The old Red Ball HOn3 gons are available on eBay sometimes; you can also just download the instructions and parts lists from HOSeeker and buy new castings for the parts and trucks from Bitter Creek Models. Trout Creek models also has HOn3 wood ore cars, but they are definitely craftsman kits- the old Classic Miniatures cars.
http://mprailway.blogspot.com
"The first transition era - wood to steel!"
I have a half-dozen or so Tichy ore cars converted to HOn3. They are assigned to dedicated service under the AECX reporting mark. Here's a pic of one at a, ummm, can't tell you mine...
Conversion to HOn3 is pretty straightforward, I don't recall needing to do much. You can see the 714 coupler box drops right in with maybe just a little trimming. I used some brass trucks to help add some extra weight down low.
There's other cars worthy of mention for such conversions and that's the Westerfield ore cars. I've built a couple of the 3452 Pressed Steel Car Co. ones and really like them.
Westerfield also offers their 11301 to 11304 series ore cars, a somewhat more modern version that looks sharp and should also be an easy conversion.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I have put narrow gauge trucks under them and they look good. There were a couple of narrow gauge railroads that had some kinda sorta similar. There were certainly detail differences. I had found some pics years back on a couple but the info slips my mind. Argentine Central in Colorado I believe was one.
The Tichy cars are models of early 22' wood iron ore cars, used to haul iron ore from the mines to ore docks for shipping on the Great Lakes. I believe they are based on Milwaukee Road cars used in "the U.P." (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) but in any case they are similar to 19th c. ore cars used by iron ore railroads in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Generally "ore" hauled by narrow-gauge wouldn't be iron ore, it would be gold, silver or other types of ore, and as Guy states would normally be hauled in gondola cars.
I have some of the Tichy ore cars with narrow gauge trucks on them. I think they work pretty well as narrow gauge cars and look pretty good. You might consider side dump gons or regular gondolas (narrow gauge roads used several types) as an alternative. Lot of narrow gauge roads used gons as ore cars.
Have fun
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
The Tichy ore car its are short and small. I think with HOn3 trucks under them you would have some fine HOn3 ore cars.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
i have forty or fifty of the Tichy cars, they are pretty small, only 26?? feet long..
and they are very reasonably priced, all painting and weathering was done after the cars were -mostly- assembled
http://narrowgauge.railfan.net/orecar.html
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I have a pair of the Tichy wood ore cars. They are an excellent model and reasonably priced, IMHO, as well.
IMG_8567_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
I don't think there would be a problem using narrow gauge trucks under them.
The East Broad Top would occasionally swap trucks on standard gauge cars rather than transfer the load. They had a facility at Mount Union, Pennsylvania, where they would lift the cars and place their own 3 foot gauge truck under them.
Good Luck, Ed
I am looking for hon3 ore cars. Any thoughts? I see on ebay that titch trains has a kit that is for ho/hon3. You just put hon3 trucks on the kit? Won't it be to big?