3 Plate F boxcars

The first examples are all very straightforward: an ExactRail Trinity 52' Plate F car, an MTL NSC 62' Plate F car, and an Aurora Miniatures Greenbriar 62' Plate F car:

The ExactRail example starts with their 2nd generation body-mount version. I prefer to use the scale box wherever possible; in this case it is straightforward to pry off the existing box leaving a pad and 3 holes behind:

The scale box with a short shank drops in place. An M1.2 or 00-90 screw will fit nicely in the center hole with no need for tapping:

Note that there is a washer around the truck post. I think the body-mount cars shipped with this washer, but I'm not sure that was universally true. In any case, it is ~0.25 mm thick and it is needed to get the correct coupler height, and to match the ride height of the other Plate F cars (as seen in the lead photo). The cars will run without it if you prefer, but the couplers will be slightly low.

The MTL car is very straightforward: the scale box with a hat and a medium length shank works well. To make clearance for the centering spring, I had to snip the stirrup piece in two and I had to carve a small wedge of material from the back of the box recess (visible under the spring in the following shot):

The Aurora conversion is also very straightforward. The existing box is easy to remove (the stock couplers don't work worth a d@mn). A scale box with a long shank is a drop in place replacement:

In some cases I ended up adding a hat to get a better coupler height. I'm not sure why the slight variability... Also, if you don't use the hat, make sure that the lip of the box lid does not interfere with the crossover platform. This can cause the box to not be level, but the lip is easily trimmed if need be.

A note on the Aurora trucks: the bolster hole is too small: I reamed it with a 7/64" drill bit. I also replaced the wheels as the stock ones had a narrow gauge. I replace almost all of my wheels anyway.