Hello, I need some advise on making coal or rock loads for hoppers. I recently bought some hoppers at a train show and I need to make some loads for them. I used to just buy the loads but they are expensive and getting hard to find so I would prefer to make my own. I want them to be easy to remove. Thank you in advance.
I have in the past cut a piece of thin sheet styrene or even balsa to fit inside the car just below the top of the car. i then use plastic wrap such as Saran Wrap to put between the styrene/balsa and the inside of the car to keep the coal from being glued to the car so that the load can be removed when dry, and creating a loose fit for later
. Next I pour my coal material, usually Woodland scenics, into the top of the car to the contour of my liking. Glue it in place as I would ballast… wetting with alcohol & then applying a deluted glue solution
When set up the load should be hard as a rock… remove it using the plastic wrap to assist…after that you should be able to install & remove with little trouble (no plastic wrap)
If your cars are of different manufacture size etc… you can write on the bottom of the load as to which car it belongs with
foam carved to profile with a hunk of steel inbeded in it or if you prefer a magnet, then if coal paint black and sprinkle coal or anything black that looks like coal . size depends on era , moderen would be steam coal 2 to 3 inches and under older era would be stoker 1/12 inch or mine run often up to 8 inches to dust.
I use mattress foam, cut to shape. See more at:
http://cprailmmsub.blogspot.com/2010/05/easy-coal-loads-from-foam.html
John Longhurst, Winnipeg
For my raw frac sand loads, I did what JC and JDL did. I carved a piece of foam, and paint and textured accordingly.
The loads come out easy for running empty.
Mike.
I use similar methods to those above. First I cut a strip of foam the width of the cars to be done, one inch is ususally thick enough. Cut the strip to length to fit. Using a knife and Surform tool, shape the load. Cut a chunk off the top, glue in a piece of steel. (I used cheap latex caulk to hold the steel and repalce the piece cut off). Put plastic wrap in the car and press in, using the load. Paint with black (or needed color) latex paint and sprinkle on coal or whatever over the wet paint. When dry lift out with the wrap, it has protedted the car and kept the seam wide enough to slip the load in and out without binding, but not leaving a gap. I use a telecoping magnetic tool pick up to lift out the loads. As noted, mark the bottoms to identify what type of car they fit.
Good luck,
Richard
My base is a piece of 0.040" styrene. I added sculptamold in the shape I desired. Painted flat black. Glued Arizona Rock & Minerals real coal atop with diluted white glue and alcohol surfactant.
IMG_7550 (2) by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
IMG_7546 (2) by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
IMG_7548 (2) by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
IMG_7549 (2) by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
I have a friend who molds a shape with some sculpting putty into the coal car or tender he wants the load to go into, then he crushes up some coal he found exploring coal country in central Utah outside mines and at abandoned loading docks/tipple sites. Do not enter abandoned coal mines to find coal… that’s dangerous and most of the hardrock abandoned mine exploring community view coal mines as a crazy hazard compared to most caves/mines they normally explore, as my friend did you can probably find enough chunks of coal outside the mines and loading areas without ever needing to enter a mine.
If you don’t want to go hunting out in the desert or foothills of coal country, just look up online for a mom and pa type coal dealer and order a bag of coal from them online. The live steam community might be able to point you in the right direction to a buisness that sells bags of coal.
To be clear, I didn’t carve foam. I cut it. It’s the soft mattress foam you use for an underlay. Not Styrofoam. I wanted flat tops, per a modern prototype. Mattress foam was perfect. I then spray painted it glossy black.
John
Here’s a link to an old discussion.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/p/215446/2367174.aspx#2367174
Cheers, the Bear.[:)]
I can attest to what others describe for creating coal loads. This is a fast and easy method. The approach makes very realistic coal loads. I like the ability to take out the loads to create empty cars.
For coal, I cut open the water filter cartridge from Keurig coffee maker. Looks just like coal and is about the right size.
Easy enough to make. I ran off a batch of 'em last summer. I was going to post some photos, but the power failed just as I started uploading photos to train board. Power came back after an hour and a half, but trainboard refused to upload any more photos. So, no pix.
I used soft pine blocks, cut to size with my radial arm saw. Shaped into rounded coal mound shapes with hand planes, wood rasps, and a 3 inch drum sanding attachment to the radial arm saw. Painted the wood black. Then gave it a good coat of white glue, and a good coating of HO sized coal on top of the glue. Made a dozen loads in one big batch. Since then I have acquired yet more hoppers and I need to do another coal load project.
Below is my U-tube video of every coal hopper I own. You will notice that some of them need loads.
Thank you all. I would have never thought of using saran wrap. That’s a great tip and I like how it means the load fits perfectly into the car. I thought someone might suggest a technique to make plaster molds but this other method seems a lot easier.
As for coal, I will use Arizona Rock or some other ballast material. I’m not sure what I will use for the base. I will have to see what I can find around the house. I know I have sheet styrene but I might have some old wood paneling or something. I might try the foam rubber also. Thanks again.
Thanks, that just gave me the idea to make the bases using 2x4s cut with my table saw. And making the contour mounds will mean using less store bought ballast.
The one issue I would have using mold for pouring plaster is that every load would have the same contour. Just as the plastic inserts that come with some cars do
That being said I have noticed on some protype coal trains… the loads do appear similar… prob from slow moving, on the move loading by automatic tipple
They all seemd to have a slight higher mound at the same end on every car. Usually the trailing end
For me its just personal preference that each load is unique to itself
Just some added information…I do the same procedure for my iron ore loads in my ore jennys as well. I have over 50 of those cars… from various manufacturers. AHM Roundhouse, etc. Their inside dimensions are all diff thus loads dont interchange. To mark those, each brand of car has a unique colored dot on the bottom (not noticable when on track) and corresponding loads marked the same way. Example AHM yellow dot Roundhouse Tan dot…so loads are marked for series of car not each individual car itself
Live loading is an option.
Well if you want a cheap great product you need to find an industrial supply store that sells Black Beauty blast medium. It comes in a 50# bag and will do several hundred cars. It is shiny black grit about the same size as sandblast sand. I bought my bag probably 20 years ago for about $3.00 and still have most of it left. I doubt it would be more then $10.00 per bag today. Great stuff, non conductive electrically and adds significant weight to hoppers.
I use Black Beauty as “live” loads to represent anthracite. This Athearn hopper weighs 8oz. loaded…
I also use coke breeze as “live” loads of bituminous coal, with a similar loaded hopper weighing about 4oz…
Coke breeze is also used, loose, in all of my steam locomotives’ tenders…
Wayne