graphics, who is great to work with, making any adjustments to get what is required. A final clearcoat of Krylon UV-stabilized low-luster clearcoat was applied and the clear glazing reinstalled. A bit of weathering will be added to the undercarriage of this and the coaches, after their interiors are finished.
Speaking of the remaining coaches, the RR president (me) is considering the conversion of one into a business car, so he and some friends can travel in style while out on the line. Good fishing in the Otter Creek, and plenty of white-tail deer and wild turkey along the line.
Larry
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