I want to lengthen the center section of a depressed center flat. Can this be easily done by simply cutting and lengthening using styrene stock? Car will be pushed by a loco for cab view videos, and my camera, although only 24mm wide, is nearly 90mm (3.5") long. Thanks.
You should be able to do that without too much issue. I'd think about putting a piece of brass strip down the middle for strength as well. Of course,at that length you may have curve radius issues. Looking forward to seeing this build progress.
Most people who do the 'cab ride' videos try to get the camera lens as low as they can to the rails. In reality that would be a 'snow plow ride' video. The center of your camera lens should be at the height of the center of the windshield on the locomotive pushing the camera to get a good 'cab ride' effect. JMO
Are you trying to lengthen the center section to 3.5" or the whole car. I assume the center since my depressed center flatcar is just over 4" and the center about 2". That's a pretty big stretch if you are going to put a load (the camera) in the middle of it. How heavy is the camera?.....that's more important than the size. While it's possible to do what you want, you may not be able to get the structural strength to actually haul the load. Some sort of metal reinforcement will most likely be needed as Philip suggested. If it was me (and it's not) I'd try to find one of the old Walthers container well cars for your project..........they are made of metal which solves the structural issue, they are a depressed center, which gets you the lower ride height, and the well is just under 4 inches, so your camera would fit. The only issue is you'd need to grind (or cut) some of the sidewalls off the well. The biggest issue would be trying to find one to buy.
Also remember that most layouts are built to watch the trains from the side. Cab ride views usually show a large amount of isle way and other parts of the layout that you may not want seen. I've considered adding a camera car several times but after watching videos shot by others decided that making a layout look good from the side was enough work...
