Got Milk?

[Anonymous]

You may want to consider the new K-line operating milk car. It is going tobe able to be loaded and unloaded automatically and it will operate anywhere on the layout, not just overan uncoupler track. I have one on order and can't wait to get it.

I have one of the K-line log dump cars. It operates very well and it is terrific not having to spot it over an uncoupling track.

[waltrapp]

[:(!] RATS! I wish I would have 'complained' here before I Dremmelled off the entire rim! I completing filed the bottom rim off of all but one of them. I guess I can still experiment with one!

The bad part was that when I filed off the entire rim on the bottom the barrels wouldn't roll correctly down the chute. The 'rim' on the upper part of the barrel caused it to roll what I might describe as in a circular motion - as would anything that is rolling but is fatter on one side that the other. So what did I have to do? I had to file off the top rims too!

I didn't mind "ruining" them per se but after virtually none of them landed up standing after being expelled, well, I then figured that they needed the rims to help them stay upright.

- walt

[Back2Trains]

I've found that some of my repro aluminum milk cans stick because the edges were left too sharp when they were machined. Slightly sanding down the sharp edges with 600 grit paper helps greatly.
I also run accessory power to all of my RCS/UCS track sections. That way it's easy to set optimum voltage and I can just pull the train up and shut it off so if the grandkids want to unload milk cans for 10 minutes at a time the engine doesn't have to sit there in neutral.
Any of the milk cars work well for me. Be careful of the very first ones from the 40s. Lionel reworked the design of the mechanism extensively early on, and I'm assuming there was a good reason for that.
Jim

[ben10ben]

Marty,
When I bought my 3472, the dealer included 6 reproduction non-magnetic solid aluminum cans(as opposed to the metal and plastic ones of the 3662). At first, I had the same problem you describe, but, after each one had passed through the car about 10 times, they worked smoothly. I think that you are correct that the cans are a little bit on the large side, but a small amout of use wore them down to where they work just right. If the voltage is correct, I can usually get about 4 out of 6 cans upright. The 3662, though, will deposit probably aprox. 58/60 cans upright as long as the voltage doesn't get too high.

[waltrapp]

I own one and tried for the first time in a LONG TIME to set it up and use it this year. I didn't have any of the bottles in past years but I bought 10 at York in October, the kind with the little magnet in the bottom. The car works fine mechanically as I tested it out before going to York. And I recall as a kid operating it often (before we lost the original barrels obviously).

I think I got ripped on the barrels and am looking forward to seeing this vendor again in April. The barrels loaded into the car's storage area OK but they wouldn't drop out the bottom. The rims on the bottom were too big and would cause the barrel to just "lean in" and get stuck right where they drop out to the awaiting guy. I had to file the rims off in order to get them to drop thru. However, that seems to prevent them from staying upright when they are thrown from the car to the metal platform.

So as to not raise the alarm bell on replacement barrels I will be trying to get an original so that I can compare the size of an original to these replacements.

But it is a fun accessory for kids to use. And a big, supportive YES - the voltage seems to have to be perfect. I don't have directions any longer but I think these tracks allow for external power when activating the car so that might be a nice solution.

- walt

[Dr.Fu-Manchu]

The [}:)] Doctor is In !!! As the other learned gentlemen said, It is a matter of preference.
I own at least one of each model(no bosco car) And untill I test the latest one I bought on EBAY ( the brown & white larger one) I have no one model that I like better than the other. The latest one that I got uses the non-magnet cans and is almost scale in size. The other ones are smaller. The first ones have metal doors, the later ones have plastic doors. So it is also a matter of taste. As to the USC track section, I plan to use the cars on a siding with a dairy farm and a dead end. So uncoupled cars are not going to be a problem. As to cans being thrown, Use a separate power source like a block just for the siding. This way you can control the voltage. Also, something I plan to try is to put a thin sheet of clear plastic between the platform railing and the deck so the cans
don't go flying(it's a pain to pick them up when they fall under the platform. Also, you may want to get a repair manual & check the repair article in CTT. If you don't find a set right away, E-Mail me. I sold one of our fellow posters a set. I will give you a good deal on a serviced set with photocopies of the instructions and the CTT article.
Till My Next Missive, I Remain The Humble, Yet Strangly Evil Doctor [}:)] !!!

[Jim Duda]

Ben is correct...you have to select the proper track voltage or the cans will come up short or be thrown too long...but if you get it right, they are placed perfectly on the platform.

[ben10ben]

I believe the main difference is that the 3462s have coil couplers, and the 3472s have magnetic couplers.

Coil couplers usually aren't preferable on an operating car, as activating the car mechanism also opens the couplers. In addition, coil couplers have to be on a magnetic track section in order to activate while still on the track(although you can remove them and hit them against a table or other hard surface).

If you really want a car that operates well, you might want to look into a 3662. They're larger than the 3462/72/82 etc., but their operation is much improved in that they have a mechanism for slowing down the car. With the earlier cars, the milk cans are thrown out with such force that, at high enough voltage, they can be flung straight off the platform, or hit the back walls, tip over, and roll off the front. The 3662 and later have a sealed pneumatic cylinder called a dash pot that serves to retard the mechanism, and allow the cans to be placed onto the platform rather than thrown.

[tjsprague]

I need to get a little more action on the layout. so I'm thinking about adding a milk car and plarform. I collect and run mostly pre-1950 Lionel. So the question is....

Is there a preference out there between the 3462 or 3472 milk cars? Someone told me to stay away from the earlier 3462, but didn't seem to have a particular reason.