Best Ways to Tune up That Cheap Rolling Stock & Make Them Run Like A High End Car!! 

I spent nearly $400.00 on updating wheel sets to metal and body mounted Kaydee couplers for around 100 pieces of cheap-O rolling stock. Yeah, I cut off all the Talgo trucks and body mounted Kaydee couplers. Painted all the wheels with a rust colored paint and used some real rust I made from 0000 steel wool soaked in vinegar for a month--poured the rusted mess into a large stainless steel photo tray and waited for it to dry, then scraped it up with a razor blade. Makes great rust powder to mix with alcohol & some Futura acrylic floor polish. I weathered each piece of rolling stock as I was working on them. A lot of modelers use chalk for weathering as well. I found that my wife's make up works great for weathering and sticks better than chalk. Wife bought me my own make up kit with quite a few different colors. You might want to give that a try. W Rusty Lane K9POW in eastern Tennessee

I’ve got 50 year old Tyco rolling stock and I’m thrilled with your instructional video. Answered all my questions.

One of the best tutorials I’ve ever seen. You gave multiple choices to the modelers, regarding to the couplers and the trucks, instead of focusing in just one way. Very well done Ron: you’re really one of the masters of doing so much with just so little! Thank you for sharing!

Ron, you are truly the train doctor. I was given trains with broken trucks and now I know how to repair and give the trains a new life.

This guys a model train Jedi. One might think that subject matter like this is boring but I was utterly riveted by his skills and multiple solutions.

I bought 7 of those Tyco coal hoppers at a local hobby shop for 20$, I took mine and removed the Tyco trucks and put a sprue of plastic I had left over from other kits, superglued them in the holes then trimmed them flush, I then drilled holes in them and added Athearn 70 ton trucks and screws, I glued some evergreen styrene. 040 in place to mount KD boxes and couplers, then soaked them in 90% Isopropyl alcohol and scrubbed them with an old toothbrush, painted them up in boxcar red and added my Conrail decals for a filler to go with my Ortner Conrail rock cars!! 👍👍👍👍

One of the best instructional videos I’ve ever watched. And I’ve watched hundreds.

Basic model railroad improvements presented in a very detailed and easy to understand manner. Well done! And you're at 10k as I write this. Not bad!

I never took doing upgrades very seriously till I started watching your videos. Thanks for the tips.

Hilarious. You are cracking me up with your hunorous remarks about the little lady of the house. Again I learned a lot. Once again, Thanks for a great video.

I appreciate the amount of detail you gave in this video! The part numbers make it so easy to just order the pieces without wondering if I'm getting the right combination of parts. Thanks for a great video Ron!

i000.. that is very cool. This is one of those videos people should save in their watch later list. and return to it every time you get home from a train show. Until ya learn all what to do.

As a beginner I have a feeling your videos are going to be an absolute gold mine for me. Just bought a bunch of old rolling stock on Ebay with the intent to fix them up and they just so happen to be Life-Like!

20:36 Ron, I really enjoyed this video. Seeing all the possibilities available helps. I am almost 65 and getting back into Model Railroading. Tuning the cars will be great fun. Thanks.

Great tutorial on different ways to upgrade the cars. Always look forward to the next video.

Congrats on your pay raise, well deserved! Great tutorial, a great help!

Thank you for sharing. Enjoyed. Lots of good information here.👍

Great video !!! Cool to see someone upgrading the old tyco cars, not a ton of videos on RU-vid about this topic. Congrats on 1000 subs. Looking forward to your next video.

Old pen ink tubes often are almost the right size to use as adapters for Kadees

Congratulations on making the milestone of 1000 subscribers! Good for you. The information you put out is very worthwhile. The subject of car tuning in these last two videos took me years of trial and error before I learned about them and I believe I picked up a item or two from you that I didn’t know. Wow, thanks for that. See you in your next video, Ron. Can hardly wait to see what tips you have for us then!

Thanks for the info I collect the Tyco 50 boxcars alot of different paint jobs on em this will help them run with my newer cars congrats on 1k.

love in the options. Excited that you used a Virginian. I've got a few I want to convert. Congratulations on a 1000. Keep the good videos coming.

I love using the t bar things when updating tyco cuplers :) love all your vids

Great video, learned so much, keep making these please, so much help for us older guys wanting to run the old school stuff!

Most informative video for couplers thank you Ron

Ron your the man. Really enjoy all your videos

My man! I run N Scale but still found this video helpful and informative-stoked! Thanks 🤙

Just found your channel. Enjoyed the video very much and great quality work.

Thanks for all of the info Ron. Can’t wait to see the hot rod!

WOW!!! I really like your good, better, best approach!!

another great video ron keep them coming i learn something every time

That was awesome ! I like that the tutorial you did with good , better, best. I have some Tyco tank cars that had needed this kind of conversion. I did buy some bettendorf trucks and they work great. They run better than ever !

This is one of the most informative, practical, affordable updates one can do for your rolling stock. Hope this can work for N scale rolling stock as well. Awesome video and thank you for sharing this knowledge at a comprensive level we can all understand. BRAVO!

well done Ron. congrats on 1K! i see this channel exploding in no time. Keep it up

Great video mate! Very useful info; simple and effective. Congrats on 1k subs as well!

Love the video. The truck replacement was something I had not considered. Thanks!

Good tips and CONGRATS ON 1000 !!

You've certainly got me on board. Picked up a pair of vintage cars myself (one Tyco billboard ACF Centerflow painted for Old Dutch, one Bachmann ROCK 40' offset hopper), and this definitely makes me want to raise them up to current standards. Hopefully I can get the supplies soon.

Excellent, clear and concise, well done.

Hot Rod, Model Trains, Bandanas, Long Hair, Tattoos... oh, beard! You got my LIKES and Subscription brother!

Excellent job on the upgrade demonstration. This is a new project for me now. Thank you.

Finally, someone else who likes to make cheap stuff roll better! lol Hear Here!

I love your how to video, i used the do the same on one of my cheap tyco boxcar! The result is awsome! Thanks and keep up good work!

Congrats on 1k! You've certainly earned it.

Oh very enjoyable a video and congratulations making 1000 subscribers. You are an artist a scholar and gentleman

Nice, I learn a lot from your videos. Thank you.

The snob's at the local train club were always giveing me **** about running tyco and bachman cars , rebuild them like you showed , even filed the step a little thinner , some dry chalk bushing for shading , still have them all , its fun to do , as the cars are very inexpensive and plentiful , well done.

Awesome tutorial,definitely helps people out for anyone who can’t get high end freight cars

Amazing tutorial and I have more than a 100 of the “cheap” bargain cars , you have convinced me and I will be doing tho upgrade to mine

Hi Classic Awesome info defiantly something to look into when I get home :) Cheers Mark

Ron keep up the great work on trains detailing, I will up grade all my $2.00 cars, win I get the chance this Christmas. Keep building engines.

I ended making the full upgrade. Thanks for the help!

Thank you for providing a well detailed video on this process. I have done some conversions on my older rolling stock, but I still need to get that tap and drill set. This video went straight to my HO scale playlist. Also, congrats on your milestone. I have been a subscriber after discovering your first videos earlier this year. 👍

I've got plenty of cheap flea market cars I've done this with, but i'd never heard of that truck tuner until I saw you using it a couple videos ago. Looks like another handy investment for my tool drawer. lol

You make that look easy enough for a Doug to do. Great video!

Great video!! I have a few cars from the "Old" days I would love to run with the newer stock. This is just the ticket!

Thank you I love the old style box cars Cole cars this tutorial help me out tremendously thank you very much and congrats on the thousand

Great job! Very informative.

Years ago I did a similar upgrade on that same car, which was very common in the 1980's. I crushed charcoal, filled the hpper and soaked it with thinned Elmers glue. Brought weight up to spec.

New to the hobby. This video is great, covering multiple options for upgrading (relatively) inexpensive rolling stock in a clear, concise manner. I have subscribed and now will work through the other videos on your channel. Like your sense of humor also!

Thanks for the information I have several older box cars ralston purina Heinz 57 with the pickle on it and a nabisco that thanks to you I’ll change the couplers on

I have a fleet of probably ten 40' Life-Like TH&B boxcars with Talgo trucks and horn couplers that I refuse to run cause they run like crap, but they have sentimental value so I can't just get rid of them. This video will help breathe new life into them for sure.

Congrats on 1000!

Fantastic tutorial. I can see how you went from 1000 subs to 10,000 subs in a year.

Great job updating that rail car. I like the tip of buying bulk. I myself converted 250 n- scale cars to micro trains trucks and couplers. That took a couple years. A 33%er watching your videos straight through!

Lol, Thanks for putting the coupler in upside down. I thought I was the only person to do that! Also I think after your instructions even I could do this. Eventually want to convert my S scale cars to Kadee. I have some modern s scale converted to scale. It looks a lot nicer than the American Flyer style couplers.

Great tips. I’m definitely going to try this out

Excellent tutorial. Thank you!

Awesome video! I have a box of 50 year old cars that I plan to free from storage in the next few months and I suspect some of them will need this kind of work done to them. Thanks for the how-to.

Great channel!

A lesson learned from this video. Thanks muchly 😅.

Never seen the adapter before. I like it👍 I'll be railfanning across Canada for 3weeks. I'll catch up when I can🚂🇨🇦🇺🇸🙋1000✔️

Hi Ron I have found your video's to be great and informative keep it up your doing well good to hear you have 1000 subscribers now best wishes from one of them from down under down under Tasmania Australia Stevie

Superb Video!

Great video on how to upgrade those old cars! A lot of my cars i just replace the wheels and keep the horn hooks, but some get the full treatment. If its a rare car I use the little adapter, that way I can reverse the upgrade if needed. Keep up the great work!

Great stuff subscribed at 7.2 k better late than never!

Just ran across your videos and I subscribed. You remind me of Derek Bieri from Roadworthy Rescues. I love that show. Maybe you should call your channel Railroadworthy Rescues! Keep 'em commin'!

This is great info! Thanks!!

Great information; Thank you!

Great video on how to convert older cheaper Cars 👍

You can take the old plastic Wheels glue a set of rails to a flatcar and you can make a wheel car out of it for your maintenance away train

Thanks for sharing great video

love the videos, never was any good at that task but i think your help will change everything. may need help figuring out how to find parts for repairing some old locos

I have some old HL rolling stock that had their original couple hours before the nmra standardized the horn cork coupler for HO scale. People used to have a car with one type of coupler on one end and the nmra coupler on the other end so they wouldn't have to change over all the couplers to KD coupler s. Atrial guys generally get half their fleet converted over to kadee couplers and then they just quit on that. I am one of them.

Great job! I get them at train shows for about $1 each; sometimes I can get a whole box of them at the show’s end for free. Been doing these upgrades for several years and they perform unbelievably well. People can’t believe they’re old Tyco cars.

Great video! Thank you!

Great video. Thanks

This guy is awesome!!! Knows his shit!!!

You deserve 1,000’s more!

This made me feel a whole lot better about the majority of my rolling stock. I was worried about upgrade costs, or having to buy nicer cars. With these tips, I can upgrade 8-9 cars without replacing the trucks, for the cost of one new $50 car. Long term, I can upgrade 100 cars for the price of 10 new ones. Thanks for sharing.

I just bought three of those exact coal car bodies at a hobby store that were in the used section for $0.50 each! They're Athern cars I believe, because another car I bought that was complete had an underframe with coupler pockets on them, and they're all the same paint scheme. They had NOTHING with them, but I found underframes on Ebay, and I'll put Kadee trucks with metal wheels an Kadee or McHenry couplers on them and they'll be ready to go. With some weathering they'll look really good, and run great.

Nice easy update for low cost. Instead of bread clips I.use dimensional plastic sheet bought in a hobby store. Also has use in buildings as view blocks and to stretch kits by adding plain sides and backs. Hal

A great informational video. I find a bunch of older cars (AHM for instance) that no one makes today that are very interesting to me. Kadee 142 medium overset couplers should eliminate the breadtie spacer. Kadee makes spacers to lift the body. Kadee 208 and 209. I have been converting cars for a long time and even I learned something. I never considered the plastic sprue in the hole. I will try that. Thanks.

I like that you did the math.

This is crucial for modelers on a tight budget.

Great video, and I like how you gave several different options. I get the same flack for not using the breadbag clips. I just twist the end closed. I do have to caution about your use of the x-acto blade early in the video. It's a bad idea to pry with them. The blade steel is very brittle and they tend to break when stressed sideways. The blade fragments can fly at your face. I'd use a miniature screwdriver instead. These Tycos always get a lot of flack but the body molds date back to the high quality Mantua days. The stuff they made in the 60s was every bit as good as Athearn.

As someone who just got some old Tyco rolling stock and power, this really helps! Admittedly I'm not really into model railroading, heck all I have is a loop on a plywood table that I don't touch often, but in the case I do get more into it, this seems like a good thing to try early, since I'm not a huge fan of the horn couplers, and maybe plastic wheels, both looks and functionality wise, but I think I can live with them lol

Another great video Ron! Very happy to see you catering to other types of rolling stock from decades past. Lots of older people dislike the older stuff and it really is sad. There’s so much potential in these older trains but modernisms kill them off and the end up in the trash. I really need to invest in a truck tuner. I love the fact you can basically use it to fix any car with rolling issues. I have a few older cars that are a little stiff. I used to have a couple of the old AHM helium tank cars that I upgraded to body mount Kadee couplers and metal wheelsets. The AHM trucks work very with Intermountain wheelsets and it was a fun learning experience. Those cars are sadly gone now and I’d eventually like to get a couple more lettered for the USNX with the Tichy decal sets. I’ve yet to finish all my cars with the tire weight method. This video inspires me to get older cars and make a decent rake of freight cars in a budget. And I do enjoy making loads for said cars and dressing them up to make them look much better than they where built as. Thanks for another great installment Ron! I’d love to see you start getting into working on loads and showing your other talents!

Pretty much how we did it back in the day. My Uncle and Grandfather had a huge layout and let me help here and there. We found the local area folks were not keen taking tools to their trains and doing these conversions actually made us enough profit for neat add-ons. Good tips here but your final solution is the only one I recommend, however remind people to do this with bulk tyco lots not the actual collector ones still in their boxes. If you Airbrush you can step up those old Tycos even further using styrene parts for added detail and of course a pristine paint job. Great video!! Very good stuff here.

Fuel line is actually and air line for the brakes. Great Video!