Four Flats - The Ulrich Truss Rod Flat Car Project - Couplers

For a while now I've been collecting HO scale Ulrich Truss Rod Flat Cars, sometimes listed as "Old Flat Car" or just "Flat Car" by the manufacturer.  Strangely, these often command a high price on eBay, for such a small thing and being so old.  They're not particularly rare, or all that detailed, but I suppose they do weigh a bit more than an injection molded flat car due to their metal sides, ends, bolsters and details.  Perhaps it is the name - often associated with quality kits, and maybe some nostalgia from folks who remember this kit from their childhood.

For such a common car in use from early railroading days through the 1930s, there are surprisingly few manufacturers who make them.  Ulrich is long out of business and as far as I know the only other makers of similar cars are also "fallen flags", with Bachmann having been the most recent entity to offer a truss-rod flat of similar size.  IHC/AHM made one, but it is shorter, probably 34 feet, while the Ulrich car is 40 feet and the Bachmann Silver Series 41, I think.  Bitter Creek makes a 34' kit that comes less trucks, couplers and decals.  Campbell may have offered one, and JV did as well, but these are even more rare.

I also don't know if the Ulrich cars are based on any particular prototype.  I do know that Tony Thompson used one as an SP Maintenance of Way car as it was a close match for his prototype.  Being a freelancer, the prototype matters less or not-at-all; I'm just happy to have some.  My typical m.o. is to troll eBay for "truss rod" and see if these cars will show up in a lot or for sale by someone who really isn't sure what they've got.  That's the best chance of getting one for less than an astronomical amount.  If the listing includes the words "vintage" or "craftsman" and the car is still in kit form, expect to pay too much.  As of the writing of this post, there's one on eBay for $19.99 plus $5.66 shipping.  This is too steep for me.

Anyway, on to the build.  For this post I'm focusing on the couplers.  Ulrich's design is based around a multi-piece knuckle coupler that you had to assemble, complete with tiny springs.  I guess it is compatible with Kadee couplers, but I'm replacing it with Kadee's scale-head, whisker-spring coupler.  In order to make it fit I had to file the Ulrich coupler/end beam/bolster casting opening ever so slightly.  Then, I cut down a Kadee coupler box leaving the round post and a bit of the flat to which that's attached.  Once this post is placed into the Ulrich coupler box over the cast-on peg, the coupler operates as intended with little-to-no slop.

Up next...when wood won't work.

Caboose Coupler Conundrum - Solved!

Back when I began converting these Model Power cabeese into more detailed models I ran into a conundrum; how to mount couplers.  In January of 2018 I determined I'd need to hog out the old coupler box entirely and sheath the platform surface with styrene, distressed to resemble wood planks.  Fine.  But that doesn't leave anything for a screw to bite into in order to attach the coupler box.  

Coupler slot modifications from January 2018

Now I know what you're thinking - why not just glue the box in place.  I considered it, but I really prefer to be able to unscrew the box to access the coupler and spring plate in case either or both are damaged, heaven forbid.  To do so if it had been glued in place would mean potentially damaging the platform detail above, then having to glue in the replacement, and I could just imagine that going badly.

The obvious solution was to glue the top plate of the coupler box in place, and attach the lower half by screwing it to the post on the upper half.  The only problem was finding a screw of the right size.  The largest tap I own is for a 2-56 screw, and that slides right through the coupler hole.  I had slightly larger screws but no tap...but perhaps I could just force them to "self-tap" into the soft plastic of the coupler box...

 

NEVER throw away potentially useful screws!

Sure enough, it worked.  The old Atlas switch machine screws tapped themselves easily into the coupler boxes without cracking or distorting the plastic.  Only about 1/16 of an inch needed to be snipped away and my Xurons made quick work of that followed by a few swipes of a needle file.  A couple tiny drops of super glue and voila, couplers installed.