[dawinter]

I figured I could just remover the 'tank' from a nice USAT 4 bay hopper and build my own.

Well, no!

Removing the container from the frame took me a month. Trying to save those nice 4 bays was an awful cutting and grinding chore. They are molded above the frame inside the tank and the ends are one piece above and below the frame. Plus I wanted to use the existing frame to stabilize the new cylinder. That means cutting slots between the inside of the frame and hidden tops of the hoppers.

Having worked my way through that I had to build new ends AND new interior structures that would support the cylinder. The ends are on an angle and the interior supports are vertical but all have to be the same height when in place. Once in place (and that wasn't a walk in the park) I had to find a way to wrap the cylinder tightly around the supports and the ends.

This photo (see below) shows my pattern fitting over one support and one end. There is still a little work to do to make it fit better but once done I should be able to cut the longer piece out of my 4 x 8 sheet of .030 styrene.

Having finished that I have to rebuild the end frames by removing the 'notch' on the top corners, transfer over the USAT walk way supports and the USAT walkway and scratch build the four hopper new covers.

And I thought I would do two at once.

By Christmas I figure.

Dave

 

[Jerry Barnes]

Solving all those problems is half, or more of the fun Dave!
Jerry

 

[NTCGRR]

Dave
when your done, make one for me also.

Matter of fact, thats a dang good idea. You have all the needed parts this way.
Now my head hurts again.....

Where did you get the drawing info from?

 

[aceinspp]

Blew my mind just reading the changes. Later RJD

 

[dawinter]

The drawings came out of the February 1994 Model Railroader magazine. They were a part of a great 9 page photo/story about the Hawker Siddeley, Marine Industries Ltd. and National Steel Car Co. 100 ton cylindrical hoppers. They were introduced in the early '70's to relieve a serious box car shortage and as I model a prairie short line circa 1975 I just had to have at least one on hand.

I was planning on having 5 or 6 of the Aristocraft cylindrical hoppers, and over look all the deficiencies, but they went off and spent their development money on engines and repaints of old 40 foot cars. Sadly that leaves modellers with a very big hole in a modern (past 30 years) fleet. Not saying any more on that ;-)

Dave

 

[Dougald]

A neat piece of work Dave and some creative thinking to get you there!

The Trudeau hopper is a fixture on Canadian roads since the 70s and I agree is a must for your modelling. Somehow the slab sided hoppers just don't cut it in Canadian grain service. What paint schemes are you planning on and what will you use for lettering?

Regards ... Doug

 

[Mik]

Couple things to remember... Dremel tools, rubber bands and squadron putty are your friends...use them. -AND- My personal favorite... If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer. lol

 

[DKRickman]

Posted By Mik on 10/20/2008 10:00 AM
Couple things to remember... Dremel tools, rubber bands and squadron putty are your friends...use them. -AND- My personal favorite... If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer. lol


That's good advice! Also, remember that styrene responds well to heat forming. I like to wrap it around a former, put the whole thing in water, and boil in the microwave for 5 minutes or so. The stove woud work for larger items, but you have to be careful not to let the styrene touch the pan. Take it out, run it under cold water, and they styene has taken the shape of the form with no springback.

 

[dawinter]

Posted By Dougald on 10/20/2008 7:37 AM
A neat piece of work Dave and some creative thinking to get you there!

The Trudeau hopper is a fixture on Canadian roads since the 70s and I agree is a must for your modelling. Somehow the slab sided hoppers just don't cut it in Canadian grain service. What paint schemes are you planning on and what will you use for lettering?

Regards ... Doug



Doug

I'll use the silver (aluminum) and yellow scheme. Light rail and all. I'd love to use the SK one - old or new - but it's far to modern for me. CDS will supply decals I guess all though if there is something else out there....

I'm into a tube of plastic already and but my cylinder will use up a piece of .030 that's 20" x 11" so it's a little hard to pre-form. I've practiced wrapping ti around the supports and it works ok.. I'll anchor it to one side and after the glue dries I can wrap it in place pretty easy. I say that now....;-) It will still be very difficult to get a factory match between the ends and the cylinder. Small gaps show up here and there no matter what I do. Perhaps there is a product that will flow on around the joint like very fine toothpaste. At least it will look like a bead of welding.

Anyway, tonight it fits.

Dave

 

[Dougald]

Dave

I like your choice pf paint schemes.

Just a cautionary word ... CDS is no longer in business as the two principles have retired. There are still some stocks on hand though ... I will see Tom Hood (the main mover in CDS) tomorrow night and will ask what is available in 1:29. But essentially, if you need lettering for future projects, now is the time ...

Regards ... Doug

 

[DKRickman]

Dave,

Take care cold bending styrene that thick. I've had it warp on me, or pull the rest of a model out of line. You know better than I how well your structure is braced, but be aware that it will be trying to straighten itself out unless you scribe the back, or form it in some way.

That said, I'm really impressed! your work so far looks spot-on, and I'm excited to see how your model progresses.

I have an idea for your thin filler. Would it be possible to mix up a batch of putty with lots of extra solvent, so that it's about 1/2 the regular thickness, then extrude it from a syringe of some sort, like the ones sold for glues? Or, for that matter, what about using one of the thicker glues, like Testor's model airplane glue (the kind in the metal tube), with one of their fine tips?

 

[Paul Norton]

If you are just filling cracks, would white latex caulk suffice? I use it to fill the cracks between the drywall and tops of new baseboards or chair rails. A damp sponge run along the bead cleans away any excess and leaves a smooth fill.

This is not like the caulk your grandfather used. The new latex stuff is easy to use, as the sponge and your fingers will wash up easily in warm water. You do have to let it cure a while before painting it though.

 

[vsmith]

Latex tends to shrink, if your concerned with expansion, I wouldnt use anything less than Painters Caulk, which dries solid enough and doesnt shrink, but still has a bit of flex, I just use good ol' Squadron Green Putty, nothing works better.

 

[dawinter]

The caulking is a good idea but I never thought of the glue thing. The dispenser already has a very fine tip and if I'm real careful I can get it up inside the joint rather evenly. Failing that....

I have been getting all my G scale dry transfers from http://www.tmrdistributing.com/ for the past number of years. Very reliable and not pricey. I believe they are made new as ordered but I couldn't say for sure.

The original cars have 12 welding lines on the cylinder. Each one 3'9" apart. I have to scribe these into the sheet very carefully - it is rather thin - but I haven't had an issue with warping of twisting so far. I had the choice of getting a 4 x 8 sheet of .030, .040 or .060 but I was reluctant to try to work with the heavier material. I know I should have used the .040 but that's for next time I guess. We'll soon see anyway.

Dave

 

[DKRickman]

Dave,

For the weld lines, try applying masking tape on either side of the weld seam, leaving a very thin space. Apply glue, caulk, Squadron putty, bubble gum, or whatever you like, then peel the tape away. That may be a lot easier than scribing them, and it will give a proper raised seam. It may also give just enough unevenness to give the impression of a weld line.

 

[NTCGRR]

is it done yet???

 

[dawinter]

Posted By DKRickman on 10/20/2008 5:00 PM
Dave,

For the weld lines, try applying masking tape on either side of the weld seam, leaving a very thin space. Apply glue, caulk, Squadron putty, bubble gum, or whatever you like, then peel the tape away. That may be a lot easier than scribing them, and it will give a proper raised seam. It may also give just enough unevenness to give the impression of a weld line.



Ta Daaaa! Brilliant idea

That's what's gon'na happen.

Thanks

 

[NTCGRR]

You should title the thread different so it can be found in archives in the furture.

 

[dawinter]

Posted By NTCGRR on 10/22/2008 2:26 PM
You should title the thread different so it can be found in archives in the future.



Good idea. I didn't think it would go on like this. It should'a said "Cylindrical hoppers - This is very much......."

I tried but I can't find a way in. Body of the post - ok. But not the title. Perhaps I'm missing something.

Dave

 

[NTCGRR]

Dave
did you rub the genie in the boiler??
This all knowing , the great DWIGHT will fix it.

Is it done yet??