Peter's Model Railroading | The Equipment | Box Cars | SP A-50-6
Construction: Brakes
Not being an expert at naming the various components that make up a freight car's brake system, I had to spend some time identifying which part was which. Also a bit confusing and not mentioned in the instructions, is the fact that the parts sprue comes with other parts which aren't applicable to this model. The latter I marked with an orange X in the photo. The parts that are to be used, are labeled. I also included the brass wire that is the brake staff, in the photo.
The same goes for the part on the other casting.
I pretty much followed the instructions for building the brake components on the B end of the car, starting with drilling a hole in the bracket at the top.
Next, I marked and drilled the holes for the bracket arms of the platform. This is a delicate detail, and I later broke off one of the bracket arms after it had been installed. Also, one thing I didn't realize was that, in order for the platform to sit flush up against the body of the car at the top, you have file away a bit of the platform to match the profile of the lip of the vertical brace at the car's end. I've indicated that in the photo. I neglected to do that, and so mine sits a bit crooked.
The bottom bracket was installed as per the instructions. By the way, note that I didn't install the car's stirrups yet, which the instructions state to do before beginning work on the B end. I was convinced that I was going to damage them while working on the B end, so I postponed installing those.
Putting the whole thing together went quite smoothly.
I followed the instructions on installing the wire to the retainer valve while it was still on the sprue. That made it much easier.
I drilled a mounting hole for the valve into the body, and the attached wire was a big help in getting that part to slip into its hole. And at the bottom, put the bend into it, as directed, gluing the bend to the body and to the grab iron.
Then, we take a shot of the completed B end.