From the amount of posts I’ve had lately it’s not hard to tell I’m not cutting timber. I’ve shut my company down except the sawmill temporarily, until prices come back some. So…time for trains!
Is there a log car made that doesn’t " hurl " logs off the car but unloads them in some type of orderly fashion? Thanks, Jake
Sorry Jake, but as far as I know there are only the tilt and dump type. One spring loaded and activated by a uncoupling track, these need to be manually reset. The other is a selonoid operated unit that is activated with the operating type track, on this one the bed returns to the original position. The only way I could see is using a crane with tongs if there is such an animal.
Roger, I’ve developed an old type Lionel car that would throw the logs. I’ve unhooked the current mechanism and installed a small motor that activates from two additional rails inserted into the Atlas track. This will wind up a small string (cable ) and gently dump the logs. Problem I’m having is the motor doesn’t reverse. Any ideas on a small motor with reverse? Other than a motor from a Lionel loco with an E Unit, which might not be bad, but is too large. Jake
What kind of motor is it?
Sure… the Lionel 3361:
It raises the bed in 6-7 cam steps with the “unload” button.
Rob
Bob, not real sure, just a smallish motor that was in with a bunch of junk I bought at an antique store that had train stuff in it. No writing on it whatsoever. I have one of the cars in the photo, still kinds slings the logs towards their intended mark. I have a log loader set up on a side track that is postioned perfectly to load logs on the car. It’s run by remote using the train car to activate the loader. If I could just find a good way to load the deck of the loader, this would but fully automatic not needing any handling at all. Know of any motors Bob than can be reversed? Thanks, Jake
Are you running it on AC or DC? If it is a permanent-magnet DC motor, just reverse the polarity of the voltage. If it is a universal motor, there is a simple modification to make it reversible running on DC.
Bob, it’s running off of track power. I tried hooking the wires up in reverse, it didn’t matter. Jake
I have 3 operating log cars. The old 6511 which has one solenoid to tilt the logs, the newer 336155 which someone has provided a picture, and a K-Line PRR K713-1891 which I bought in 2002. It is “Scale”, so it overwhelms the other two. I keep them on different trains, each with similar scaled cars. Its mechanism involves a motor, and it very smoothly lifts the tilt bed to unload the logs. It comes with logs which are probably too big for the Lionel 364 Conveyor Lumber Loader, which I am hoping to purchase soon.
The MTH cars have a slow, smooth action…and return to normal after dumping. They do need a 5-rail “accessory” track section.
Joe, do you know what model the MTH dump car might be? thanks, Jake
If you would like to see the Lionel 3361 dump car in operation, I have a video of it on YouTube. The car is the last one on the video. Every time the unload button is pressed it moves the tilt mechanism in small increments. After about 5 presses the logs will begin to dump and after a few more presses, the mechanism will reset.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXihu92pqME
If you would like to unload individual pieces of lumber, one piece at a time, the Lionel Moe and Joe 6-36774 is hard to beat. Every press of the unload button will unload one piece of lumber. The car will hold 9 pieces of lumber. Here is a video of it in operation. Instead of unloading into a tray, I like to unload into the flatbed of the Lionel stakesided tractor trailer with the trackside stakes removed. The stakes are attached to a piece of clear plastic and angled off the side of the flatbed.
The second log car certainly dumps at a better rate than most. Jake
Jake, I’ve had no personal experience with the modern motorized K-Line dump cars, but the MTH Railking one is very nice. It is a BIG car when compared with the Lionel spring-based dump cars, but the MTH car will clear 027 switch box housing. The MTH car has a motor/gear set-up so when the car is activated the dump bin goes up slowly and then the bin jerks to-and-for at it’s highest point of the motion, before the tray comes back down fully. It is a nice concept.
I’m a bit of an inventor and love designing and making train things. For example, I’ve designed and made an operating icing station that works with reefers of any make. On my last layout, I’d designed and made a device to operate dump cars. I’d taken a Lionel spring-loaded dump car, removed the spring and made a modification to the dump tray with a tab that went off the car on the back side of the dump tray. Then I made a motorized gear/cam device working off DC power with a DC motor, that would rise from out of a railside electrical box. A plastic piece would rise and hit the tab on the back of the dump car, thus rising and dumping the car load a little more slowly than the rapid motion of the normal spring release.
The other thing I do to all my Lionel dump cars of this type is to re-enforce the plastic tabs that the dump tray locks into. I’ve designed a piece that I make from a solid piece of basswood that goes on to the car body frame right over the tabs. If I am not repainting the entire car (I have dump cars customed painted Lehigh Valley, NYC, Nofolk Southern MOW, Conrail MOW), then I will match the paint to go with the existing paint color of the car.
I have found the plastic tabs on both the car frame and the dump tray itself are subject to easily snap or break. The dump trays are readily available from Lionel parts dealers and not expensive. So if the small tabs break off that, at least I can replace the tray. If they break on the car body, then that becomes more complicated. So that’s why I take the preventative measu
Thanks for those tips, much appreicated! Jake
The K-Line/Lionel website offers a remote controller for use with the Log Dumping car (and 23 other K-Line operating cars). Does anyone know it the Lionel TMCC can be used with K-Line cars?
Thanks for the tips, most appreciated, Jake
Apparently Jake bought the K-Line model. I was looking around the net for the MTH version you mention, but they are all “Due 31-May 2009” Did you actually get one of these? The 2 part numbers I have seen are 3079256 and …257. One of these if Norfolk & Western. I forget the other one. Are they available yet?
I have the K-Line Milwaukee die cast dump car. I do not use the remote control. You put it on the uncoupling track, hit the uncouple button (not unload button) and the bed rises slowly and the logs roll in the bin. I have had it for four years and use it a lot. It has been flawless in performance!
