"working" aspects of a model?

[Anonymous]

I'm on a roll now (glass of scotch and good cigar will do that to you).

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for old Tyco stuff I remember as a kid where the logs got loaded on a car or a little guy pushed boxes on a car. I posted on this earlier.

My question is whether there is 'semi-realistic" or current version of this type of 'action figures"? Again, the more general question is;

does anybody 'automate' loading or unloading operations on their railroad and, if so, how do you do it?

It seems as I read through stuff, most of the 'operational' aspects of a model railroad involve a fair amount of 'pretend' loading and unloading at a rail stop, factory or rail yard. Am i wrong about this? Is there such a thing as a modern, more realistic version of the little guy pushing a box with his forklift onto a flat car I remember from my youth? What options might I have for automating more of the 'operational' aspects of a rail line?

Thanks again,

Glenlivit & a Macanudo, nothing better except knowing how to change a light bulb

[Roadtrp]

Boy, I know what you mean. When I was a kid (45 years ago) I had a really great Lionel setup that my dad built for my brother and me. One of my favorite parts of running that road was the operating barrel loader where a little fork lift took barrels off a ramp and pushed them into my gondola. I also had a mail car where I could run it over an uncoupling magnet; hit the switch and the door would open and a guy inside would go to the door and throw out a bag of mail.

Those were the days!!

[Big_Boy_4005]

It is unfortunate that HO doesn't have much of that kind of stuff. The way I see it there are two problems.

First, it's harder to animate things in the smaller scale, and still see the motion, then reload the things that need it. I know that it's possible, but not many people do it. Most modelers focus on the trains, and don't bother with the added distraction of additional motion

Second, there seems to be a stigma attached to animated accessories. It is like serious modelers think that those things are toys for children, and maybe the way Tyco made them they were.

[der5997]

Had a mine in HO some years ago where the ore (painted corn) was fed to the ore cars through the mine's ore bin. It was brought to the bin by a helix screw thing that I made out of one of those pump type toothpaste tubes(give you an idea of how long ago this was[:D] and some scrap styrene. Powered by an El Cheapo electric motor, the sort of thing that's in those motorised toothbrushes (I don't have dental fetish, at least I don't think I have, it's just that there is useable stuff thrown away every day.) All this machinery was hiden inside the mine building. Operation was by a push button. It was clunky and noisy, but got the job done. And mines are not the quietest places on earth, so I understand. Why corn for the ore? It's round, so doesn't jam up the works like stones would, and it's light, so it doesn't strain the machinery like stone could.[8D]

[leighant]

I often load and unload cars to represent visible shipments. I ran empty racks to the pulpwood loading spur and load them between operating sessions for a subsequent train etc.

But for loading and unloading, I'll have to hand it to a layout I saw in Dallas 30 years ago. There was a mine with an operating coal tipple that loaded a hopper car. The loaded hopper car was then pulled the width of the layout over to a barge dock, where the coal was unloaded from the bottom of the hopper and deposited into a pile on the barge. The hopper was pulled by a switch engine that ran in an automatic cycle from the mine to the dock and back again. Doggonedest thing you ever saw. I watched in awe.

THEN somebody said I ought to look under the table and see the carrier that took the coal back from the underside of the barge back to go in the coal tipple. I wasn't going to fall for that and be caught picking up the cloth that covered the underside of the layout and looking under it. Everybody would laugh that I would be so gullible to believe that. A few minutes later I heard the same comment from somebody else, that I should see the mechnism under the table. I resisted again. Third time, I finally broke down and looked.

Rollover Rube Goldberg. Sure enough there was a carrier under the table. Not built to look like a realistic model. It was practical little carrier that ran on a kind of stainless steel monorail guide system, with relays and trip mechanisms. Sheeeesh!

[Don Gibson]

QUOTE: Originally posted by plane_crazy

I remember as a kid where the logs got loaded on a car or a little guy pushed boxes on a car. ... Is there such a thing as a modern, more realistic version of the little guy pushing a box with his forklift onto a flat car I remember from my youth? What options might I have for automating more of the 'operational' aspects of a rail line?

I think you are describing Lionel's 0-27 gauge products.

My rememberance is pushing a buzzer and a little man comes out and shoves Milk Cans (or whatever) out of the car onto a loading dock.. Due to the toy- like characteristics (AC Magnetic animation) it was anything but realistic, and the going price of these 'remnants' has become a Collector's paradise.

In short: check out the Lionel tables at any swap meet. The futhest HO models have gone is to SOUND (Chuffs, Whistles, & Bells) to animate more realisim.

It's a start.

[Anonymous]

Genetic engineering is the answer. Just have a lab clone a miniature person, or many people, in the scale you desire. It will put real meaning in the phrase, operate the layout. You think about it, the possibilities become limitless when you use real people, albeit really small people. Yes, let the old Lionel stuff sit with the collectors, I'll just wait until Won Tun Kok Enterprises puts the finishing touches on their miniature clones.

Tom

[Anonymous]

I thought it was really cool reading about this extravegant layout built by these two guys in Germany, who developed a completely automated highway system, where all the cars and trucks were running on the layouts highways.

One Japanese company, whose name escapes me, produced a remote control HO-scale tractor trailer. Now if only they'd do some North American period auto's as well, and with miniature color camera's so we could see the action from our TV or computer monitors, when we aren't operating our trains.

Alvie.

[AntonioFP45]

Would like to see an Americanized version of the Faller moving vehicle system. I can only assume that there isn't one yet because as mentioned above, most HO modelers (N too) mainly concentrate on the trains themselves so it would seem that the demand isn't high, so a potential manufacturer might not want to invest the capital.

I wonder why though, since Faller already has a popular system, why haven't they "tested the market" and introduce a few "popular" American models like the Corvette, Mustang, Thunderbird, or a Chevy Pickup.

10-4!

[sparkingbolt]

I finally recently finished animating a 1/50 NGZ diecast crane for a couples O scale railroad. It is the most involved project I have ever taken on. The crane can swing 360 deg ,raise and lower the boom and the hoist, all independantly. It operates very nicely, and I'm real obsessed with smooth operating things.

All the motors are those "Polk Pyles" sold by micro mark. They are mounted on a rather large unit that is below the layout surface, in a 1 foot cube box. It has sound deadening material inside it since those gearsets are quite noisy.

I learned a lot on this project, and got paid a goodly amount too. I strongly suggest that they build an LCL terminal, whjich they probably will. Dan

[CBQ_Guy]

On my old Lionel, O-scale layout when I was a kid (over forty years ago, now!), my favorite was the ice house where the guy would come out pushing a block of "ice" into the open hatch on a reefer. Cool...

(the "operating" helicopter car was a close second.)

[mecovey]

Glad to see an interest in animation - I thought it was just me. I had the Lionel stuff as a kid too; of course I always had the transformer cranked up to max when it came time to unload. In addition to the loud buzzing, the miniture milkman would leap out of the car at just under mach 1, slam the can on the dock and dive back inside the car. I'm gald there's no such thing as O gauge workman's comp.

Any way the present empire is roughly 1700 square feet in HO set in West Virginia (loosely M&K Jct). I load live coal at two tipples with gravity providing the propulson from elevated 5 gallon jugs hidden behind the backdrop.

Works pretty slick , but I would really like to have hoppers that unload via gravity through the bottom doors. I know several firms have tried over the years to market such an animal but the side swing doors that Walthers (I think) had and the spring loaded ones that somebody else made never really operated reliably enough to use on a large scale. Maybe it was just my L.O.T. (lack of talent)

[Anonymous]

Hornby are still offering an operating mail car in OO scale - the car is a pretty fair model of an LMS example and is operated by plastic ramps that clip between the rails and move levers under the car, which open one of a pair of flaps to catch the "mailbag" from a lineside hook or drop it off in a collecting "hopper" - the set retails for about £25 over here. The only snag is that the ramps that operate it tend to cause problems with more modern stock operating on the same track, as they protrude slightly above the rails. If you can get around this it's a fairly convincing set to operate, and the car looks as if it would benefit from super-detailing work.

[Jetrock]

There are a few examples of HO-scale "toy train" animation--I have a Tyco boxcar that loads crates through a little trapdoor in one corner of the roof. When the boxcar passes a special piece of track with an unloading area and a button is pressed, it spits out a crate. There's also the "tractor that loads pipe onto a flatcar" Tyco model.

Both are 60's-70's vintage, and I think there are some other examples of HO-scale toy-train type stuff from toy-train manufacturers that ventured into HO, with mixed or whimsical results. I think some can be seen at www.thortrains.com

A natural choice for animation and modern intermodal operation would be a working, remote-control container crane, which could load and unload containers from container cars--obviously one of the difficulties in this would be a matching set of containers and cars that could be loaded with the loader easily, and not slide right off when the train is in motion! The crane itself would be fairly simple--a couple of hidden motors and pulleys, with a basic "remote"--it could even be wired for DCC control without too much fuss.

Now, remote-control HO trucks to load said containers onto--that would be tricky.

Personally I'm not planning for much in this regard, other than in the realm of lighting and perhaps sound. Those animated flashing "neon sign" kits sound pretty swell for a bar or dive hotel or greasy-spoon that sits near the right of way on my layout, especially since I plan on having provisions for "night" operations. Eventually I might want working grade-crossing wigwags, although I'd probably have to build or ba***hose (the SN used distinctive ones, which wig-wagged UP instead of DOWN) myself so I'm in no real hurry.

[Anonymous]

Roco has an operating 250 ton crane, works with DCC. The cab rotates, the boom raises and lowers as does the hook on a cable. The hook can be replaced with an operating electromagnet too I believe. Saw one in operation several years ago, real neat (and expensive)! It was a European model, with the weird couplers and buffers, but was otherwise quite similar to the crane offered by Walthers without the animation.

Bob Boudreau

[der5997]

Hey Bob, good to hear from you again. If you bring in DCC for animation, then check out the Swedish snow plow that turns itsself arond by raising up from the tracks and rotating, page 80 (section 6.10) of Digital Command Control by Stan Ames et al 1998. In fact pages through 83 are all animation projects, cherry picker, and cement mixer, as well as a thing they call a hopper car, but I think is a steel slag car that tips, or something like that.
Regards, John Wood, Nova Scotia.

[BRAKIE]

I remember seeing a log loader where you push a button and this bulldozer shove wooden logs into a waiting gon..Cute but,not for me.Then theres those hidden whistles(sounds more like a calf bellowing then a steam whistle) in stations and storage tanks..Cute but again not for me.
Now,if you enjoy animation then by all means go fer it..After all its your hobby..Enjoy! [:D]

[Anonymous]

life like has an HO scale kit that loads a gondola and then the gondola dumps. i was going to get it but it was there cheap line of acessories for the younger kids just coming in to the hobby. Im sure if you got that kit you could thake the ideas on how LL made it work and make a much better version but i wasnt up to it to do it myself.

[Junctionfan]

I would love a remote control crane for loading and unloading containers and trailers at an intermodal facility; a remote control crane for loading coiled steel at a steel plant. There are other possible ideas like a coal dumper for steel mill and power plant as well as an ore dock, lift bridge, CTC signals (dispatching), passenger station intercom, pipe loading facility, dimensional load facility, scap metal loading facility and others. Alot of thease maybe best done by DCC wise but not necessary. I like to operate and this would definately be cool for large membership clubs with layouts not big enough for everyone to operate and of course for kids.

[jrbarney]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Railroading_Brit

Hornby are still offering an operating mail car in OO scale - the car is a pretty fair model of an LMS example and is operated by plastic ramps that clip between the rails and move levers under the car, which open one of a pair of flaps to catch the "mailbag" from a lineside hook or drop it off in a collecting "hopper" - the set retails for about £25 over here. The only snag is that the ramps that operate it tend to cause problems with more modern stock operating on the same track, as they protrude slightly above the rails. If you can get around this it's a fairly convincing set to operate, and the car looks as if it would benefit from super-detailing work.

While not as sophisticated as the Hornby OO version, while browsing my back issues today I ran across an article for an operating mail crane in HO:
"An operating mail crane," Sumner B. Besse, Model Railroader, June 1979, pages 104-105
Based on an editorial comment, someone at MR tested this project. Think that puts it before the Cal-Scale non-operating kit for the pickup arm and the non-animated Tichy/CMA kit for a similar mail crane and after the earlier Model Engineering Works mail crane kit.
Also, there is a kit for a logging "jill poke" that can be made to operate. Obviously, it would work best with a short stretch of super-elevated track and logs that aren't chained to the cars.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[fec153]

I used to have , in H.O., Lionel exploding boxcar , missle car and another flying rocket
or something. I sold them about seven years ago. They all worked at that time.
Phil

[ckape]

One project I did recently was converting an Athearn rotary snowplow from steam power to diesel-electric with a F7B snail. Freelanced, but mostly using the SP plows for guidance. One thing I decided to do while I was at it was connect a motor to the blades of the plow and add a DCC decoder to control it independantly. I suppose it's a bit of a waste considering I don't model the winter months, but it's still pretty nifty.

[der5997]

ckape: Not a waste if you can get it to work. Then, your MOW crews can do their maintenance and testing in the summer [8D] If you get it working, a flanger should use the same basic technology[^]

[Anonymous]

I have been working on an operational coal flood loader like the type they have in Wyoming. The model loads the exact amount of coal needed to fill a coal car and makes the load look like the real thing. I have figured out how to move the cars through at a very slow pace just like the prototypes (~1.5 mph). Unfortunately I have not figured out how to do it with the locomotives still attached. I will be having shots on a website that I want to dedicate to this type of stuff. I also have the workings of a rotary dumper to unload the cars at a place such as a power plant. It is handmade out of stainless steel and is very smooth. I have taken a break from the modeling as the summer months provide plenty of outdoor stuff to do. I will be going back to the fun stuff soon.
([e-mail])

[Anonymous]

that would be nice, but I do not think we will see any of it soon.