# #6411 Shorty Flat Car...



## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Well, tooter is back at it again with another shorty car... 










I cut out the center section and sanded the two ends down to the edge of the "boards" on the surface and the center stake holder so that they would match.










The sanding is as clean and true of a fit as I could get, so that the original paint job could be retained.










The #6419 work caboose is built on the same diecast metal chassis as the #6411 flat car...










I made it as an accessory to the Burro Crane. With the shortened length, the crane boom is now long enough to lift loads from the center of the car. 










Greg


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## rkenney (Aug 10, 2013)

Looks great! Good idea.:smilie_daumenpos:


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Cant even tell where the cut was made. Shoot them all ( the shorties) I bet they look great together! The irony I find in this is from as large as I can fit in my backyard to smaller o scale. Great stuff Tooter!


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

sjm9911 said:


> Cant even tell where the cut was made.


It ended up being at the right side of the center stake holder because that spot coincided with edges of the "boards"on the surface.




> Shoot them all ( the shorties) I bet they look great together! The irony I find in this is from as large as I can fit in my backyard to smaller o scale. Great stuff Tooter!


Thanks, man.  
I'll round up the little guys and snap some pics. 


Greg


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## Dave Sams (Nov 24, 2010)

Very Nice!

From taking pictures of my layout, I find pictures tend to highlight dirt and flaws. 

I bet it looks even better in person.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That's cool Greg, looks like it was made that way. 

(oops... sorry )


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Dave Sams said:


> Very Nice!
> 
> From taking pictures of my layout, I find pictures tend to highlight dirt and flaws.
> 
> I bet it looks even better in person.


Oh, it's just as dirty in real life! :laugh: 
I'm sure it's never been cleaned in 60 years. When the glue on the seam has fully cured it'll get a thorough cleaning to brighten up the paint.

Greg


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> That's cool Greg, looks like it was made that way.


Thanks, John. 
That's the look I go for by keeping the original paint. My favorite Lionel era is late 40's and 50's, so I get old common cheap used cars off of ebay. They don't have boxes and don't have any collector value, so cutting them up doesn't make them worth any less than before.

I also got an old 50's tank car that's going to become the next shorty, and am trying to figure out where to make the cuts. 


Greg


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## BWA (Jun 16, 2012)

Nooooooooooo, don't clean it. I leave all my cars dirt..... er, weathered.

Now, you have to shorten the work caboose. In two places, one through the caboose part, and, one through the box part.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

The flatcar looks great. :smilie_daumenpos:

What is the number on the tanker you have?
I have been looking at pictures and it seems all of them would be hard to cut because of where the decals are. Unless you're going to redecal?

You can get decals you know?

Do you have a single domed tanker?
Some of the 2 dome tankers look to be doable with minimum decals loss. The 6465 looks the easiest for the size you want.

Which one do you have?


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

BWA said:


> Nooooooooooo, don't clean it. I leave all my cars dirt..... er, weathered.
> 
> Now, you have to shorten the work caboose. In two places, one through the caboose part, and, one through the box part.


I can't, because then it wouldn't fit the boom of the black crane... 










Greg


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

big ed said:


> The flatcar looks great. :smilie_daumenpos:
> 
> What is the number on the tanker you have?
> I have been looking at pictures and it seems all of them would be hard to cut because of where the decals are. Unless you're going to redecal?
> ...


You got it right, Ed... 6465. 










I was thinking of cutting off half of each dome and making it a one dome tank car but the wheels would hit each other on the turns. So instead I'm going to cut 2 1/2 inches out of the center between the domes. When I turned the wire feed flux welder down really low I discovered that it's possible to spot weld the metal frames together. :thumbsup:










Greg


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

sjm9911 said:


> Cant even tell where the cut was made. Shoot them all ( the shorties) I bet they look great together! The irony I find in this is from as large as I can fit in my backyard to smaller o scale. Great stuff Tooter!


There's six tooter shorties so far. The Burro is already short enough... 










The crew car, log car, and burro crane make a neato little logging work train... 










Greg


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## BWA (Jun 16, 2012)

I was thinking for the Burro. It needs it's own shorty service car.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Since the Burro is self-powered, how does it work when you're trying to drag it around with that locomotive?


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## BWA (Jun 16, 2012)

It has a clutch which can be disengaged from the drive wheels.

It's actually a pretty clever little unit considering it's mid 50s origins.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I forgot about the clutch, you're right. I had one a long time ago, but when I got my TMCC crane, it went on the block.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

:thumbsup:Cool, looks like lots o fun! I remembered the original thread and had to see them all together. Nice. I could never create something like that.


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Since the Burro is self-powered, how does it work when you're trying to drag it around with that locomotive?


Since the Burro was produced at the peak of the mechanical era, naturally it's quite a clever mechanism. 

It has a 3 position lever...

One position puts the transmission in gear to be self powered. 

The middle position puts the transmission in neutral which enables it to be pulled just like any other unpowered car. 

The third position engages the cab so that the motor can rotate the boom. 

The direction of rotation is controlled by a second sliding lever on the side, which also controls the direction of travel either manually, or with track trippers. 

A third lever at the back of the cab raises to disengage the cab rotation from the motor, but allows a drum under the cab to turn which raises and lowers the hook depending on which way you push or pull the switch on the side to make the motor run in either direction. The cab turns 360 degrees and then hits a stop which reverses the motor to rotate the cab in the opposite direction.

If any functions are impeded, a clutch disengages to protect the motor, the gears, and the hook line. The motor is geared really low so that all of the motion, cab, and hook functions operate slowly and precisely just like a real crane.

And all of these sophisticated mechanical features are neatly contained within this compact package... 










Greg


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I got sucked into cranes big-time with this one.  The companion car has the audio to match the crane operations.


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I got sucked into cranes big-time with this one.  The companion car has the audio to match the crane operations.
> 
> 
> View attachment 34956


That's an excellent example of the electronic era. 


Greg... of the Clan of the Luddites


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

What can I say, I love all the whistles & bells, as well as all the other sights and sounds. I'm a sucker for high-tech.


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> What can I say, I love all the whistles & bells, as well as all the other sights and sounds. I'm a sucker for high-tech.


It's all good, John... 
High tech is what makes possible the quality of life that gives us the free time to play with trains.

Greg


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