The CCH and LCH fleet has been growing gradually over the past 12 months to the point where the fleet now stands at 13 with another about to enter service. However, one of the challenges has been to source suitable loads for the new wagons.Because the wagons must run empty to the local mine and then depart full, there is no opportunity to cheat a little. Therefore, I have included spreader bars to the wagons although this has added some extra challenges when it comes to fitting coal loads.
The photo below shows my four approaches to the challenge.Initially I tried a commercial product made for the Silvermaz kits I was using, but these did not allow for the spreader bars. As a result, a fair bid of cutting was necessary. This worked for a CCH load where the "hungry boards" provided some additional depth but the same process failed dismally for the LCH.
I also modified a few K truck coal loads and, again, this worked for the CCH but not the LCH.
Finally, I decided to scratch build the LCH loads using a very thin sheet of styrene as a base. In my most recent attempts, I have added some ribs for extra stiffness. Adding coal was done in stages, with first being a layer superglued to the styrene. When dry, a second and final layer was added using normal track ballasting techniques followed by a final touch up of black paint around the edges.
So now there are 13 loaded wagons ready for Port Waratah with a few more to follow.
Phil
ReplyDeleteJust a suggestion for the LCH. The problem I think is trying to have them with a load that is easily removed, with the need to have something to grip on to when removing. Looking at the LCH its possible to see the thin styrene under the load & actually it lifts up a bit, a problem with light/thin styrene.
I would suggest cutting the sides & ends by around 1mm all round, that way the load sits lower in the hopper.
In order to get the coal load out, you would need to modify one load by taking some metal shavings or some short but heavy gauge bullet head nails & push them down into the load, & glue in place, leave the head just showing & lightly paint the head with black paint.
Obtain a small magnet, & make a lifting tool from it. I have one that is around 15mm x 6mm & I have glued onto an old wagon metal weight to pick up track spikes/pins & any other hidden bits of magnetic metal around the track & works well.
Something like that should be strong enough to lift the load out of the wagon, if the loads too heavy, try using some styro foam on top of the styrene base make it raised up as a base for coal to go over it, paint it black, & then cover it with the coal, use some PVA to glue the coal down, & then indian ink over the top of it all.
May need some testing & experimenting with the magnet & size.
Cheers
Col
Col,
DeleteYou are right. The close up image shows gaps on the LCHs where the coal loads do not sit properly and tend to lift up slightly. That was the reason that I tried the stiffeners.I had actually set the spreader bars slightly lower to allow for the styrene but it has not been that successful.
It would be possible to create a slight rebate around the rim of the hopper and the concept of a magnet to lift out the loads is a good one.
However, your comment about styro foam and Andrew's comment about soft rocks has got me thinking that a fundamental change of approach for the LCHs may be worthwhile.
Thanks for the feedback. It is appreciated.
cheers Phil
The other thing to look into is soft rocks. A million years ago I did this with N scale wagons and very easy to load and unload. Check out AMRM issue with Swans Crossing.
ReplyDeleteAndrew
Andrew,
DeleteThanks for the comment. I recall the soft rock article in AMRM but I had anticipated its use to represent large rocks rather than a crushed product. I will have to reread it.
As I said in my reply to Col's comment, I suspect a more fundamental change of approach may be needed.
cheers Phil
Phil
ReplyDeleteThe idea of taking a 1mm off both ends & sides allows the base to sit further down into the hopper, ideally to have it sit roughly at the same height as the bottom of the top timber panel, try to work out the angles of the sides & correspond that to the stiffeners so that they sit down a bit further.
Cheers
Col
Col,
ReplyDeleteWhat you are suggesting is correct. The whole assembly will sit down lower and hid offending edge. This will work well for future models but I confess to being a bit reticent about trying to cut the rebate into wagons already in service. I know I can patch it up but still the hesitancy remains. What I am contemplating at present is filling the wagons completely with simulated coal as they were in 1:1 scale. I did a quick test this morning before work. It doesn't add much to the weight and didn't create a mess. If it works, I'll only use it for the LCHs but from today's experiment, it has potential and there was certainly no offending edge.
cheers Phil