Animated gravel loader

After following the "Too stressed to enjoy MRR[?]" thread, I discovered that I was in that mood too and decided to do something about it.

I have wanted to get my animated gravel conveyor built so I can continue with my HOn30 quarry pit module. I was stuck as to a belting system to use for the conveyor and could not get the auger to work properly on the gravel hopper bin. To the rescue came Nickeldiggers2 (Mad Doc & Nickel Queen). Mad Doc answered my question as to what he used to make his conveyor belts. I searched for the material and found it at a clothing store. Now the only thing holding me back was how to make the auger work. I finally deciphered that and am back at it. So on my workbench (module actually) is the beginning of the storage box and auger, plus the test conveyor to see if all the parts will work together.

Bernd

Dozer thread inspired

Finishing up a small project I've wanted to do as an aside, thanks to the weathering on Deemiorgos's dozer.  Scale lumber stakebed, mudflaps, and a custom mirror.  The stain is the same used on my latest guitar neck.  Anita's 'Galvanized Tin' metallic cheap acrylic at Hobby Lobby worked great over the shiny chrome grille from Classic Metal Works.

The main project on the workbench is just about everything else in the background- the fuelpad area and scenery, including a Mike Confalone's New Sharon-inspired pumphouse.

@ Bernd - A closer look please?

Hi Bernd,

Any chance of a closer look at the auger flights, please? They look to be solid flights and may be more prone to jamming when moving "hard stuff" like aggregates. How goes the experiments? From memory, your auger is running horizontally, you may be able to get away with a slightly smaller diameter auger to get around any jamming problems.

And have you given any thought to a centre-less auger as used on Consolidated Nickel? Less efficient but less prone to jamming (just run the auger longer to move the same amount of "stuff"),

@ John - Closer look at auger

John,

Here's a couple of pictures of the first auger system. I made the auger from 5/8" diameter acetal rod. I used 3/4" diameter copper water tubing. The auger is actually the coarsest thread I could cut on the lathe, a 4 thread per inch and is one solid piece.

This jammed up pretty good. I was going to try and find some springs like the Consolidated Nickel setup, but couldn't find any. I tried some other methods like just using a V shaped trough. That didn't work either. What finally worked is using a piece of 1" diameter copper pipe. All I need to do is make an end piece to hold the auger down at the output end. I already tried while holding the end of the auger down and it worked without a jam up. I'll post pictures once I get it all done.

Bernd

@ Bernd - Thanks for the closer look

Thanks Bernd,

The idea of having some slop at the top of the auger that will allow any binding stuff between the auger flights to have somewhere to go (and perhaps be swept over the top of the flights) was what I was suggesting with the smaller auger diameter, but, a larger pipe achieves the same effect a whole lot easier.

That is a very nice turning job you have done on the auger. Well done 

I look forward to seeing your gravel loader in action (even in test mode).   

@ John/ Bernd

There was a (now) old article in MR that used 3/4" PVC and a 3/4" auger drill bit with a small windshield wiper motor.  I think it was in the earlier 2000's.  I always thought it would make a great project

Steve

@ Steve

Steve said: 

Steve,

I'll have to look for that issue. I've looked at the auger drills. I couldn't see spending that kind of money. Plus the largest ones are quite heavy and a windshield wiper motor is quite large. Having a lathe made it easy to make an auger. I know not everybody has a lathe. But if you have no other alternatives I guess you could make it work. I would use the drill auger to make a resin casting of it for lighter weight.

Bernd

@ John

Thanks John. Much appreciated for the kind words. 

Bernd

Painting & Decaling

Painting & Decaling my 1/29 models of unique prototypes

MILW motor car #5900 in later paint scheme

NYC Xplorer's RP-210

 (Actually the sides' blue paint is significantly darker in reality, much closer to the protoype)

Regards

Norman

Experiments in rock coloring

I've been using Miles Hale's techniques from The Backshop Clinic on TrainMasters TV to test out coloring for plaster rock castings.  I'm not just a TMTV segment producer, I'm also a viewer.

Scenery experiments...

Having finished ground cover, ballasting and track weathering i am trying out various scenic material. So my workbench is on the layout for now.

South Pasadena 1969, the eastbound local has just passed under the Fair Oaks road bridge (still on the workbench...). (Focus was on scenery and not the loco)

Auger is now working

Looks like I've got the auger working now. Here's a video of it and the material I'm presently using.

Next on the workbench will be the conveyor that the gravel gets dumped on.

Bernd

YAAY Bernd!!!

Hi Bernd, 

Nice work on the auger and how it is working  

'I love it when an animation comes together' (with apologies to Hannibal of A-Team fame) 

NYC Xplorer

That NYC Xplorer is freaking awesome! I became intrigued by the NYC's experimental train when I originally planned to model an area near the Cleveland Union Terminal. Nice work.

Norman

Thanks for havng the link to your blog on there. I wasted a couple hours checking out your amazing projects!

Steve

My contribution.. a test track

Hi all, 

here's my contribution to the workbench thread - a "workbench" test track 

handlaid on balsa sleepers glued to two by 5 mm layers of laminated foamcore at 10" radius to test the pull and push behaviours of the coal skips. This is 1/2" tighter than the track on the underground portion of the layout and is intended to find any coupling binding problems between skips and/or the locomotive. 

With over 30 skips to test and two locomotives to test for each end, this is going to be a busy workbench for the next week or so. 

Track-laying used the original plastic ties spaced between the balsa ties to hold the rails in gauge while one rail was spiked along its length, then the second rail was spiked while checking gauge with a track gauge, as shown in this end of the line shot. 

The trackpins are driven in so that the trackpins are perpendicular to the slope on the foot of the rail. This means that the trackpins actually cross under the rail, preventing the rail from lifting or moving sideways on such a tight curve. The "end of the line" is simply a single tie ACC'd to the rail. It's not going anywhere.  

@ John

Thanks for the kind words John.

You have quite a collection of skips. Looks like a scratch-bash project. Got any close up of the skips handy to show?

Bernd

Texas and Pacific Caboose

Chopping up a Model Die Casting caboose kit to get something that is a little more close to what a Texas and Pacific "muley" caboose looks like.  Having fun with the razor saw and scale ruler on this silly project. 

T&P Caboose - Great Progress So Far

Fishnmack:

Looks great so far.  Looking forward to seeing the final kitbash.

@ Steve & Chris thanks for

@ Steve & Chris

thanks for your nice comments.

Steve, I hope that you do not regret having 'wasted' your time on my blog. Maybe you got some inspiration to start similar projects. The most difficult thing is to keep the faith at the beginning when a project looks really ugly and far from the intended prototype.

Regards

Norman

WORKBENCH

On my workbench is most likely a mess, there is rope for making trees and passenger car that need to be painted, and a few building that I am building, so Hunterline weathering Mix for there bridges I need to build, a R?S soldering iron and a regular soldering iron, and two Foredom, and three dremel tool and goody to go with them all, a cut-off saw and a drill, and parts all in draws and label so I can find them when I need them, and last but not lease Glue five type of glue for whatever I am working on.

Michael

@Bernd

Hi Bernd,

The skips are all scratchbuilt and are scaled to match the prototype dimmensit took 7 design iterations to get acceptable skips - and the latest skips are Mark IX design. I was just getting to coal skip design when I got detoured into the Arduino heart transplant.There are examples of at least 3 of those skip design iterations in the photo.

Here's just one of those design iterations - a Mark VII 

what goes on underneath is the key to us doing what we do on a 25% grade.

I'll swing across to skip design on the Corrimal Colliery Incline thread. Building the mine will be delayed slightly. The skip design also influences the tipple design if you are handling live loads like we are. We can discuss the finer points of coal skip design there. Anyone who wants to join us there is free to join that discussion as well.

A lot of the Mark IX's are yet to get their wheels, couplings and magnets yet, so they are still on the workbench and still valid in the workbench thread I suppose??

@ John

Saw your post on the colliery thread first. As I said over there I'll be following along.

Working on my conveyor system at present hope to be able to post something on the Workbench soon.

Bernd

Been busy spending too much

Been busy spending too much time on Ebay.

I been on a HOn3 kick lately and got a old UNited K-27 that I have been working on, added DCC with a keep alive.

I also got a United K-37 that I took the old Pitman motor out, replaced with a NWSL motor. I also added DCC and a keep alive as well.

Both of the steam engines I used a Micro USB plug for the electrics between the tender and the engine. Seems like it should work out good.

The Galloping Goose is a PSC model that I got that had a bad motor, so I replaced it with a small motor from NWSL. Going to wire that up with DCC and a keep alive as well.

In the next few weeks I should be able to get to painting the two steam engines.