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 Posted - December 14 2016 : 11:25:27 PM
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Want to run a steam excursion train on your diesel era layout? Need some special equipment to pull behind your steamer so that your HO scale rail fans get the full auditory experience of "Stack Talk"? Can't afford the ready to run open air cars that Bachmann offers? Well how about converting a surplus Tyco skid flat into an open air excursion car!
Here is how I made mine....
First remove the "skid" portion of the flat car deck. I used a band saw but a razor saw will work too.
Second, fill in the hole in the deck with a piece of styrene sheet plastic.
Third, using a drill press or a hand held drill, drill and tap holes on the ends of the frame for Kadee Coupler draft gear. If you want to use different trucks, refer to my Plug Door Rebuilding Program thread about drilling and filling the truck mounting bolster holes. I chose to replace the original coil spring freight car trucks with caboose trucks with leaf springs to simulate a car built for a smoother ride.
Note that I prefer to use the original metal underframes for flat cars and gondolas for weight purposes. Don't have any skid flats with metal underframes? Remember that all Tyco 40 foot cars (Box cars, reefers, gondolas, and skid flats) used the same interchangeable underframe, if your skid flat has a plastic underframe you can salvage a metal underframe from one of these other car types.
Using Styrene strips and sheets, make gondola walls to enclose the deck. Note how I used the side sill stake pockets to secure the vertical stiffeners. Be sure to leave a passage way on the car ends, most open air cars of this type need to be coupled to a caboose or passenger car with steps and end platforms so that passengers can get on board the train. Once on board passengers can enter the open air excursion flat from the ends.
Sometimes open air cars are set up for standing passengers only, but if you prefer, a bench can be fashioned out of styrene as well. Use a scale rule and some HO scale figures to determine the proper dimensions for realistic looking seating. I chose to make a bench with a back rest but plain jane plank style benches can work too.
Lastly, don't forget to add mandatory safety appliance details for a final touch. Remember that your excursion car needs a hand brake, grab irons, and stirrups just like any other freight car. Refer to pictures or models of gondolas for placement ideas.
That's it, all that is needed is a spiffy paint job and some happy passengers and then your excursion car is ready to roll! (Photos of the finished model are coming soon)!
Proudly keeping Tyco Pluggers out of landfills since 2016
Edited by - Srenchin on December 15 2016 11:12:01 AM
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Posted - December 14 2016 : 11:43:42 PM
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I've ridden in many such open cars, and this is a convincing model of one.
Part of what's cool about this is that, just as the real thing is a kitbash, the model is, too. The prototype railroads do the silk purse from a sow's ear projects, too.
Carpe Manana!
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 Posted - December 15 2016 : 12:20:53 AM
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Of course, this would also work with a plain 40' flat :P
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Posted - December 15 2016 : 06:37:18 AM
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quote:Of course, this would also work with a plain 40' flat :P
Originally posted by ZeldaTheSwordsman - December 15 2016 : 12:20:53 AM
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** Yes reading through this thread and seeing the photos, I think the work done is great. I come up with the same question and only one answer. the question is, why do all the work cutting out the skid section to install a flat floor. a regular flat car has that already. The answer is. You got a extra skid flat that had not been assigned to any special project and didn't have a regular flat for this conversion. So even though it meant a little extra work, it all came together, and you got a fine open excursion car.
frank
toptrain
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Posted - December 15 2016 : 11:14:56 AM
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quote: [quote] [quote]Of course, this would also work with a plain 40' flat :P
Originally posted by ZeldaTheSwordsman - December 15 2016 : 12:20:53 AM
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** Yes reading through this thread and seeing the photos, I think the work done is great. I come up with the same question and only one answer. the question is, why do all the work cutting out the skid section to install a flat floor. a regular flat car has that already. The answer is. You got a extra skid flat that had not been assigned to any special project and didn't have a regular flat for this conversion. So even though it meant a little extra work, it all came together, and you got a fine open excursion car.
frank
Originally posted by toptrain - December 15 2016 : 06:37:18 AM
I see now that I should have explained the purpose of this project. Frank is spot on with his answer! Like the Tyco 50 plug door boxcar that was the subject of another thread I authored, my goal with this thread was to find new uses for the ubiquitous Tyco skid flat. Sure I could have used a plain flat car for this project, but that was not the point.
If you have the tools and the time, why not find new uses for your spare skid flats! After all, if you collect Tyco equipment chances are you have a surplus fleet of these things already.
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Posted - December 15 2016 : 11:20:55 AM
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quote:Want to run a steam excursion train on your diesel era layout? Need some special equipment to pull behind your steamer so that your HO scale rail fans get the full auditory experience of "Stack Talk"? Can't afford the ready to run open air cars that Bachmann offers? Well how about converting a surplus Tyco skid flat into an open air excursion car!
...
...
Originally posted by Srenchin - December 14 2016 : 11:25:27 PM
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Very well done! It looks just like a car I rode a few years back on the Roaring Camp RR behind the Chiggen (Santa Cruz Portland Cement #2). Looking forward to seeing it painted and detailed. 
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Posted - December 15 2016 : 11:34:09 AM
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| Looks good Scott. Did you use pre-formed grab irons, or did you bend those?
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Posted - December 15 2016 : 11:38:15 AM
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quote:Looks good Scott. Did you use pre-formed grab irons, or did you bend those?
Originally posted by Barry - December 15 2016 : 11:34:09 AM
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The grabs are from Tichy Train Group.
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Posted - December 15 2016 : 11:41:49 AM
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quote:
*previous quotes snipped*
I see now that I should have explained the purpose of this project. Frank is spot on with his answer! Like the Tyco 50 plug door boxcar that was the subject of another thread I authored, my goal with this thread was to find new uses for the ubiquitous Tyco skid flat. Sure I could have used a plain flat car for this project, but that was not the point.
If you have the tools and the time, why not find new uses for your spare skid flats! After all, if you collect Tyco equipment chances are you have a surplus fleet of these things already.
Originally posted by Srenchin - December 15 2016 : 11:14:56 AM
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Well, I don't ^^; . I've only got one skid flat and would actually be interested in using the skid section you cut out to convert a plain 40' flat
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Posted - December 15 2016 : 3:53:37 PM
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quote:Very well done! It looks just like a car I rode a few years back on the Roaring Camp RR behind the Chiggen (Santa Cruz Portland Cement #2). Looking forward to seeing it painted and detailed.
Originally posted by Redwoods - December 15 2016 : 11:20:55 AM
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BOK!!
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Posted - December 15 2016 : 4:19:57 PM
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| I'll be looking forward to seeing what that looks like when you get some paint on it Scott. Nice craftsmanship there.
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Posted - December 21 2016 : 6:59:11 PM
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Well I got my excursion car painted....
I chose colors that would look nice running with my "Spirit of 76" Ten wheeler and coaches.
I see on closer inspection that I had some red paint bleed through onto the white areas. I may have also over weathered the car but I wanted to simulate the appearance of an excursion car that was being pulled by a soot spewing steam engine. The figures I used were ones I happened to have on hand but some of them may be a bit over dressed for a steam excursion.
Let me know what you think, should I repaint my car or leave it as is?
Proudly keeping Tyco Pluggers out of landfills since 2016
Edited by - Srenchin on December 21 2016 7:01:43 PM
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Posted - December 21 2016 : 9:46:24 PM
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quote:
Let me know what you think, should I repaint my car or leave it as is?
Originally posted by Srenchin - December 21 2016 : 6:59:11 PM
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Leave it as it is! Excursion cars are many times painted by volunteers, and not all volunteers are professional at the task they are asked to do. Perhaps they got a little distracted?
Incredible job, thanks for posting it.
http://tycodepot.com/
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Posted - December 21 2016 : 10:32:25 PM
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I think you should repaint it, if only to take care of the overweathering. It may be being pulled by a steam engine, but from what I've seen railroads that offer excursions do try and keep the equipment looking smart. And since this is supposed to be a bicentennial excursion car, well...
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Posted - December 21 2016 : 11:52:36 PM
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From an insider's perspective, how clean, or perfect or well maintained things are usually depends on the staff of a place. Where I volunteer, I have said (partly, but only partly, in jest) that things would be as dirty as the underside of a rotten log but for one person on our crew. The weathering is plausible. Steam does put a black haze of soot on things and if you run daily rather than occasional service, it can accumulate. Late in the tourist season, a daily operation can begin to look a bit run down.
As for the tourists' attire, when is your era? 50 or 60 years ago, people dressed up to travel. Things have gotten more casual, of late. I heard of a flight attendant calling the change "when the Clampets came to town."
About the only thing I'd change about what you've done would be to distribute the people less evenly. They should probably cluster in small groups like friends and relatives with the occasional lone wolf and gaps between the groups.
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Posted - December 22 2016 : 1:15:37 PM
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Good points, thank you for the feed back guys!
I agree that tourist railroad equipment can vary in cleanliness depending on the operation. For example, the tourist railroad I used to volunteer for used an oil burning steam loco so there wasn't much soot. However from my experience riding behind coal burning locomotives on other excursion outfits, it's not difficult to see how the rolling stock would be covered in black grime after the end of a single day of operation.
As for era, my car is painted for my "Spirit of 76" train so I guess my era would me the mid 1970's, I suppose that that era could be considered a transitional period for travel wear.
This conversion project was really easy, I built this car in one evening. I may make some more excursion cars for other tourist train operations....
Proudly keeping Tyco Pluggers out of landfills since 2016
Edited by - Srenchin on December 22 2016 1:22:10 PM
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Posted - December 22 2016 : 1:50:45 PM
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You should try coming up with a way to do ones that have simple tarp/canvas roofs
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Posted - December 22 2016 : 2:01:34 PM
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quote:You should try coming up with a way to do ones that have simple tarp/canvas roofs
Originally posted by ZeldaTheSwordsman - December 22 2016 : 1:50:45 PM
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Start with a frame mounted in the stake pockets.
http://www.thefreeportshow.com/r_flat_red_full.jpg
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Posted - December 27 2016 : 11:15:40 PM
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If I'm honest this is the first kid flat rebuild project I've seen that I actually liked. Great results and not something I would've thought of doing!
--CRC
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