I spent a good part of last year (two days a week) helping replace the end sill on an 1886-vintage standard gauge combine at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. The sill had cast iron cups into which the truss rod nuts were seated. In replacing the sill, we sistered an 8-inch channel to it and eliminated the cups. It's all invisible since it's covered by the sheathing on the end of the car. At the same time, we replaced the draft sills and the platform knees. The end sill and the two draft sills were fabricated from century-old white oak barn timbers, while the platform knees were new wood.
