Umm, a comment and a question

While I like the idea of using real coal as a source of coal for loads, I have one comment and a caution about the article.

First, I suspect that the coal you are using is made from a compressed slurry.  On the east coast of the US, all of the coal I've shoveled and burned over the last 45 years has looked like your end result rather than the block with lettering shown in your article. This looks more like the masonry bricks I've used to build a fireplace.  I think that this will impact the grinding process in some fashion; not being a big coffee drinker, how much of an impact is unknown.  Breaking up the coal I've taken from my furnace's supply has required some work with a hammer.  The physical bonding of the coal particles in a dried, compressed slurry are likely to be weaker than those of the 'virgin' coal.

Second, please mark or paint the coffee grinder that you use to prevent it from being reused to ever grind coffee beans again.  Ingesting bits of coal dust in your coffee is not going to enhance your longevity. I don't think even repeated washing it will remove all of the dust.  Much like the blender some of us use to grind fallen leaves into ground cover for our model forests, this coffee grinder should be moved to permanent residence among your tools and modelling supplies, as far away from your kitchen as possible.

Finally, thanks for an interesting article, and I really liked the way you showed how to put the loads together and how to weather your rolling stock.  I've got about a dozen hoppers I need to make loads for, and if you'll excuse me, I've got a sack of coal, a 2-pound sledge, and some screening out in the garage that are all waiting for me.

Janet

Lead sand

Hi,

nice job on the article.......one question........where does one find "Lead sand"?

Nice idea

Nice idea, they way I do it is to take a chunk of balsa wood, carve it into 2 or three mounds. Then I spread glue on the balsa and sprinkle on shifted coal or if it is supposed to carry ore, I use shifted decomposed granite. 

The last time I was in Durango Colorado to ride the steam train, I picked up a bunch of coal. I grind them and shift them into scale size chunks and sprinkle them on the balsa wood.

--Bill B.

Hoppers made (remade) easy

Great article!

Thanks for sharing your time and techniques'

Chip Stevens

Easy

Gentlemen, thank you very much for your kind words, they are very appreciated.

Kudos to Joe and the MRH staff for their great work !

@BR GP30 : I found it here in Germany via an online shop for fishing supply - if I remember correctly.

hopper weights/loads Aug 8 .

Good Article - Some Car Weight Ideas

Nice article- 'specially the weathering. I don't think it's best, however, to fasten the hex nut weights to the underside of the plywood base of the load. This raises the center of gravity (CofG) of the car unnecessarily. I think using larger (heavier) nuts, or more nuts, in the bottom as first recommended, is a better plan. Even better, use BB's (or maybe bird shot) to uniformly fill the bottom of the car to the desired weight as low as possible. Easy to do with the car on a scale and the load alongside. One BB at a time will let you be pretty exact and keep the CofG as low as possible. Fasten the BB's together with Walther's Goo or a similar substance- or not at all.

The weight and the low CofG will greatly improve the car's tracking on tighter curves. On a train with several hoppers in the middle, this can be very important. NMRA RP 20.1 would require my 37' HO hoppers to weigh in at approximately 3.5 oz. This weight works for me with 6 hopper cars in the middle of trains negotiating a few 35" radius curves. Increased weight can be helpful but at a loss of engine pulling power especially on grades.

I recommend that you find NMRA Recommended Practice 20.1. http://www.nmra.org/rp-201-car-weight
Also a good thread on a MR Forum. http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/117094/1342367.aspx

I hope this helps in some way.

Thanks for sharing. I model

Thanks for sharing. I model in the UK and what's needed for this project is available here which is good because quite a lot of what US modellers use isn't! Bought six Stewart Hobbies NYC 70-ton models off e-bay and they're so light a cobweb pulls them off the rails (must dust the railway loft!) so I think some weight is just what's needed. And because they're so light they don't want to go through my Peco points so I 've been on the lookout for some tips. Out of the box they're a featherweight 2.1ozs or 60gr.and even the trucks are plastic so no additional stability there. I was thinking of changing the trucks or trying what we call Liquid Gravity but will try the plywood and nuts route (I'm budgetry challenged) and check the NMRA weights tables.  

Where do you buy a lump of coal?

Very nice article, but where do you go to obtain a lump of coal? I live in Los Angeles, California. All I could find on eBay was "Christmas novelty" coal—this Christmas novelty bag here: bag of coal. And these novelty anthracite coal pieces here: coal lumps. Is anthracite what we're looking for?

Lumps of Coal

Metrolink

I just walk through the bush .About a 10 minute walk to the railroad and pick it up usually between the tracks .

Only coal traffic runs on the line so I am lucky

To crush the coal I made up a timber frame 6 inches by 6 inches by 4 inches high , place it over a small steel plate

put a lump of coal into it and using a heavy V block I machined when I started my apprenticeship and I tap and grind the coal down to the size I want . Wear eye protection cause the coal will fly everywhere.

Smokey Dawson    Australia