I would like to build several loaders. I would like to use it for coal, another for ore, and a third for ballast.
Are there any plans out there for building one? Past model Railroader magazine? Model Craftsmen?
My searches have come up empty.
I am not looking for a particular prototypical one. looking for Simple and reliable for use during operating sessions.
Any help is much appreciated.
Dave
Dave,
Not sure about plans on all of thse, but doing some more digging should tunr up more details.
A big one I remember in RMC, now on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLbqnw2bKeI
Less complex, HO and N loaders:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eG07HYvEEs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uxnLq5oiWw
Earlier discussion here:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/172846.aspx
More:
http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2012-12-dec/modeling-coal-loader-p1
http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=32193
Gidday Dave, “Build a working coal tipple” by Jim Ferenc, Model Railroader, July 1999. (PVC pipe, a 1" auger, and a windshield wiper motor are the key ingredients")
and from forum member C&O Fan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm1_76eKfZQ
Cheers, the Bear.
Bear, Wow, C & O’s loader is exactly what I was looking for. I’m not a creative person but I’m going to give it my best to replicate his loader, any additional information on list of material ( does it matter what servo is used?), any helpful drawings ( no matter how crude) is much appreciated. I also would like to do his rotary dumper to com
Compliment the loader
Apparently any motor that can be geared down to drive the auger will work:
Jim Ferenc used a windshield wiper motor - Junk yard purchase.
For my pre-production experimental design I rigged a high-RPM motor with a 750/1 reduction gear set - both from my junk box. The motor came out of a junked printer.
As for superstructure, the basic unit can be hidden under the Walthers New River Coal Mine, the Glacier Gravel structure, the old Jack Work coal mine (with a little ingenuity) or a set of bins scratch-built from photographs.
One little addition. The loadout I’m modeling had a concrete wall about three feet high between the tracks under the bins and the bypass tracks next to them. If you put the rails on longitudinal supports over a suitable hole (think ash pit) anything that misses the gon or hopper will fall through into a funnel leading to a catch can. Much more convenient than having to collect it with the Shop-Vac.
As for the loader
all you need is
a ball point pen spring
a soda straw the same size as the spring sliced in half horizontally to make a trough
a small low speed motor
here a view of the test model i made the container out of cardboard
you can see only the last inch of the straw is sliced in half the rest of the straw is intact and serves as a shield for the motor shaft
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0v5lTOshH4
i later made a ramp out of plastic to fit inside the tipple and painted it gloss black and added a cell phone vibrator glued to the underside to help the coal slide down to the auger since the ramp didn’t have enough angle
You can see it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHTcJye5jTY
The cars are old tyco operating hopper cars and use the tyco trick track to open the doors
Opps, my fault.
I apologize.
I was referring to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q20lMiD0IHs&feature=share&list=PLSvYD7zEeY-R5oO_4TzONpEMlGrujr4Fg
now I’m wondering where I got these from. Perhaps in Bear’s links to forum discussions?
sorry for my error
Dave