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HO scale working freight scale

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  • Member since
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HO scale working freight scale
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 2:26 PM

My girlfriend is currently in the process of building a working Ho scale freight scale for my clubs model railroad.  She is looking for a photo of the freight scale balance beams and cant find them on Google.   Does anyone have a photo or know the location of a photo they could share? Thanks

 

Edit: more specifically she is looking for the construction photos of a gantlet track scale arrangement

 

  • Member since
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Posted by wjstix on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 3:04 PM

It's hard to search, because anything including "railroad" and "scale" is going to come up with something on HO, S, N etc.

MR not too long ago had an article on building a gantlet track for a weigh scale. It was included in one of their "how to" books, but right now I don't recall which one....?? Their Virginian project layout had a 'working' electronic weigh scale, not sure if they put in a gantlet track as part of that or not.

http://mrr.trains.com/video/project-layouts/2011/11/build-the-virginian---a-4x8-with-more

Stix
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Posted by 7j43k on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 3:25 PM

wjstix

It's hard to search, because anything including "railroad" and "scale" is going to come up with something on HO, S, N etc.

But if you put in "railroad track scale" in quotes, you get some interesting stuff in "images".  Including some drawings.

Ed

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Posted by mlehman on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 4:11 PM

try including "Fairbanks-Morse" as a search term. They made a BUNCH of scales over the years.

In fact, I know where you can get one cheap. No, not a track scale, but a F-M scale big enough to put a whole pallet on. The non-profit I'm a member of bought an old post office and it came with the loading dock.

F-M also made one heck of a fine locomotive.

Mike Lehman

Urbana, IL

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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 5:06 PM

mlehman

F-M also made one heck of a fine locomotive.

You mean that opposed piston maintenance nightmare that they put in submarines too......great locomotive, unless you had to work on it. Have to poke at that being a submariner. Big Smile

Anyway the construction has already proceded past the design point.  There were some B&W photos that we found via google when this project was first started, the link we had got misplaced. She wants the photos for the club presentation.   We have the gauntlet track, free-floating "live-rails" and the postal scale for weighing (for now we will provide actual car weight, a later task will be the electronic wizardry for the RNG to give the car weights). 

The "railroad track scale" was helpful.  The patent drawings will be useful.  Google is "shotgunning" it with the search results as of late. 

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Posted by locoi1sa on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 7:28 PM

Ask and you will receive.

 Masonry for 83 ft scale. http://prr.railfan.net/standards/standards.cgi?plan=57354--&type=STRU

Scale house and beams. http://prr.railfan.net/standards/standards.cgi?plan=58460-B&type=STRU

Story and pictures of the master scale at Altoona. The bureau of standards used this scale to weigh the scale test cars for many railroads. http://prr.railfan.net/documents/pdf/PlateFulcrumMasterScaleAltoonaPA.pdf

This gauntlet is to bring the passenger car closer to the platform but works just like a scale gauntlet.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3153/2782694045_d7cf710322_z.jpg?zz=1

This is the scale on my now retired module. http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j348/locoi1sa/SAM_0116.jpg

     Pete

 I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!

 I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

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Posted by dknelson on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 8:25 PM

There are very good Harold Russell / Larry Lammes  drawings of a Conrail (ex Lehigh Valley) track scale and scale house in the July 1983 Model Railroader.  It includes measurements for the live rails and dead rails of the gantlet track  

I do not have the issue but an index says that there are car scale plans in Railroad Model Craftsman for April 1963.  The same indes says there are scale house plans (which might be just the structure, not the scale parts) in RMC for March 1935(!), November 1943, March 1972, and October 1985.  

With the aging of the hobby, older model railroad magazines such as these are not totally uncommon at swap meets these days as part of estate sales.

Dave Nelson

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Posted by mlehman on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 10:49 PM

BMMECNYC

mlehman

F-M also made one heck of a fine locomotive.

You mean that opposed piston maintenance nightmare that they put in submarines too......great locomotive, unless you had to work on it. Have to poke at that being a submariner. Big Smile

Yeah, they were a PITA to work on, but those OP engines were really loved for their lugging capability in locos.

I leave the submarining to the FIL. He was the last commander of the last diesel sub, the Blueback. It's now part of museum in Portland, OR and the wife and I are looking forward to visiting sometime. I know she took the family cruise multiple times, not sure whether on the Blueback or not. I was actually first to put foot on her in the family though. My dad took us down to the dock in Panama for a tour when she was on her shakedown cruise back around 1960. But we're the AF side of the family.Wink It's a small world.Smile

Mike Lehman

Urbana, IL

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Posted by gregc on Thursday, November 21, 2013 10:30 AM

i did a restricted search, there may be other images

 

greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 21, 2013 6:02 PM

Thanks Pete your links were very helpful.

 

Edit: 11/24/13  Presentation to club was success.  Working freight scale should appear at the 2014 Amherst show in Springfield, Mass.  Thanks again to all who lended a hand

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