The trucks
Completely disassemble the trucks, keeping track of how ev-
erything goes together. Notice the gears are not reversible;
they must go in a particular direction for everything to work. I
like to put all the small pieces in an old margarine dish so they
do not disappear. Wash all of the truck pieces to remove the
factory lubricant.
Take the four side frames and cut off the sanding lines. I prefer
truck air lines made from brass wire. If you choose to do this,
first glue the Proto 2000 brake cylinder air lines into the brake
cylinders. Once the glue is dry, cut off the small air line leaving
the slightly larger end piece glued in the brake cylinders. Drill
#79 holes in the end of each brake cylinder.
On the two side frames from the front truck, drill out the cen-
ter axle bearing to fit a Details West 244 axle bearing. Drill the
right-rear bearing on the front truck to fit a Detail Associates
2808 speed recorder. Trim the back of the speed recorder so
51. Weight cut into two pieces.
51
Pan-Am SD45R part 2 - 7
it does not interfere with the end of the axle. Glue the speed
recorder and axle bearings in place. Use a cut-off disk in your
motor tool to remove 1/32” from the ends of the wheelset that
will go in the center position of the front truck. This is neces-
sary so the wheelset will roll freely with the new axle bearings
installed in the side frame.
Bend new brake air lines from .010” brass wire following pho-
tos, and glue in place. Install the Details West sand hose brack-
ets on the outboard end of the truck side frames. There are no
brackets on the inboard ends of the trucks. It is not necessary
to model the sand lines themselves, as they would be hidden
behind the steps. Make a speed recorder cable from .008”
brass wire.
52
52. Completed front truck.
MRH-Nov 2014
