In the David Doyle catalog of Lionel trains there is a description of the 3562 operating barrel car and it states “To correct the tendency of the early cars to unload at random, a plastic tab was added to the body molding to hold the metal operating plate in place until the operator desired to unload the car.”
I must have the early version because the barrels will slowly move up the ramp and unload as the train is in motion. Would someone who has the car with the tab, try and describe it or provide a close up photo so that I can add it to my car.
I can’t do a picture but I know what you’re talking about. The “tab” is actually molded in to the body of the car in the later versions. It is a wedge shaped piece that is positioned just inside the outer portion of the metal piece that the little man rides on.
There is enough “slop” in the system so that when the pivoting piece is pushed back toward the side of the car, it rides up the little wedge and drops in behind it, thereby preventing that piece from rotating forward and letting loose the barrels. It would be very difficult to reproduce this perfectly, but you could likely make a functional one merely by placing a drop of clear epoxy in the correct position. The drop only has to be about 3/32 inch high, with a sloped front and a squared off backside such that the pivot piece will ride up the slopped (rounded) front of the blob and then drop-off into a space behind it.
I would create the space by waxing a popsicle stick to act as a “releasing compound” and taping it up aganst the inside edge of the car. (You don’t want to glue the popsicle stick to the car itself.) If you think this would ruin the value of your car for collection purposes, don’t do it!
There is a picture at the link below, but it’s not very helpful. The “tab” is at the right end of the pivoting part, about a 1/8 inch in (toward the pivot-point) from the end. That is, the “tab” is molded into the top surface of the car, below and to the right of the crewman’s leg.
The pic shows the mechanism in the latched position, with the right end of the pivoting piece partially obscured by the yellow-orange tab that holds it motionless when the car is running on the track. It is difficult to see that the “tab” is wedge-shaped, because in this view you are looking directly at the narrow end of the wedge, and up its slope to where it squares off.
The “tab” is just a small protrusion/ramp/catch in the channel behind the left foot of the little blue man which the sheet metal tang/bracket snaps up & over. There is no tab here:
But there is here:
although it is blocked from view by the metal tang to the right of the man’s left foot. If you rotate the entire man bracket CCW the tang will ride up over the ramp and snap into place. In these pictures:
It appears to be snapped into place.
In this pic:
You can see the tang bent up… someone has bent it so it does not catch on the little ramp.
And this one is the only one I could find that shows the little “catch” with any detail:
Thank you bfskinner and Rob for you for your insightful replies. From your descriptions and photos I can understand what the tab is all about, so I think I’ll try adding one to mine.
One more question, I assume that the bracket and tab must be engaged and disengaged by hand. Is this true?
