I have tried again to reply. First time today, I got a "post picture" link and while finishing my post, the board kicked me out without posting anything. Have tried two more times and now I cannot get link which allows posting picture, even though I select "Reply".
Coffee stirring straws make good drain pipes for drainage ditches that have roads run over them.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
There was a similar question about loads just recently. I posted a couple pictures of some loads I made using Evergreen tube if you want to take a look: http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/229280.aspx
I had tried making the loads using an item called floral tubes. These are about the same outside diameter as the Evergreen. Unfortunately, whatever the tubes are made of I couldn't get glue or paint to stick.
I used plastic straws for the two pipe loads that I have. Painted them flat black, brush painting one side and end and then doing the other side of the same end and then doing the same thing with the other end, letting them lay on a sheet of wax paper while they dried. I then painted the insides of the ends.
Of course, you'll want to make the load solid like I did after a major disaster when one of the pipe loads came loose while in transit on my old layout.
Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
hon30critter Wayne: The loads look really good! How did you clean the ink out of the pens? Thanks Dave
Wayne:
The loads look really good!
How did you clean the ink out of the pens?
Thanks
Dave
Thanks Dave.
I simply used the pens until the ink was gone. My workplace supplied pens, but they weren't as reliable as the Bics, especially in cold weather and wet conditions, and in a steel mill in the summer, had a habit of emptying themselves in your shirt pocket.
I went through the Bics fairly quickly, and still have enough empty ones left to create several loads - the ones shown should probably be halved. As Bob mentioned, you could model only the visible pipes (sides, top, and ends) and leave the centre of the load hollow.
Wayne
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
mlehman For straws, that can represent the fairly large pipe that you often see painted black. In the past, it was often cast iron, but is now often plastic, etc. I have good luck with Krylon Flat or Satin Black. Drill strings and other oil field piping is usually smaller than what a straw would be, as they're mostly less than 6" diameter. I have some light aluminum pipe I painted black to represent that. Brass pipe will work, but gets heavy fast.
For straws, that can represent the fairly large pipe that you often see painted black. In the past, it was often cast iron, but is now often plastic, etc. I have good luck with Krylon Flat or Satin Black.
Drill strings and other oil field piping is usually smaller than what a straw would be, as they're mostly less than 6" diameter. I have some light aluminum pipe I painted black to represent that. Brass pipe will work, but gets heavy fast.
While the loading methods shown below aren't especially prototypical, the pipe in the first car is made from the barrels of Bic "roundstic" pens. Paint is Floquil:
For smaller diameter pipe, the ink reservoirs from the same pens seem to work fairly well:
I was going to show a picture but once again, "Reply" button opens up posting box with no "add picture" button. Sorry.
Thanks to everyone for the info that has been provided. I get the feeling it might be worth the trouble and expense to avoid the plastic straws, but I guess I will have to experiment first with a few of the ideas in this thread.
wdcrvr
ACY Judging by the appearance of the loads on those n.g. gons, it looks to me like the well casing sections were about 40' long. Would you guess I'm right or wrong about the length?
Judging by the appearance of the loads on those n.g. gons, it looks to me like the well casing sections were about 40' long. Would you guess I'm right or wrong about the length?
Matt from Anaheim, CA and Bayfield, COClick Here for my model train photo website
Thanks Mike, Matt, & all!
ACY,
You're just about right. I've seen loads where the lengths were mixed, but I suspect 40' was the standard length in the 50s. This would make them easy to ship on the standard gauge, given gons and flat cars were generally at or exceeding this length.
The NG never got quite that modern. The NG gons were 30' so about 5 feet of overhand on each end. There were a few converted 40' SG steel flats used, but these generally were for higher priority cargo than the pipe traffic. Idlers cars were a variety, but often were smashed up pretty good by buffing forces. The gons worked because the load stiffened the car enough to prevent the extremes of buckling to occur. The sides weren't structural as the standard Rio Grande gon was basically a flat car with sides and ends, so dropping the ends was not a problem.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Three issues with straws (and coffee stirrers for smaller dia pipe). First is they are tough to glue. I have used CA with reasonable success. Second they are tough to paint. Third is they are tough to cut even and flush.
Pipe would normally be shipped in gons or on bulkhead flats. Really long pieces of large diameter pipe might be shipped on a JTTX car (tie down flat) or as a load that hung over the end of another car. Large diameter pipe might have blocking between the layers. Small diameter pipe loaded below the sides of a gon might just have some 4x4's on the bottom of the car and then the pipe stacked loosely in the car. If pipe extended above the side or was on a flat car it would have to be banded or staked to keep it on the car.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Judging by the appearance of the loads on those n.g. gons, it looks to me like the well casing sections were about 40' long. You narrow gauge guys have a better sense of the length of those gons than I do. Would you guess I'm right or wrong about the length?
Matt,
Nice pipes!
Can't really help much with the size of pipes as I made them for my G scale layout. But I was told a while ago that most oil pipe hauled on the D&RGW narrow gauge was 4" - 5" line pipe. So a little less then a 1/16" diameter in HO scale I think?
I can help on paint.
I used Krylon Ultra Flat Camoflage Brown. After that I brushed on some rust colored chalk. Finished with a final top coat of Krylon Matte Finish to seal the chalk.
Here's what the painted pipe (Evergreen Styrene 3/16" diameter tubing cut to 21" lengths) looks like:
Here's a prototype image:
If you have an archery range in your area, the black graphite arrow shafts used today make good pipe loads.
tin canYou might try a RC car body paint; it is formulated for Lexan plastic and sticks to flexable surfaces.
D'OH! I should have remembered this tidbit..
Paint for Lexan plastic slot car bodies is very flexible and should work..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
You might try a RC car body paint; it is formulated for Lexan plastic and sticks to flexable surfaces. They make rattle cans, paint pens, and jars.
I have been thinking about doing the same; although I haven't painted anything yet. I have a stock of round coffee stirrers; better size for 4 inch HO pipe.
We see lots of what appears to be 1 foot blue/green plastic pipe loads on semi trailers; the color reminds me of NYC's blue green box cars. I would think an ordinary drinking straw would scale out to this pipe.
The only national that uses black is Panera but Amazon carries them.
For painting plastics I would try the Krylon 'Fusion' line of spray paints made for plastic. I normally use regular gray or brown automotive primer but the Fusion works really well on most plastics. I think the problem with the straws is that they are so thin and flexible, when you handle them they flex and the paint flakes off.
As for black straws; you might try Party City as they carry a full line of party items in all colors.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Whenever I have trouble getting paint to stick, I first apply a coat of cheap gray primer from a rattle can. Although gray primer is a "must have" for a lot of things like rocks and pavement, sometimes we forget its primary purpose. It is made to "prime" a surface and make it better able to accept other paints.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
BRAKIE NittanyLion You could always get black straws. They'd have a plastic sheen to them. Not sure how you'd deal with that if paint isn't sticking, but maybe Dullcote woud have better luck? Don't recollect ever seeing black straws but,they should work better then the normal plastic straw I've used in the past. I will try to locate some and have a look see.
NittanyLion You could always get black straws. They'd have a plastic sheen to them. Not sure how you'd deal with that if paint isn't sticking, but maybe Dullcote woud have better luck?
You could always get black straws. They'd have a plastic sheen to them. Not sure how you'd deal with that if paint isn't sticking, but maybe Dullcote woud have better luck?
Don't recollect ever seeing black straws but,they should work better then the normal plastic straw I've used in the past.
I will try to locate some and have a look see.
Very common. At our golf club, the Mens Grill has thousands of them on hand.
Rich
Alton Junction
There are all sizes of straws these days and all kinds of plastic used in them. Try Example B if at first you don't succeed. Alternatively, I found that Zinser 1-2-3 spray can primer will work pretty well on anything if you really need a surface that a finish coat can stick to.
Note that paint formualas have also changed recently. The Krylon is generally good stuff now and fast drying, too. It will go on nice and thin very controlably. Rustoleum can still end going on too thick without due care, but is much better than a few years back. I was not a fan in the past of either, but they've led me to abandon the airbrush for all but special projects.
cmrproductsWhile I tried the paint on the plastic straws using flat black (which usually sticks to any thing) each time I would touch the straws the paint came off! I abandoned the idea and went with Plastruct round tubing.
Bob,I also had the same problem..I now use Plastruct for piping..For banding I use 1/16" chart tape.
While I tried the paint on the plastic straws using flat black (which usually sticks to any thing) each time I would touch the straws the paint came off!
I abandoned the idea and went with Plastruct round tubing.
I would only use full lenght pieces in the stack on the outside and would cut the inside pieces of the pipe stack short - only having the pipe ends flush with the ends.
Sure saved a lot on the amount of tubing I had to use!
I hope you get a good answer to using paint on the straws - as it seems that type of plastic is too smooth to keep the paint sticking to it!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I used straws from the craft store, hobby glue, and wood strips to separate the pipe, and then spray painted them Badger ModelFlex NYC Dark Gray. I am currently pressed for time, but will try to post pictures of them tommorrow.
My Layout Photos- http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/ajwarshal/library/