Cost to build:
Auger, $5.99Cheap Harbor Freight reversible drill at $14.99 + taxPlexiplas: I had it in the garage, but you can use any 1/4' substrate for mountingPipe, had left overs, but maybe $5 at Menards considering the fittingBrass bushings: $4 at Ace HardwareGlue: I had the PVC cement, maybe $3Push Button: $3.99 at Radio ShackWire: I used Model Power Red/Black for $3.95 for a 14' spool at my LHSCoal: $7.99 per Quart or $20 per Gallon +freightHot Glue: maybe $2 worth at Walmart
So I have $60-$70 in this whole mechanism, and it adds mega operational value to my layout. I'd be happy to chat with anyone seriously interested in building something similar. dbrewer6@comcast.net
A less expensive alternative is also a manual loader.I just purchased the loader on the left on Ebay which is a Marx Lumar loader. It cost me $39.00. The hopper can be extended as the track it runs on can be swung out. I plan to have the loading hopper near the coal pile and the chute over the track. I like it's retro look and even better, it's Marx..It has a 51/2 '"by 51/2" footprint and is 91/2" high.
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
At holiday time, I fill my coal loader with red, white and green Tic-Tacs (my wife's idea, actually). They work perfectly on the rubber belt, and it's all you can do to keep the grandkids from wanting to grab them!
I sell the stuff [O scale Coal, Iron Ore, Granite...not looking for a plug] dbrewer6@comcast.net if you want more info....My company is a start-up, albeit reliable.
Oops, its www.rcertl.com
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
Just checked it: www.rcertle.com pick a brand then go to the main catalog. Same elevator #ZFN12963 & auger ZFN12948. Augers tube is clear plastic. Both are listed under the same number in John Deere, Case/IH and New Holland. Not many toy places would stock them this time of year. Try your local John Deere, Case/IH or New Holland dealer to see if they have them in stock. They are also on ebay.
Don't some bird feeders have clear tubing? But I don't know if they are plastic or glass and if they have too many holes in them or what size they are. There's gotta be a way of making a clear pipe for an auger. In the 70s one of the toys I had was an Ertle auger with a clear plastic tube. All parts not plastic were IH red. I should ask my brother if it still exists. Ertle still sells a bale elevator and auger. I just looked them up last week. I don't remember if the auger has a clear plastic tube or not. Many of the parts on them are grey. There are several of both of them on ebay right now.
My gosh, that's a good idea! Wouldn't it be even cooler to find a transparent pipe, and be able to watch the auger at work inside it?
And, given that you need a lot of coal to feed this monster, what are you using for coal? Filling it up with Lionel Official Coal could bankrupt any normal person...
Bob A.
I deviated from the belt concept. I used 1.5" PVC pipe and end caps with brass bushings centered in the ends, and before final assembly [gluing] inserted a bulb planting auger from Menard's. There's and inlet pipe [bring coal into the auger] and outlet pipe [drops coal into the cars] To the auger shaft I connected a drill motor from Harbor Freight [$15, removed handle for mounting, wired in reverse at 30RPMs so the auger feeds, not draws], and mounted the whole thing on a piece of plexiglass. This I inserted in my tipple and ran a push button switch to the edge of the layout section for operation. I feed the coal behind the back wall of my layout section by linking PVC pipe to the top fitting of the pipe/auger assembly. You could build a tipple or building that had a gallon sized reservoir for the coal that connects to the pipe assembly; mine just happens to be behind the wall so I us a 5 gal. bucket with pipe fitting out the bottom.
Boyd - I need to send you an email attachment. Please email me at rha90272 at mac.com, and I'll send it to you.
rha90272 I did something similar, using the rubberized track from a tank kit and small gear motor to create an ice block conveyor for an icing platform. By gluing little buckets to the track, I bet it would handle coal nicely. See my video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLCd8rJTVXk to watch the conveyor in operation. If interested, I could send you details on its construction. Bob A.
I did something similar, using the rubberized track from a tank kit and small gear motor to create an ice block conveyor for an icing platform. By gluing little buckets to the track, I bet it would handle coal nicely. See my video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLCd8rJTVXk
to watch the conveyor in operation. If interested, I could send you details on its construction.
Sure, I'm interested,, send me that information.
For the fake coal look at some sort of cheap hard rounded candy to test the conveyor belt.
A chain-saw chain moved with bicycle gears attached to a motor could be used to horizontally move simulated blocks of ice on a wood loading dock. Then plastic figures could be pushed on a post to kick the blocks of ice into waiting refrigerator cars.
Andrew
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
You could get the old, flat serpentine or timing belts from an automobile repair person.
You could get an old fan that has a working motor and control switch, but other broken parts, to use a power supply for the belt.
To hold the belt use the left over extruded aluminum H section from a shower door frame that has been replaced.
There would have to be some plastic pulleys at each end of the H for the belt.
Think recycled and reused for all the parts of the conveyor.
I don't have the $$ to buy a Lionel coal elevator. But I have considered making one. I have a toy RC tank with rubber tracks that I have taken apart but I'm not sure how well the track would hold up to the job. I would have to add some buckets or something else to them to catch the coal. The electric motors though I think would handle it well as I think I could mount one drive motor on each end. Another route I have considered is to start with some kind of chain drive and add buckets to it. I have also seen Ertle farm toy bale elevators that I could possibly put a motor on. What about fake coal or rocks that are not heavy? Anyone have any ideas?
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