Removable Ore/Coal Loads

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Ok, so this probably isn’t worth it’s own thread, but I don’t see another spot to put it and it’s a handy tip, so here it is.

I had been puzzling and pondering how to get the ore loads out of my gondolas without plucking the entire car off the track, inverting it, and dumping the load back into my hand, then having to re-rail the car and reassemble the train every time.

I thought of buying some shovels, cutting off the digging blade, drilling a small hole in the pile and gluing the shovel handle into the hole to give me something to pick the load up with, also thought about a tiny wire sticking up just enough to get a fingerhold on.

Instead a much simpler solution cropped up, and now that I’ve tried it, I found it works great and uses no visible “handle” to pick up the load.

I use luan plywood (1/4 inch thick) as a base for my loads, followed by the usual ballast/alcohol/2 parts water to 1 part glue, and this time around, before painting them, I hauled out the belt sander and cut a slope into the bottom of each end of the plywood, 3/16th inch deep and half an inch long.

Now whenever I need a car to be empty, I just push down lightly on either ned, the far end pops up like the far end of a seesaw and I can then lift it out of the car without disturbing a train.

I’m sure somebody thought of this a log time ago, but since I hadn’t stumbled across it, a repeat seemed like a useful idea. It only works on flat bottomed cars like gondolas, but since that’s what I’m using, it’s all I need.

While on the topic, I tried painting the loads with spray paint and was less than satisfied with the results. You could tell what it was supposed to be, but no real sparkle of realism. After some experimentation, the results I like best use layered paint. I start with the darkest color I want “in the pile” and hit the load hard with that, covering every nook and cranny. Then I go over it using a nearly dry brush, adding a glossy coat to coal load

2

An alternative is magnets. Imbed a paper clip or part of an Athearn car wieght in the load, and use an magnet to lift the load.

3

Glue a couple steel nuts to the bottom of the load. Similar to the paper clip idea in the previous suggestion.

4

Loads from Accurail use a ball bearing in a special pocket cast on the under side of the load. They provide rather large magnets, too.

Chuck

5

Here’s another approach. Simply insert a very small eyelet into the coal load then construct a hook from a legnth of steel wire. to make it easy to hande…insert the end of the wire hook into a dowel.

Bill On3/On30

6

Try “Rare Earth” Magnets when using the magent method. I model in n scale and discoverd these little brutes are quite powerful. In fact, start small or you might find, ( as I did), your entire train off the rails being drawn into the filed of your magnet.

If your careful though, these magnets will move quite a bit.

7

An old dentist’s pic removes gravel and coal loads from my hoppers without disturbing the car…

8

I have another variation…use the blueboard insulation to shape your
load, paint it black, glue the small magnet on the bottom, (adds to the car weight), then a surface of model “coal” . Running the higher “magnet” over
it, and the load “pops up”. Works well with either coal hoppers, or the much
shorter ore hoppers. System has held up well for years.
L&MRR.

9

Lots of great ideas here.
Another method is to drill a small hole in the center of the load (walthers for example) then insert a flat top stick pin thru it and bend the pointy end at a 90 degree angle. Paint the top to match the load. When you pass a magnet over the car the pin will pop up and can be easily grabbed.

Rico

10

Rico’s suggestion is the one that I have used for years. As well, I wrote an article on this technique for the Thousand Lakes Region of the NMRA where it was published in their magazine, The Fusee.
The added advantage of the bent pin method is that the pin will be sticking up when the load is out of the car and sitting on a storage surface waiting to be reloaded. This provides a quick, easy and non-destructive method of handling the load so nothing gets damaged either when loading or when un-loading.
To have the loads lift out or slide in a bit more easily, file just a bit of the sides and ends from the commercial loads or make your own with just a bit of slack all around.
Additionally, file the ends of commercial loads to match the slpe sheet angle of hopper cars so they sit down in the car a bit rather than sitting too close to the top edge of the car. This may require notching the underside of the load to clear the interior bracing found inside hoper cars.
This will work for loads in open top hopper cars as well as in gondolas.
Now, enjoy running trains with empties and loads as required for your shippers.
Fred Headon

11

Yep! This is what I use. Works Great! Thanks Accurail!

Trevor[:)]