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I figured I could just remover the 'tank' from a nice USAT 4 bay hopper and build my own.
Well, no!
Removing the container from the frame took me a month. Trying to save those nice 4 bays was an awful cutting and grinding chore. They are molded above the frame inside the tank and the ends are one piece above and below the frame. Plus I wanted to use the existing frame to stabilize the new cylinder. That means cutting slots between the inside of the frame and hidden tops of the hoppers.
Having worked my way through that I had to build new ends AND new interior structures that would support the cylinder. The ends are on an angle and the interior supports are vertical but all have to be the same height when in place. Once in place (and that wasn't a walk in the park) I had to find a way to wrap the cylinder tightly around the supports and the ends.
This photo (see below) shows my pattern fitting over one support and one end. There is still a little work to do to make it fit better but once done I should be able to cut the longer piece out of my 4 x 8 sheet of .030 styrene.
Having finished that I have to rebuild the end frames by removing the 'notch' on the top corners, transfer over the USAT walk way supports and the USAT walkway and scratch build the four hopper new covers.
And I thought I would do two at once.
By Christmas I figure.
Dave
Well, no!
Removing the container from the frame took me a month. Trying to save those nice 4 bays was an awful cutting and grinding chore. They are molded above the frame inside the tank and the ends are one piece above and below the frame. Plus I wanted to use the existing frame to stabilize the new cylinder. That means cutting slots between the inside of the frame and hidden tops of the hoppers.
Having worked my way through that I had to build new ends AND new interior structures that would support the cylinder. The ends are on an angle and the interior supports are vertical but all have to be the same height when in place. Once in place (and that wasn't a walk in the park) I had to find a way to wrap the cylinder tightly around the supports and the ends.
This photo (see below) shows my pattern fitting over one support and one end. There is still a little work to do to make it fit better but once done I should be able to cut the longer piece out of my 4 x 8 sheet of .030 styrene.
Having finished that I have to rebuild the end frames by removing the 'notch' on the top corners, transfer over the USAT walk way supports and the USAT walkway and scratch build the four hopper new covers.
And I thought I would do two at once.
By Christmas I figure.
Dave