A Few Small Car Repairs

I had a little time so I decided to do some car repairs in the train room. I picked two cars and got to work.

Time for Car Repairs
Time for Car Repairs

Caboose CN 79575 had two problems… a low coupler and it leaned to one side. I tackled the leaning problem first. I knew why it leaned. I had added weights to the interior of the caboose to bring it up to spec but I obviously added more weight to one side than the other. I took the caboose apart, pried one of the weights off, then split it in half and glued it back on.

No More Nails
No More Nails

Glue… I must say, I love No More Nails.

I used to use either white glue or CA (cyanoacrylate) to stick things down. They worked OK but the white glue took too long to dry and the CA sometimes glues things you don’t want to glue.

Enter No More Nails. This stuff is fantastic. It is thick enough to go where you put it and nowhere else, it is strong, and it sets quickly.

Obviously you don’t use it for detail work but for things like sticking weights down, it’s great.

I used the No More Nails to fix the boxcar too. The problem there was that the weights (pennies) had broken loose and were rattling around in the boxcar. I had used white glue for those… but No More Nails came to the rescue.

Boxcar with Coin Weights
Boxcar with Coin Weights

The other problem with the caboose was that the couplers were too low. I got a few washers to put between the trucks and the car body and that raised it enough.

Coupler Height Check
Coupler Height Check

You can see the car on my car checker.

Once both cars were OK, I placed them in the CN siding in Georgetown for pickup by a passing train. I haven’t done up car cards yet so there was no paperwork involved.

Ready for Service
Ready for Service

PS – as you might have guessed, my title was referencing the great album A Few Small Repairs by Shawn Colvin. Recommended.