I'm posting this as a public service advisory. I wanted to finish off my
Clinchfield 1932 ARA car for my layout tonight. I already changed the triple
valve, cut levers, reweigh and re pack date, and added PSC air hoses and
brackets.

The only thing left was to change the trucks to spring plankless trucks,
(the car comes with 50 ton spring plank trucks) so I grabbed a pair of P2k
trucks I had left over. It turns out Atlas doesn't use the same standard
bolster as other freight car so I had to remove material from the inside of
the truck screw hole. Also, Atlas trucks sit higher than normal trucks so I
had to add Kadee fiber washers to get the car to sit at the right height.
The washers also had to have the hole enlarged to fit over the bolster.
Finally, Atlas uses a shouldered (not sure if that is the right word) screw
that will not snug down to the P2k truck, and the 3/16 screws I have are too
long, so I have to get other screws. What should have been a 2 minute truck
swap has turned into an hour long project, that I will have to finish later
once I get new screws. Why don't Atlas use the same bolster and truck
mounting as other manufacturers?

Brian J Carlson P.E.
Cheektowaga NY

On Nov 5, 2008, at 8:23 PM, Brian J Carlson wrote:

....What should have been a 2 minute truck
swap has turned into an hour long project, that I will have to
finish later
once I get new screws. Why don't Atlas use the same bolster and truck
mounting as other manufacturers?

Brian, I've had similar problems when changing trucks on Atlas cars.
It's a major project. A better question is, why doesn't Atlas
conform to NMRA standards with regard to bolster height and truck
mounting dimensions. Granted, the NMRA standards committee is now
little more than a bad joke, but those standards have existed for a
long time and are still followed (more or less, at least) by almost
all other manufacturers. Atlas appears to be thumbing their
collective noses at those of us who aren't content to just pop the
model out of the box and put it on the track, regardless of whether
the trucks are prototypically correct.

Richard Hendrickson

Richard,
With tongue firmly planted in cheek,

Is it NMRA Standards or Reccommended Practices?
I had a similar grouse with the Life Like Simplex bolster trucks and
was firmly but kindly reminded of the distinction on this forum.

Sharing your pain,
Pierre Oliver

Brian, I've had similar problems when changing trucks on Atlas

cars.

It's a major project. A better question is, why doesn't Atlas
conform to NMRA standards with regard to bolster height and truck
mounting dimensions. Granted, the NMRA standards committee is now
little more than a bad joke, but those standards have existed for

a

long time and are still followed (more or less, at least) by

almost

all other manufacturers. Atlas appears to be thumbing their
collective noses at those of us who aren't content to just pop the
model out of the box and put it on the track, regardless of

whether

the trucks are prototypically correct.

Richard Hendrickson

On Wed, 5 Nov 2008 21:53:20 -0800, Richard Hendrickson wrote

Brian, I've had similar problems when changing trucks on Atlas cars.
It's a major project. A better question is, why doesn't Atlas
conform to NMRA standards with regard to bolster height and truck
mounting dimensions.

Richard, That is really what I meant in my poorly worded email. Most other
manufacturers follow those standars why doesn't Atlas. I think on some of
there early cars they did. I also need to apologize for my poor grammer in
the email "Why don't Atlas use.." yeesh.

Brian Carlson

--- In STMFC@..., "Brian J Carlson" <brian@...> wrote:

On Wed, 5 Nov 2008 21:53:20 -0800, Richard Hendrickson wrote

Brian, I've had similar problems when changing trucks on Atlas cars.
It's a major project. A better question is, why doesn't Atlas
conform to NMRA standards with regard to bolster height and truck
mounting dimensions.

Richard, That is really what I meant in my poorly worded email. Most

other

manufacturers follow those standars why doesn't Atlas. I think on

some of

there early cars they did. I also need to apologize for my poor

grammer in

the email "Why don't Atlas use.." yeesh.

Brian Carlson

Actually, no. The only wisdom the NMRA has on the subject is RP-23,
last revised in August of 1961. RP-23 calls for the centerplate to be
5/16" (.3125") above the rails, with a .089" diameter hole.

The defacto industry standard for the last twenty years has been the
centerplate .290" / .300" above the rails, with a hole that provides
clearance on an 1/8" boss, .126" / .130".

What are the dimensions of the new Atlas trucks? If they are too high,
they may be doing exactly what you ask…

Dennis

Hi guys,

This very same question popped up on the Atlas forum a couple of months ago. Atlas replied in essence, "We inherited the bolster design from the dark ages of the company, and decided to cheap out and keep it instead of retooling."

Ray Breyer


Richard Hendrickson <rhendrickson@...> wrote:
On Nov 5, 2008, at 8:23 PM, Brian J Carlson wrote:

....What should have been a 2 minute truck
swap has turned into an hour long project, that I will have to
finish later once I get new screws. Why don't Atlas use the

> same bolster and truck mounting as other manufacturers?

Brian, I've had similar problems when changing trucks on Atlas cars.
It's a major project. A better question is, why doesn't Atlas
conform to NMRA standards with regard to bolster height and truck
mounting dimensions. Granted, the NMRA standards committee is now
little more than a bad joke, but those standards have existed for a
long time and are still followed (more or less, at least) by almost
all other manufacturers. Atlas appears to be thumbing their
collective noses at those of us who aren't content to just pop the
model out of the box and put it on the track, regardless of whether
the trucks are prototypically correct.

Richard Hendrickson