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How I made an operating Coal loader

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  • Member since
    December 2003
  • From: Quebec
  • 983 posts
Posted by Marc_Magnus on Thursday, January 22, 2015 2:27 PM

C&O Fan

Nice work ~! Bow

Wish i had the tools to work in brass

 

Really I don't have a lot of tools to work whith brass, some good files, a Proxxon power disk cutter, a dremel, a metal scissors, a 50 and a 100 watt gun solder, some flux, a metal saw and a jeweler saw.

Sure you have most of these tools in your tools collection.

For the big project, the rotary dumper, most of these tools are enough to build it.

Marc

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Texas
  • 2,934 posts
Posted by C&O Fan on Thursday, January 22, 2015 1:50 PM

Nice work ~! Bow

Wish i had the tools to work in brass

TerryinTexas

See my Web Site Here

http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2003
  • From: Quebec
  • 983 posts
Posted by Marc_Magnus on Thursday, January 22, 2015 1:08 PM

C&O Fan
 
-E-C-Mills

Wow cool.  Would'nt mind seeing photos of the rest of the build.  Installing the set up into the model...  Thanks, interesting.

 

 

 

Here's some photos of the insides showing the internal ramp

and motors

 ">

 

 

I made the ramp to fit inside the

structure 
 
 
 ">
 
The motors sit under the ramp inside the structure
 
 
 ">
 
 
The V shaped sides guide the coal to the auger
 
 
 ">
 
 
 
 
I glued a cell phone vibrator to the underside of the ramp
to help move the coal down the ramp
 
 

 

 

Yes it's fun to operate, and had some realism to the operations.

I manage to use all the mines on my Nscale Maclau river as real scale coal deliver.

This give me the opportunity and the real challenge to build a high lift rotary coal dumper to give a destination to all the loaded hoppers.

Here some pictures of a mechanism I have build in brass and included in on of my Nscale mines; the mine itself is a cash mine laser kit from blair line kitbashed.

 

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Texas
  • 2,934 posts
Posted by C&O Fan on Thursday, January 22, 2015 11:55 AM

You're right Dan it is lots of fun

Do you have a vudeo of yours?

TerryinTexas

See my Web Site Here

http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/

 

 

  • Member since
    April 2009
  • From: Granger IN
  • 265 posts
Posted by Dannyboy6 on Thursday, January 22, 2015 10:54 AM

I made one to fit in the tipple on my O scale layout. I used a bulb planting auger from Menards inside 1.5" PVC tube attached to a drill motor wired at 30rpms/minute in reverse. It was fed via a funnel on the back side of the scene. I used a push button on the front edge of the layout to start and stop it. It was a ton of fun!

Dan

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Texas
  • 2,934 posts
Posted by C&O Fan on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 5:48 AM

-E-C-Mills

Wow cool.  Would'nt mind seeing photos of the rest of the build.  Installing the set up into the model...  Thanks, interesting.

 

Here's some photos of the insides showing the internal ramp

and motors

 ">

 

 

I made the ramp to fit inside the

structure 
 
 

TerryinTexas

See my Web Site Here

http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Pa.
  • 3,361 posts
Posted by DigitalGriffin on Thursday, January 15, 2015 8:57 PM

Very true Terry.

Very true.

I've always been a fan of your layout and what you done with it.

Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions

Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Texas
  • 2,934 posts
Posted by C&O Fan on Thursday, January 15, 2015 8:34 PM

Yes i saw that and there are other methods on Utube that also work

But I went the cheap route

Doesn't get much cheaper than a ball point pen spring and a soda straw

 

I'm just amazed it works so well

TerryinTexas

See my Web Site Here

http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Pa.
  • 3,361 posts
Posted by DigitalGriffin on Thursday, January 15, 2015 8:28 PM

Kalmbach books has a nice book on animation and lighting.

 

They show how you can take a coaling tower, and use it to store real coal.  At the buttom they have a augar bit attached to a slow RPM moter, and thats encased in a PVC tube with one opening at each end (One top to the coal hopper and one beneath to the dump)

It's was a clever project.

Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions

Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Farmington, NM
  • 383 posts
Posted by -E-C-Mills on Thursday, January 15, 2015 3:39 PM

Wow cool.  Would'nt mind seeing photos of the rest of the build.  Installing the set up into the model...  Thanks, interesting.

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Texas
  • 2,934 posts
Posted by C&O Fan on Thursday, January 15, 2015 3:32 PM

yougottawanta

Terry

Well done. How long does it take to fill a hopper ? Do you use rel coal that has been ground up ?

 

 

It takes 2-3 min to load one car and the tipple holds 3 car loads

There a tupperware container under the layout at the coaling tower

The vibrator really helps move the coal down the internal ramp that i painted high gloss black to help make it slippery

I bought the coal it was marked "Fine" on the bag

Can't remember if it was Woodlandscenics or Arizona Rock

TerryinTexas

See my Web Site Here

http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/

 

 

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Northern Va
  • 1,924 posts
Posted by yougottawanta on Thursday, January 15, 2015 3:13 PM

Terry

Well done. How long does it take to fill a hopper ? Do you use rel coal that has been ground up ?

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Texas
  • 2,934 posts
Posted by C&O Fan on Thursday, January 15, 2015 3:03 PM

tcwright973

Very clever. Always interesting to see animation on a layout.

 

 

Thanks it really does add another dimension  to the operations

It fully occupies one operator in an ops session loading and dumping cars

Here's a video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUSv_1fYP1k

 

The same could apply to a gravel operation

TerryinTexas

See my Web Site Here

http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/

 

 

  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: Pittsburgh, PA
  • 1,155 posts
Posted by tcwright973 on Thursday, January 15, 2015 2:00 PM

Very clever. Always interesting to see animation on a layout.

Tom

Pittsburgh, PA

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Texas
  • 2,934 posts
Posted by C&O Fan on Thursday, January 15, 2015 6:17 AM

This can add some operating fun to your layout and if you get some of the old Tyco operating Hopper cars You can run live loads

and dump the loads at another location ie a coaling tower or power plant

TerryinTexas

See my Web Site Here

http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/

 

 

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Texas
  • 2,934 posts
Posted by C&O Fan on Thursday, January 15, 2015 1:33 AM

Southgate

Interesting approach.  I'm thinking about doing something similar with a gravel loader, so it's of interest. Since these videos seem to amplify sound and noise, it sounds noisy. How is the noise level in person? And how long does it take to load a car?

 

Not that bad

I turned the sound all the way up in the video so you could

hear the vibrator run

Coal tipples were noisy they used shakers and vibrators and screens to separate the coal into different sizes

It takes 2-3 min to load a car i use a car puller to move the cars forward

Many mines would not allow steam locos under the tipples

because of the dust being combustible

some where built on slopes and used gravity to coast the cars others used car pullers

TerryinTexas

See my Web Site Here

http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/

 

 

  • Member since
    April 2013
  • 917 posts
Posted by Southgate on Thursday, January 15, 2015 12:25 AM

Interesting approach.  I'm thinking about doing something similar with a gravel loader, so it's of interest. Since these videos seem to amplify sound and noise, it sounds noisy. How is the noise level in person? And how long does it take to load a car?

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Texas
  • 2,934 posts
How I made an operating Coal loader
Posted by C&O Fan on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 6:57 PM

Here's a video on How I made an operating Coal loader

With just a ball point pen , a soda straw and a low

RPM motor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XaMlt1onOM

 

 

TerryinTexas

See my Web Site Here

http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/

 

 

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