Cheap weight material for HO Freight and Passenger cars.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mark_in_utah

For weight I've been using shotgun shot and mixing it with white glue mixed with water and alcohol. I was able to get 10 pounds of the stuff for less than $10. You can get it in lead or steel, and it's a LOT cheaper by the pound than BB's. For the best load density you want the smallest shot (largest shot number). #8's or 9's are good.
As for the dangers with lead, lead is "safe" as long as you don't ingest it! Make sure you thoroughly wash your hands after using it.
The proper weighting of cars is important in getting reliable operation of your cars. As I remember the rule of thumb is 1 ounce plus 1/2 ounce per inch of car weight for HO scale cars.
For coal cars, the best I've found is filling the car with coal and gluing it in place with the white glue mizture. What's better in modeling a coal train than hauling actual coal?? It makes the cars heay, but is that so bad? Mark in Utah

[#ditto]
I still have most of a bag I bought over ten years ago. It's a life time supply. Just be careful not to spill any. Have a catch tray under the project. They roll everywhere are a S.O.B. to find. I know, a few got away from me. As mark said, wash you hands after handling as you should with all lead products. Even solder that contains lead. Keep it in a tight, break proof container and out of reach of children and pets.

[ndbprr]

I use plain old soupy plaster in box cars, tank cars, covered hoppers and hoppers that get loads. Just pour it in and it will form to the space available. Any that leaks out through seams can be wiped away with a damp rag after it dries. haven't tried it on passenger cars but no reason why the area between the center sills couldn't have some added.

[loathar]

As you know weight is a direct result from the magnetic pull of the earth. If you have a magnet mounted between tracks when a car using steel or other magnetic material passes over the magnet it becomes momentarily "heavier" due to the magnetic pull.
Ummm.. WEIGHT is proporsional to the Earths gravity.Not it's magnetic feild.
I've used drapery weights, hammered flat fishing sinkers and shot gun reloading shot.
(It's smaller and heavier than BB's)[2c]

[TomDiehl]

An odd thing I found in the scrap at work is lead sheets in .010 and .030 inch thick. These are used as screens in the x-ray film cassettes, and has to be removed before the old cassettes are disposed. I cut the sheets to 1 inch width with a utility knife, and cut the strips to length with a pair of shears, so there's no lead dust from the cutting process. The .030 thick sheet weighs about .2 ounces per square inch. Just glue it inside the car.

[Isambard]

QUOTE: Originally posted by robenglandHow about depleted uranium? It has been done at least once in the past, in a HO diesel

As I read the various schemes above I wondered how long it would be before depleted uranium was mentioned, due to its greater density as compared to lead.

A good source would the many spent anti-tank projectiles scattered around places like Iraq! They are a concern to the military and civil authorities in such countries, even though only mildly radioactive. Deplete uranium was used in the counterweights for the C5 Galaxy aircraft, we had to take special precautions in machining and handling it.

If I had one of those HO diesels mentioned by Rob I would speedily hand it over to the appropriate authorities for proper disposal, like expired smoke detectors.

[scubaterry]

I'm a Scuba Inst and have lots of lead shot bags for my weightbelts that have worn out. The shot is about 1/3 smaller than BB shot. With my gondolas I turn them over and fill all the nooks and crannies with the lead shot and dribble glue over it to secure them. Once the glue dries and it is setting on the track the lead shot is not noticible. I have a couple of tankers that are RTR and not easily taken apart so I drill a small hole in the bottom of the tank and pour in the lead shot followed by a shot of liquid glue. I just make sure I don't pick my nose while working with it and wash my hands when finished.. Boxcars I usually use pennies as they are typically plentiful around the house.
Terry[8D]

[Supermicha]

A friend of mine had another good idea. For balancing alloy wheel rims, car shops use small self adhesive lead pads. These lead pads are forbidden in Germany since this year beacause of new environmental rules, so the car shops have lots of them over. I got a big package from one, they come in 10 and 5 gram pads and are good for HO scale cars. Maybe you know what i mean, and i´m sure these pads are also used in the United States...

[jxtrrx]

Which weighs more? $2.00 worth of BBs or 200 pennies?

[easyaces]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Snake

QUOTE: Originally posted by BUDLINER

why do I use nickels

Okay, I'll guess...

• You don't like the color of pennies.
• You want your cars to be worth more.
• Nickels are bigger than pennies and bigger is better.
• You like to add more than 2¢ worth.
• You like Jefferson's profile picture more than Lincoln's.
• You prefer the profile pictures that face left rather than to the right.
• You like Jefferson's house more than the Lincoln Memorial.
• You prefer metal alloys over pure metals.
• You think 3rd is a higher ranking than 16th. Jefferson was the 3rd president and Lincoln was the 16th.
• The Jefferson nickel has been minted since 1938, the first Lincoln penny was issued in 1909, the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birth and you think newer (1938) is better than older (1909).
• You prefer "E PLURIBUS UNUM" a the top of the coin.
• You think "A penny for your thoughts..." sounds cheap.
• Your rich and don't know what to do with all your nickels.

[:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D]

NOW THATS FUNNY![:D][;)]

[Anonymous]

#9 lead shot is the cheapest bang for the buck I've found. If you go to the right store it's $20 for 25 pounds. #9 is small enough that it fills better than BB sized ones.

Greg

[AntonioFP45]

ScubaTerry......

Great idea about drilling a hole in the bottom of tank cars and filling them with weight! I'm going to do that with mine.

Thanks!

(BTW: Pennies are too valueable. Recently my wife cashed in pennies she'd been tossing in a box for over a year. To our shock the amount came up to $28.00!! ......I'll stick to BBs!

[Anonymous]

I use #9 Chilled Leadshot and a 25 pound bag is like a life time supply.

I am not concerned with hazards, if there was a fire in the house I would either die inside or get out alive one way or the other. The amount of chemicals (Cleaning supplies etc) in the home is already enough as it is.

I did try pennies but they did bulk up in the wrong places and raised the center of gravity too much.

[doctorwayne]

I get old wheel balancing weights from a local tire shop, if I arrive before the diving crew. I make moulds, using sheet aluminum, to suit individual cars or in predetermined dimensions to yield specific weights, then melt the lead using a propane torch. As noted previously, the main immediate hazard with lead is ingestion. The temperatures required to liquify lead do not release a significant amount of lead vapour: even so, I always wear an appropriate two-stage respirator. I spoke with several employees at a shop that produces ornamental items, such as planters and jardinieres, from molten lead, and none wore respirators, as health and safety rules deemed them unnecessary in those conditions. I also worked in a steel plant that on occasion rolled what we called leaded steel. Significant amounts of lead were used in the steelmaking process for this particular grade. When rolling of this material took place, all were required to wear proper two-stage respirators. I can assure you, the smell of lead at 2350 degrees Fahrenheit is very distinctive and noticeable. Not a hint of that smell in the lead casting shop.
I do my weight casting in my garage, a building separate from the house, and wash up thoroughly when I'm finished.
By the way, I went to the local Canadian Tire store to buy some BBs to use for weight in a sealed brass Vanderbilt tender: you know, drill a hole, pour some in, add some glue and seal it up. Well, you'd think I was buying nuclear missiles. They wanted my name, address, social insurance number, reason for buying, employer, blah, blah, blah. The bad guys can run around with rocket launchers but I get the third degree for trying to buy BBs for ballast. And they call me a train nut. Oh, Canada, you stand on guard against me??

Sorry,
Wayne

[tomikawaTT]

I don't know why there's a fuss about weighting cars with steel. My cars, or at least a substantial percentage of them, ARE steel - real honest-to-Murgatroyd tinplate. They have been fitted with Kadee #6 couplers (fit the mounting pad better than #5,) and work perfectly well over Kadee uncoupling magnets.

What I would like to see is a skeleton flat of proper NMRA weight. I think it would have to be machined out of depleted uranium.

Chuck

[Budliner]

that as funny snake
but I dont remeber saying that
now I too find car rim weight and have some shotgun shot
I dont use nickles anymore
K

[AntonioFP45]

For the newbie's,

With added weight, metal wheels will really help those car track a lot better.

[fwright]

The issue about steel weights over uncoupling magnets is a non-issue until it happens to YOU.  I've learned (don't ask me how!) the following:

- HO scale cars such as Athearn that use steel weights.  Rarely a problem.  You have to have both very free rolling trucks and a very powerful magnet.  Usually, the accidental uncoupling is shrugged off or the magnet removed, unless you hapen to notice that it's always the same car.

- N cars with steel weights.  Often a problem as soon as you replace the trucks or wheels with something that is free rolling.  My best guess is the distance of steel weight to the magnet is the primary factor, with inertia of the car (related to weight) being a secondary factor.

- HOn3.  Haven't run across any cars with steel weights yet.  I expect problems similar to N.

- Lionel.  Once, using a higher than normal voltage on the uncoupling track, I watched a free rollling light weight operating car (with the iron plunger in the center) center itself over the uncoupling magnet.

Cures include:

- Not using permanent magnets for uncoupling.  However, the problem can foul up delayed uncoupling with electromagnets or pivoting permanent under the track magnets, too.

- use something besides iron or steel to weight your cars.  But removal after the fact can be quite difficult - tank cars come to mind.

- don't use free rolling trucks.  However, this impacts train length and the number of cars a loco can pull.

- use rare earth magnets mounted vertically beside and just outside rails, staggered slightly is even better.  The increased distance and the non-centerline component of the magnetic force on the car weight seem to cure the problem.

my thoughts, your choices

Fred W