My girlfriend is currently in the process of building a working Ho scale freight scale for my clubs model railroad. She is looking for a photo of the freight scale balance beams and cant find them on Google. Does anyone have a photo or know the location of a photo they could share? Thanks
Edit: more specifically she is looking for the construction photos of a gantlet track scale arrangement
It’s hard to search, because anything including “railroad” and “scale” is going to come up with something on HO, S, N etc.
MR not too long ago had an article on building a gantlet track for a weigh scale. It was included in one of their “how to” books, but right now I don’t recall which one…?? Their Virginian project layout had a ‘working’ electronic weigh scale, not sure if they put in a gantlet track as part of that or not.
http://mrr.trains.com/video/project-layouts/2011/11/build-the-virginian---a-4x8-with-more
But if you put in “railroad track scale” in quotes, you get some interesting stuff in “images”. Including some drawings.
Ed
try including “Fairbanks-Morse” as a search term. They made a BUNCH of scales over the years.
In fact, I know where you can get one cheap. No, not a track scale, but a F-M scale big enough to put a whole pallet on. The non-profit I’m a member of bought an old post office and it came with the loading dock.
F-M also made one heck of a fine locomotive.
You mean that opposed piston maintenance nightmare that they put in submarines too…great locomotive, unless you had to work on it. Have to poke at that being a submariner. [:D]
Anyway the construction has already proceded past the design point. There were some B&W photos that we found via google when this project was first started, the link we had got misplaced. She wants the photos for the club presentation. We have the gauntlet track, free-floating “live-rails” and the postal scale for weighing (for now we will provide actual car weight, a later task will be the electronic wizardry for the RNG to give the car weights).
The “railroad track scale” was helpful. The patent drawings will be useful. Google is “shotgunning” it with the search results as of late.
Ask and you will receive.
Masonry for 83 ft scale. http://prr.railfan.net/standards/standards.cgi?plan=57354–&type=STRU
Scale house and beams. http://prr.railfan.net/standards/standards.cgi?plan=58460-B&type=STRU
Story and pictures of the master scale at Altoona. The bureau of standards used this scale to weigh the scale test cars for many railroads. http://prr.railfan.net/documents/pdf/PlateFulcrumMasterScaleAltoonaPA.pdf
This gauntlet is to bring the passenger car closer to the platform but works just like a scale gauntlet.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3153/2782694045_d7cf710322_z.jpg?zz=1
This is the scale on my now retired module. http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j348/locoi1sa/SAM_0116.jpg
Pete
There are very good Harold Russell / Larry Lammes drawings of a Conrail (ex Lehigh Valley) track scale and scale house in the July 1983 Model Railroader. It includes measurements for the live rails and dead rails of the gantlet track
I do not have the issue but an index says that there are car scale plans in Railroad Model Craftsman for April 1963. The same indes says there are scale house plans (which might be just the structure, not the scale parts) in RMC for March 1935(!), November 1943, March 1972, and October 1985.
With the aging of the hobby, older model railroad magazines such as these are not totally uncommon at swap meets these days as part of estate sales.
Dave Nelson
Yeah, they were a PITA to work on, but those OP engines were really loved for their lugging capability in locos.
I leave the submarining to the FIL. He was the last commander of the last diesel sub, the Blueback. It’s now part of museum in Portland, OR and the wife and I are looking forward to visiting sometime. I know she took the family cruise multiple times, not sure whether on the Blueback or not. I was actually first to put foot on her in the family though. My dad took us down to the dock in Panama for a tour when she was on her shakedown cruise back around 1960. But we’re the AF side of the family.[;)] It’s a small world.[:)]
i did a restricted search, there may be other images
Thanks Pete your links were very helpful.
Edit: 11/24/13 Presentation to club was success. Working freight scale should appear at the 2014 Amherst show in Springfield, Mass. Thanks again to all who lended a hand
