My # 3456 Hopper Car has the dribbles. As it proceeds around the layout it dribbles coal when it goes over a bumpy switch and then coal lodges in hopper door and dribbles coal out.
I believe the spring tension is adeqate as I put another spring on but was to much and the magnet on the Coal ramp couldnt open hopper.Still dribbles.
I adjusted the wings that hold hopper doors shut but that doesn't seem to help.Any ideas?
The coal is an appropriate size and weight and the hopper car is not over loaded by any means.
Any ideas?
jfitz
That's why my mother put the coal in a sealed plastic bag so I wouldn't leave "droppings" all over the living room floor way back when. Never really thought that it looked odd to carry coal in a bag. . . .
lyn : This idea is genius. It solves all problems associated with coal except it renders all coal loading accesories useless.
I hope your Mothers ideas didn't stifle your creativity in later life.
It sounds like the coal is too heavy for the spring. Maybe a lighter coal or: Placing some black painted styrofoam in the hopper in several places so the car still appears full when loaded but does not contain near as much weight usually helps.
Some folks claim that this sort of issue is caused by using the wrong size coal (too small). Some other items that have similar issues are:
97 coal elevator (bin door won't close)397 coal loader (coal gets under belt and jambs it)3459/69 & 3359 coal dump (coal gets under door, and bin won't go all the way back down)
In my experience, screening out the smaller particles does help, but these are just characteristics of the accessories.
Thanx steamr,but coal is not problem as it dribbles out withvery mall amt of coal.jfitz
Thanx cwburfle, but I believe now that the doors are worn at the place where the spring loaded plunger arms strike them and gapped just enough to start the dribble process. Once again old age leads to dribbling. jfitz
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