From: sboyle@mbunix.mitre.org (Boyle)
Newsgroups: rec.models.railroad
Subject: McKean Open Beam Car Questions/Comments
Keywords: prototype, dimensions
Date: 19 Aug 92 16:31:09 GMT
Organization: The MITRE Corp., Bedford, Ma.

I just (mostly) finished building one of the McKean open beam cars, and
I have a couple of questions about the prototype.  If anyone knows of a
good reference to this car (and the older center beam "opera window"
cars) or if someone knows the answer to my basic questions, I'd
appreciate it.

I'd like to replace the trucks that come with the kit (more on that
later) but I don't know what the prototype wheel diameter is.  The
wheelsets appear to be outsize for the model -- if I mount the trucks
normally, they won't swing because the wheels hit the underframe, and
the wheels rub against the bottom of the car.  I'd like to know the
correct wheel diameter as well as the deck height of the prototype.
(If anyone knows of a good replacement set of trucks, that'd help, as
well.) Then I should be able to figure out what to do to have
everything come out right.

Second unknown:  There are a pair of what I assume are diagonal braces
that the instructions say to cut and place in the center channel(s).
The only picture of the assembled car packed with the kit is of a
fully-loaded car, thereby hiding the correct placement of the diagonal
braces. Any prototype reference/pictures would help here.


General comments: The kit builds into a nice-looking car.  The lack of
the full center beam, along with the thin cross-section of the deck and
top channel, together with the fit of the pre-finished parts make it an
interesting exercise to get the assembled car to come out square in all
directions.  However, the end product is worth lots of filing/cutting
and test fitting.  

The weight that is packed with the car is relatively small (therefore
light).  There apears to be a lot more room between the deck and
underframe for a longer weight.  A longer, slightly wider weight would
both bring the car closer to NMRA-recommended weight and could help
keep the assembly square.

The trucks that come with the car are about the worst I've ever seen
packed with a kit.  The sideframe moldings have a lot of flash, as do
the wheelsets themselves.  As mentioned, the included wheelsets rub the
bottom of the car, as well as the underframe.  Just for grins, I
assembled the car with an MKD-5 and the stock trucks.  According to the
Kadee coupler height guage, the coupler was about an eighth of an inch
high (so much for shimming the trucks away from the underframe :-).

I'd suggest McKean either put decent trucks in with the kit, or skip
them and tell you what else to use.  It'd also be a big help if they
added a couple of prototype photos and dimensional data.  Other than
that, it's a nice kit.  Put it this way; I'm heading back to the
hobbyshop to grab the remaining kit :-)

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Steve Boyle sboyle@mitre.org          |  "Actually, FORTRAN was the language
The MITRE Corporation                 |   of choice for the same reason that
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