Information on Using Real Trains Body Bolsters With Your Tubing

If you desire to use our tube frame body bolsters with a frame of your own design you will be helped by the following information:

The recess in our body bolsters fits 1" by 2" or 1" by 3" rectangular tubing. While our frames are steel you may use aluminum tubing instead. The recess in the body bolster accommodates tubing with either square or round corners.

We use a tubing with a wall thickness of approximately 0.120". This provides an internal height of slightly over 3/4". Since most coupler shanks are 3/4" high, this allows the coupler to be mounted in the end of the tubing. Be aware that some tubing has a weld seam that must be filed flat to prevent interference with the coupler. If your shank is thicker it should be milled, filed, or ground to fit as required. If the shank is much thinner use spacers above and below it to center it in the opening. When the coupler is mounted in this way and the body bolster is used with our trucks, the result will be a coupler that is typically 4 3/8" to the center under normal load. If your standard is different or you are using other trucks you must make adjustments.

The body bolster attaches to the tubing with two 10-24 socket head cap screws and also uses a 3/8" socket head cap screw as the center pivot for the truck. These require two 3/16" and one 3/8" holes in the tubing positioned to match the body bolster. The screws furnished is designed to mount with its head inside of the tubing, tightened against the upper surface of the lower wall of the tubing. This provides a flush top surface above the tubing but requires that holes in the upper wall be large enough to allow the head to pass through. If this is not important in your design you may use longer screws (obtained locally) through both walls of the tube.

The above is provided as information only. It is not intended as design guidance. Final choice of all design details are up to your judgment.