This project happened because I didn't want to pay a lot for scrap loads, in the end it was free. It doesn't seem right to buy a new athearn BB for $7 then to buy a load from chooch that would cost more. I am happy with the results.

I got some scrap metal from the bandsaw at work, making it my base scrap. Looks real from the get go. First thing I did was cut out two layers of cardboard for the gondola, that way the weight isn't too much for the train. The tape is for the crooked cutting I always do





Sprinkled the scrap in the gondola







and smoothed it around to almost flat.

To add different looks I took some household items like paperclips



The other items I found were in my parts bins, some furniture jewelry I got from a relative that did soldering with glass, nothing train related in there.

Strategically placing the parts in the scrap, covering part of them to make it look like it was all mixed together





Then sprinkling some more scrap to cover them a bit



It's almost done..





Then sprayed some 50/50 mixture of glue on (I used elmers and water mix, though isnt the best for adhearing plasticsd and metal, it still creates stick) and let it settle




And that's it for now...

That's fantastic Tom! I make mine in a similar manner but use cut up bits of painted aluminum foil. Nothing looks more like metal scrap than actual metal scrap as you've noted though!

Ralph

Looks great! Did the 50/50 water and glue mix rust it up any when it dried? Rust is all you need to perfect that load.

Dave

Ralph Wrote:That's fantastic Tom! I make mine in a similar manner but use cut up bits of painted aluminum foil. Nothing looks more like metal scrap than actual metal scrap as you've noted though!

Ralph

Sounds like a good idea, I should try that some time

Puddlejumper Wrote:Looks great! Did the 50/50 water and glue mix rust it up any when it dried? Rust is all you need to perfect that load.

Dave

Not really, this is the second set I've done, and the first set layed around a bit and ended up rusting in some spots before I glued it though

Made some great looking loads, I bet they really added some weight to the cars as well.

Looks great . I wonder if some salt in the glue/water mix would speed up the rusting proses.

I added a little rust to one of the older gondolas from last week, dabbed some Iron Oxide paint on it









We were at this new hobby store and they had crafts up the wazoo, tons of supplies so I picked up this dabber, looks like a cosmetic applicator and this acrylic paint to try out since it was only $1 a bottle



Yeah 2oz a bottle for a buck, I might just keep using this, and will try it in the spraygun

Excellent Tom

The loads really look superb ...

The PVA mix should work rusting the loads up, a better mix of the PVA is 1/3 glue 1/3 water 1/3 methelated spirits the meths helps the glue flow and gets rid of any surface tension i have started udin this mix recently and it makes ballasting a lot quicker the flow of the glue a lot smoother.

Great pictures of a great how to .....now where did i put my bandsaw and metal bar

That looks great Tom, I can't believe how real it looks! Definitely a great idea!

- Dan

Tom thats Fantastic!! I love the rust on the loads too, that makes it look even more realistic!! Excellent job

Hi there Tom,

You load LOOKS absolutely terrific but ( and I am sorry to nit pick here as it is not my nature... honest!) but I think the amount of steel you have in the wagons would make them way over their prototype load. Steel is very dense and most flat cars only have a few slabs of steel to keep within the weight limits of the vehicle and hence they look to the casual observer, very much underloaded.

Overloading would not only press hard on the springs but also crystallize the body of the vehicle holding it through the excess weight as I remember reading in MR many years ago. It is your railway and living in Australia as I do, I am unlikely to see it in person but in the interests of an "authentic" load that you are going to great lengths to replicate, can you consider thinning it down a bit so the vehicle is not quite so "full"?

Most of my stuff is also not "true to prototype" (containers and CPRail gondolas behind steam etc for example and my stuff is nowhere near as detailed as yours) but it is my railway as is yours so by all means feel free to ignore my comments. Check by observation (something I cannot do in person for my layout anyway with my Canadian interests) and you can verify what I have said about the loading. In my own defence, I gradually would like to have several lots of rollingstock for several different eras on the same base layout and get a bit more authentic about it but that is a few years off yet! That is my aim anyway and I may never fully get there but I am still having fun and the acquisitions are slow at the moment.

What you have shown Tom is that you are a good, no... excellent ... craftsman and what you have done captures the "feel" very effectively... any pics of the rest of your layout? Mine is <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.xdford.digitalzones.com..">www.xdford.digitalzones.com..</a><!-- w -->. I hope you do take this in the spirit that is intended,

Regards

Trevor

How high the scrap load in a gon is will be determined by the source of the scrap. Prior to the company I retired from moving out to a new location in City of Industry, it was located in South Central Los Angeles with a tank manufacturer directly behind the shop. The tank manufacturer made pressure tanks only if I remember correctly, propane tanks, air pressure tanks for industrial air compressors, etc. They received loads of various steel shapes and flat stock in gons and always kept a couple of empty gons for the scrap. Because the scrap was odd shapes and sizes, it just did not stack tightly in the gon, so typically the scrap loads would be about even with the top of the gon when the railroad hauled them out. I also seldom saw rust on the scrap loads except during the rainy season. There might have been some rusting on the metal when it got to the destination, but we get 90% of our annual rainfall between November and February. The rest of the year we typically have less than 10% humidity out here so most of the time the scrap loads would not have rusted at all before leaving.

All I can say is Yikes!

Although the loads look great, they may be dangerous on a Model Layout.

Using Ferrous materials like Steel Wool and other metal shavings could be a real problem.

Permanent Magnet motors in your locomotives can pick up these bits and pieces if they have a chance.

Then the bits of metal will work their way into the gears and the motor itself.... Crunch! Grind!!!

Any chance you can bag up those metal shavings an sell some? Johnny's junk heap used to sell some awesome scrap metal shavings, but they've disappeared from the market...