I don't know if anyone else has ever tried this or discovered it but....... In all my years on the railroad, there was always a salvage yard that needed gondolas to fill with metal!! some of these gons were filled with crushed cars, car motors, etc, then you had some that had metal shavings from metal being ran thru a shredder. I always wondered how to model these types of loads, and by accident, I found it. THE SECRET.......ELECTRIC PENCIL SHARPENER SHAVINGS!!!! My wife and I were cleaning house and low and behold, the end of my layout that has nothing on it quickly becomes a catch all for everything (Im sure I am not the only one this happens too) well, as luck would have it, an electric pencil sharpener got stuck up there and accidentally got knocked over and the contents of the catch can got spilled, which got the ole wheels a turnin!!! I asked my wife to leave them there, and I decided to try something!! I mixed some of Dr. Bens rust colored weathering powders with the shavings in a small container, and then placed the shavings in a FRISCO GONDOLA ( I dont own any from any other railroad) and WALAHHHH I had created what I had been looking for for a long long time, so I masked off the sides of the car with masking tape to protect the wheels and sides and sprayed with a spray bottle a mixture of white glue and water and then set it down carefully to let it dry (at least 24 hours). Now I have a well weathered FRISCO Mill Gondola with a very realistic load, looks very nice, and with the lead content from the shavings, it also contains real metal!!!! Hope all of you find this educational!!!!
I WILL POST PICTURES AS SOON AS I FIGURE OUT HOW TO POST PICTURES TO A THREAD!!!! BUT WILL ADD A FEW TO MY ALBUMS SOON!!!
Some time ago there was an article in one of the model magazines that offered another solution to this problem. Basically what the guy did was spray some rust-colored paint on aluminum foil and then ran it through a blender. Might be simpler than dealing with wood shavings, and also yields "real metal." GS
SOUNDS NEAT, but I wouldn't want to face my wife after I used her blender to grind up tin foil!!!! lol
Those are both good ideas. I'm always looking at common objects and wondering if they could be used in any way for modeling. You just never know.
I've had good luck using scrap filings from brake rotors. I've got them from the local garage that does brake work these filings are about the right size for HO and since they are metal when you use wet water to glue them down they will naturally rust. On top of this they add quite a bit of weight to a car. Brad
I've made some loads and part of scrapyard from the "foil" from wine bottles. If the lady of the house cooperates, you have all sorts of colors plus the shiny side, even patterns. Cut in strips and coil up, mince, dice or whatever. I cut a strip of carboard to fit gondola and then build a load on top wiith Tacky Glue to hold together. Right amount of glue and load is removable for us operations guys.
The bottom of my gas grill has yielded some nice scrap loads too. The stuff is already rusted and ready to use. Nice side effect is that my scrap loads smell like steak or hamburger! Seriously when the burners deteriorate they flake and rust and look just like a scrap load of rusty junk. No weathering required. Dale Rush
Another source of scrap that I've come up with are the wheels removed from the plastic axles of rail cars. As I changed out the axle sets with Intermountain wheelsets, I have removed the wheels from the plastic axles, expecially Proto 2000 wheels since they have molded-in markings. I will place unmarked wheels from other manufacturers underneath the pile, with the marked ones on top, all glued with just a dab of CA, then the whole thing will be weathered.
How much you guys want? I have about two gallons of this if anyone's interested. PM or email sirfoldalots@gmail.com
Sherrel send me some of this stuff a while back - it makes into a quite realistic scrap metal load. Ken
Just a little FYI for those who like to do prototype operations. Per railroad loading rules scrap is not supposed to hang over the sides or mound up above the sides of the car so that pieces could roll off and cause a striking or tripping hazard. If we find a car loaded like that it's not supposed to be pulled from the industry. If for some reason it didn't get found until after it's pulled the car should be spotted back or parked somewhere so that it can be made safe to move. The customer who loaded the car would be charged for the respot. You also have to watch out for overloaded scrap cars. If they are loaded to heavy for the car they have to be stopped enroute and material removed to make the car safe. Also, you would charge the loader for this error. John Chambers
Why not just go to a thrift store and buy a hobby blender that can be used for grinding up scenery material, etc. Or buy your lady a spiffy new blender and take the old one for yourself - win/win.
LOL....OLD GUY, THE BLENDER SHE HAS I DID JUST BUY HER!!!! BUT THE PENCIL SHARPENER IS ALL MINE!!!!!!
Not a problem. I'm always repurposing her stuff. Besides the blender, I have managed to save the landfills by reusing: Used Bounce sheets for reinforcing rubber molds Emery boards Ginsu knife, among some other knife styles (great for cutting foam) Old sheets - for painting rags and staining Old, but clean makeup sponges A mini-chopper - again for grinding up old leaves and sticks for scenery material Plastic ice cream/sherbet cartons for storing scenery stuff Old watch parts - it is amazing the amount of small parts that can be used and while she was working in the OR, she would bring home a lot of disposable, but unused trays, basins, itty-bitty eye sponges (so small they have a handle), tubing, etc. Besides all that, I have 30 or 40 pounds of polished marble pieces that have been used for weights, assembling kits, etc. They are flat as a piece of glass. And yes have salvaged some of that as well. I really didn't know how much stuff I repurposed until it all had to be packed up. I call it being frugal, some may say hoarding.
