There is a wide variety of "self tapping" screws available for plastic assembly. They fall into two classes, self tapping that cuts threads, and thread forming that displace material as they enter

Double sheathed box car - WP 17806 http://tinyurl.com/7r6kqa The rip track at T&NO yard in Avondale, LA in 1942. This image makes me think we do not model enough of this

What local store was that? Can we get a phone number, email addy, whatever for that store? Denis Blake Marysville, OH

Exactly. Both the opening of journal boxes and oiling were usually done on the hump, not down in the sorting part of the bowl. If you look back at the original photo, the guy in the chair can't get

I still prefer brass 6BA bolts to hold the trucks on, as I use under-track magnets. I also use non magnetic axles/metal wheels and replace steel weights with lead Jon

I use machine screws for all the resin cars I build for my customers and for myself and have noted that the brass screws one finds in the local hobby shop can be a little undersize in the shank

I live in a town of 11,000, and Radio Shack is a very handy and reasonably cheap source of these and other small machine screws. Steve Lucas.

I've been told that coal was a good backhaul for grain cars and boats. About 1912, the GTR built an experimental steel-frame box car, #9950, that had hopper bottoms and hinged floor boards. The

Some railroads would have the car department inspect the cars upon arrival, opening the journal box lids during the inspection in the receiving yard. If a car had a defect, it would be sent to the the

A local electronics parts house had a bin full of 2-56 x 1/4" binder head screws. I got three pounds for $3.00. They also had a good supply of "Holland" motors for $3.00 apiece; a lot less than

Some roads did have an SOP to open journal box lids on cars before they went over the hump. I recall seeing an AAR-published photo of this. Cars are usually moved over a hump at about 1 to 2 MPH.

I first dip the tip and first thread or two of the screw in carpenter's glue before insertion. So far, truck screws treated this way seem to stay in place without backing themselves out. But

It was a revelation to me to see that bulk coal was sometimes shipped in box cars. I knew that bagged coal often came in box cars but had no idea that bulk coal also came that way. Was that a fairly

Radio Shack carries 2-56 screws in various lengths.   Frank

Eric Hansmann wrote: Track 1 Next four cars are very similar single-sheathed box cars, but photo enhancement fails to reveal any reporting marks or numbers. The first car in the line seems to

Many of us STMFC'ers have moved on beyond machine screws for fastening trucks to plastic or resin bolsters, for the simple reason that they fail due to their lack of clamping which causes the m.s. to

Well they are probably metric if the cars are brass. Small parts, NWSL and probably the already mentioned McMaster Carr will have metric screws. I stocked up on a variety of screws from Small

Schuyler Larrabee wrote: Yes, you did get screwed (so to speak) with that price, but the seller(s) may not have gotten especially rich. That kind of packaging and distribution and point-of-sale

I would prefer to leave the original hole intact for future re-sale concerns.   Jason

I picked up 700 2/56 screws from a place called fastenal for $10.00. I think that someone "screwed up" on the price!!  I build Sunshine kits at a high rate and go through them. Dennis