Gunderson Double Stack Construction - Part 2

"The Inside Story"

In building the Gunderson car there are several parts to consider that are on the inside of the car. Most of the time one would not see the interior, However, to keep the car prototypical we need to make the inside parts as close as possible. The containers that you have seen riding in the cars are not resting on the bottom of the cars. Actually, the containers are hanging from the side of the car on what I am going to call 'the feet'. The feet are made from very heavy metal and are connected to braces and brackets welded to the sides of the car. There are three sets of feet - one on each end and one in the middle. The middle one, I assume, is for short containers.

The feet are connected by cross bracing and x bracing on the bottom of the car. This keeps the car sides parallel. The cross bracing at the feet are attached to the car with a hinge assembly. This car with long sides probably will twist fairly easy. I would guess the hinge assembly lets the car move with out breaking the welds.

In this photo you will see all the hinge and feet parts. I made the hinge solid since I don't expect my car to rack much. I put lines on the 5/16 rod using the lather to simulate the joints.

Here is the back bracket for the feet. The side braces have already been welded on. The holes are to weld through to weld the foot on to the side brace. Using a plug weld the weld can't be seen from the front.

Here's the hinge rod welded to the foot bracket. The holes are for plug welding the foot on to the back bracket on the real car. I just left the holes and welded on the back and bottom. Photo 3 a shows completed hinge bracket. Slots are for welding on the cross bracing.

Addition of the intermediate brackets. There are no hinges at these locations but the bracket itself will flex to some degree. It was interesting to note that the G scale model I purchased as a guide for some construction details and the paint scheme, had incorrect location of the bottom cross bracing. Actually, the model had an extra set of cross braces.

These photos show the cross bracing clamped in to place. Everything is checked for level and location before welding begins. As you notice, one never has enough "C" clamps. You can see, I have a sea of "C" clamps! Couldn't resist that one. Sorry.

Here are some new pictures from January 6th showing the car as Lee continues to add details.
(Click for larger view)

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