Skeleton Car to Aid Hand-Laying Track

They look like a good idea, but those commercial cars made to spot track troubles aren't as useful as they appear. I'm talking about the ones made from a rectangle of clear plastic. Their problem? The thickness of the plastic creates parallax distortion that can throw off super-critical observation of potential track problems. Also, the surface of the plastic often has distracting glare or reflections, and the edges can sometimes obscure details.

The answer is to create a "true" skeleton car. It literally takes less than five minutes, requiring only a spare plastic freight car underbody and a pair of trucks fitted with the desired wheelsets. Simply cut away everything from the car underbody except the center sill and the bolster pin holes, as shown in the photo. Attach the trucks, and you're done.

Concerned about its lack of weight? It's actually an advantage, since lighter-weight cars usually have the biggest potential problems on tricky trackwork. So, this featherweight tool will be the first to find trouble-spots.

Made in March 1993, my first skeleton car has been invaluable over the years, helping me hand-lay Code 40 and Code 25 turnouts, among many other things. I've since made a few more, each with different wheelsets of the varieties I expect to run. By the way, it also became the inspiration for "quick and dirty" log cars, which will be featured in a future clinic.

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