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Model Forum / General / Railroads / October 2009Ballasting tool
The recent thread about a hypothetical ballasting car that would actually be able to work on a model railroad layout got me to thinking. (Dangerous, I know.) Came up with an idea for such a piece of MOW equipment, but then decided that it would really work better as a hand-held tool (certainly not as operationally cool, but more effective). See sketch at http://www.geocities.com/bonezphoto/models/Ballaster.gif. (Note: this URL will cease to work after 10/26 when Yahoo! finally pulls the plug on GeoCities.) DISCLAIMER: I haven't actually made one of these, so I have no frickin' idea if it would actually work. I envision this being made out of cardboard and glued together; the inserts would seal off the slots that fit over the rail. (Of course, it would be nicer in soldered sheet brass; that, however, is a bit beyond my meager capabilities.) The size and shape of the openings would have to be determined experimentally; one wants the ballast to flow freely, but not *too* freely. And the side chutes could be angled down away from the track for a prototypical profile. So what do y'all think? Might work?  SignatureFound--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism > The recent thread about a hypothetical ballasting car that would > actually be able to work on a model railroad layout got me to thinking. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > -- > Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism I remember seeing an advertisement for a plexiglass tube with slots cut in the bottom for the rails, designed for spreading ballast. Did you see it? On 10/22/2009 10:55 PM Special Agent Melvin Purvis spake thus: >> The recent thread about a hypothetical ballasting car that would >> actually be able to work on a model railroad layout got me to thinking. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > cut in the bottom for the rails, designed for spreading ballast. Did > you see it? No, but now that you mention it, if one made this out of plexiglas, one could simply cut slots for the rails instead of diddling around with inserts, since the thickness of the plexi is about rail height. Good idea. SignatureFound--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism >> The recent thread about a hypothetical ballasting car that would >> actually be able to work on a model railroad layout got me to thinking. [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > cut in the bottom for the rails, designed for spreading ballast. Did > you see it? I have one made of dark grey ABS. I can't recall the manufacturer's (there's no brand on it), but it works well enough. wolf k. Wolf K (wekirch@sympatico.ca) said... >I have one made of dark grey ABS. I can't recall the manufacturer's >(there's no brand on it), but it works well enough. I believe you are thinking of an item made by MLR Manufacturing. I recalled this from the 80s and went through my back issues of MR and found their last ad in the June 1986 issue. Forgive me for posting a binary to this group, but I will follow this posting with one with a 75 dpi scan (18k in size) to jog memories. SignatureCalvin Henry-Cotnam "Unusual or extreme reactions to events caused by negligence are imaginable, but not reasonably foreseeable" - Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, May 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: if replying by email, remove "remove." and ".invalid" >Forgive me for posting a binary to this group, but I will follow this >posting with one with a 75 dpi scan (18k in size) to jog memories. Just put the binary on one of those photo bucket things anywhere and post a link to it. Some NNTP servers won't accept binaries at all. -- Ray > Wolf K (wekirch@sympatico.ca) said... >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I recalled this from the 80s and went through my back issues of MR and > found their last ad in the June 1986 issue. They yet live! http://www.mlrmfg.com/ >Forgive me for posting a binary to this group, but I will follow this >posting with one with a 75 dpi scan (18k in size) to jog memories. It's not a matter of forgive - there's hardly a usenet provider on earth that won't either drop the binary part of cancel your post entirely if you put a binary in a non-binary group. Don't even try - nobody will see it. * Signature* PV Something like badgers, something like lizards, and something like corkscrews. > The recent thread about a hypothetical ballasting car that would > actually be able to work on a model railroad layout got me to [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > So what do y'all think? Might work? It's not a bad idea, but what about the molded spikes and tie plates? One tool I've found that works really well is a paint edge tool. The fine bristles move the ballast off the ties while leaving it between them. Puckdropper Signature"The potential difference between the top and bottom of a tree is the reason why all trees have to be grounded..." -- Bored Borg on rec.woodworking To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm >>The recent thread about a hypothetical ballasting car that would >>actually be able to work on a model railroad layout got me to thinking. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >> >>So what do y'all think? Might work? I seem to remember a whole bunch of years ago in one of the model magazines an article on how to convert a round Old Spice deodorant stick applicator into a ballast too that looked similar to what you are trying to do. You would cut slots in the bottom to match your gauge rail and then just file it up with ballast and run it along the track. Never tried it so can't comment on how well it worked, but sounded pretty good. Now if you can only find an Old Spice container that is round instead of those damn oval sized thingies! SignatureThe seabat Filtering GoogleGroups & Goobers with extreme prejudice! Usenet Improvement Project: R.I.P. Lee aka Blinky the Shark On 10/24/2009 5:53 PM The Seabat spake thus: >>> The recent thread about a hypothetical ballasting car that would >>> actually be able to work on a model railroad layout got me to [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > sounded pretty good. Now if you can only find an Old Spice container > that is round instead of those damn oval sized thingies! Interesting. Let me throw something else into the mix here. It seems to me, even without experimenting at all, that such a device probably wouldn't work very well unless it was shaken by the operator. So I'd add another detail, which would be a small electric vibrator, to shake it consistently to make the ballast flow better. Probably one of those little vibrators they put in cell phones would work here (you can buy them really cheap from surplus electronics dealers). SignatureFound--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism >See sketch at http://www.geocities.com/bonezphoto/models/Ballaster.gif. >(Note: this URL will cease to work after 10/26 when Yahoo! finally pulls >the plug on GeoCities.) Well, crap, way to put something up with a limited lifespan. >I envision this being made out of cardboard and glued together; the >inserts would seal off the slots that fit over the rail. (Of course, it [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >but not *too* freely. And the side chutes could be angled down away from >the track for a prototypical profile. If I get what you're talking about from lack of picture, I don't see why it wouldn't work, but I'm not sure it would be that much better it would be than simply using a paper funnel and smoothing it out with a piece of card stock. Also note - soldering sheet brass is easy if you're not trying to make it look like artwork. All you need is heat - it's easier than electrical soldering actually. Give it a try sometime. * Signature* PV Something like badgers, something like lizards, and something like corkscrews. On 10/27/2009 12:01 PM PV spake thus: >> See sketch at >> http://www.geocities.com/bonezphoto/models/Ballaster.gif. (Note: >> this URL will cease to work after 10/26 when Yahoo! finally pulls >> the plug on GeoCities.) > > Well, crap, way to put something up with a limited lifespan. Not to worry: it's still there. Turns out that Oct. 26th wasn't the "drop dead" date that Yahoo! had intimated: all the Geoshitties stuff is still up there. They're in a transition phase where people are redirecting their pages to new URLs. > If I get what you're talking about from lack of picture, I don't see why it > wouldn't work, but I'm not sure it would be that much better it would be > than simply using a paper funnel and smoothing it out with a piece of card > stock. Well, now that you can still see my drawing, you can decide for yourself. > Also note - soldering sheet brass is easy if you're not trying to make it > look like artwork. All you need is heat - it's easier than electrical > soldering actually. Give it a try sometime. * Thanks; I might have to try that sometime. SignatureFound--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism > On 10/27/2009 12:01 PM PV spake thus: > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > still up there. They're in a transition phase where people are > redirecting their pages to new URLs. What other good, free hosting sites are there. My Geocities page hasn't worked correctly for some time so I've wanted to move it. I've saved the files. SignatureRick Jones Remove the Extra Dot to e-mail me Worry is the misuse of imagination. >> Well, crap, way to put something up with a limited lifespan. > >Not to worry: it's still there. Turns out that Oct. 26th wasn't the >"drop dead" date that Yahoo! had intimated: all the Geoshitties stuff is >still up there. They're in a transition phase where people are >redirecting their pages to new URLs. Nope, it's gone. * Signature* PV Something like badgers, something like lizards, and something like corkscrews. |
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