Gravel Loads for Wagons....

[Gizzy]

Following a request from Zerogee, here is how I made loads for my fleet of LGB Hopper Wagons. I got the idea from MMTS, so any credit should really go to him.

I wanted the loads to be removable, and Edward's method seems to work well enough, so I nicked it!

First, line your wagon with cling film. This is a fiddly process to do, as it'll stick everywhere except inside your wagon.

Next, add your prime ingredient, namely, the cheapest kitty litter that you can buy. I used the Tescos stuff, which does look like the sharp shingle on my railway, albeit smaller, but other brands are available and may look different. Load up your wagon to suit your taste!

Now, I mixed the kit lit with some Cascamite powdered glue that I had leftover from Hardyard, and I used the same technique as I used for ballasting, i.e. dribbling a 50/50 water/PVA mix, but Ed just used the water/PVA mix.

Now it's a matter of waiting. No cooking is required, just wait until your mix goes off and you should have a solid load shaped to fit in your wagon. This might take a couple or three days.

Once it is set solid, you may remove the clingly film and discard it.

Ed painted his to look like coal, so get out your brushes or spray paint and do as you desire. I like the look of mine as it is at the moment, so I'll see how it goes over time....

 

[mmts]

As Gizzy said really.....
I wanted a removable load for my gauge 1 wagons
So I mixed cat litter with pva and left to set then got a matt black rattle can and sprayed away

And also for some chinese wagons

 

[nicebutdim]

That looks really good! I think we might have a bag of Sainsburys cat litter here somewhere, certainly giving that a go!
Thanks guys
Tim

 

[garrymartin]

I may have been flippant in the coffee lounge , but being serious this is a 5 star idea.

 

[playmofire]

They both look very realistic, just the job.

 

[Zerogee]

Excellent, thanks Gizzy (and Ed for the original idea!). I did have a thought regarding the hopper wagons - did you fill the entire hopper with the mix, or did you put the clingfilm so that it stretched across above the base of the hopper (if you see what I mean - it's not easy to describe in words)? To economise on the litter/glue mix AND to save making the cars too heavy, I thought about cutting a piece of stiff cardboard and laying that in the hopper bin so that it sits on (or just below) the point where the bin starts to taper in - then put the clingfilm on round the sides and over the cardboard, and pile the litter mix in to the desired depth; when fully dried the card would come off with the film, leaving you with a relatively thin load (perhaps an inch thick in the centre, maybe half an inch at the edges) which would then just sit back in the top of the hopper. When I get round to doing some for mine, I might give this idea a go.

Anyway, many thanks for the writeup and the great ideas!

Jon.

 

[Zerogee]

Sorry - one more question just to clarify - did you put the litter in to the hoppers "dry" then pour the glue mix over it, or did you mix it all up in something and pour a litter/glue "slurry" into the wagons?

Ta!

Jon.

 

[Gizzy]

Excellent, thanks Gizzy (and Ed for the original idea!). I did have a thought regarding the hopper wagons - did you fill the entire hopper with the mix, or did you put the clingfilm so that it stretched across above the base of the hopper (if you see what I mean - it's not easy to describe in words)? To economise on the litter/glue mix AND to save making the cars too heavy, I thought about cutting a piece of stiff cardboard and laying that in the hopper bin so that it sits on (or just below) the point where the bin starts to taper in - then put the clingfilm on round the sides and over the cardboard, and pile the litter mix in to the desired depth; when fully dried the card would come off with the film, leaving you with a relatively thin load (perhaps an inch thick in the centre, maybe half an inch at the edges) which would then just sit back in the top of the hopper. When I get round to doing some for mine, I might give this idea a go.

Anyway, many thanks for the writeup and the great ideas!

Jon.

I filled in the complete void of the hopper Jon, but I reckon your idea is a good one?

Might make the hopper a little top heavy though....

 

[beavercreek]

As Gizzy said really.....
I wanted a removable load for my gauge 1 wagons
So I mixed cat litter with pva and left to set then got a matt black rattle can and sprayed away

And also for some chinese wagons

Am I correct in assuming that I think that I remember that very fine 0-6-0 travelling around Beavercreek a year or two ago?

Nice loads Edward and of course your protégé Gizzy

 

[mmts]

Sorry - one more question just to clarify - did you put the litter in to the hoppers "dry" then pour the glue mix over it, or did you mix it all up in something and pour a litter/glue "slurry" into the wagons?

Ta!

Jon.

In my case the glue and kitty litter was mixed in a bowl and then pushed into the wagons and the load is full depth

 

[mmts]

As Gizzy said really.....
I wanted a removable load for my gauge 1 wagons
So I mixed cat litter with pva and left to set then got a matt black rattle can and sprayed away

And also for some chinese wagons

Am I correct in assuming that I think that I remember that very fine 0-6-0 travelling around Beavercreek a year or two ago?

Nice loads Edward and of course your protégé Gizzy

Not as far as I know...... And not likely to be this year either

 

[Willem WDLS]

I tried something like that a while ago (didn't read anything about it, just experimented a bit ), the result:

 

[Zerogee]

Excellent, thanks Gizzy (and Ed for the original idea!). I did have a thought regarding the hopper wagons - did you fill the entire hopper with the mix, or did you put the clingfilm so that it stretched across above the base of the hopper (if you see what I mean - it's not easy to describe in words)? To economise on the litter/glue mix AND to save making the cars too heavy, I thought about cutting a piece of stiff cardboard and laying that in the hopper bin so that it sits on (or just below) the point where the bin starts to taper in - then put the clingfilm on round the sides and over the cardboard, and pile the litter mix in to the desired depth; when fully dried the card would come off with the film, leaving you with a relatively thin load (perhaps an inch thick in the centre, maybe half an inch at the edges) which would then just sit back in the top of the hopper. When I get round to doing some for mine, I might give this idea a go.

Anyway, many thanks for the writeup and the great ideas!

Jon.

I filled in the complete void of the hopper Jon, but I reckon your idea is a good one?

Might make the hopper a little top heavy though....

Yes, the topheavy problem occurred to me when I was writing the last post, may have to experiment a little with various options....
I take it that the cat litter is light enough that even a full load of it doesn't make the whole wagon impossibly heavy? I have little experience of cat litter, being more a dog person myself......
I did once put some real gravel (the stuff I'm using for ballasting) into an LGB hopper just to see, and was horrified at how heavy it was with no more than a half load! I don't think a train of half a dozen of them would even move.

Jon.

 

[Zerogee]

I tried something like that a while ago (didn't read anything about it, just experimented a bit ), the result:

That looks fantastic, DR! Did you also use cat litter, or something else? What glue to did you use to bond it all together?

Jon.

 

[Willem WDLS]

Jon,

I bought 400 grams of so called "Aquarium decoration stones" somewhere in Germany on vacation. I recently acquired a hopper from LGB too, but I ran out of these stones, but I found something similar in Holland lately. It's still drying at the moment, so maybe I'll have some pictures tomorrow.

How I made it:
1) Cut a piece of isolation foam (2cm "Styrodur" from BASF) to fit in the wagon, leaving 1cm of space to the top so you only get 1.5cm of "coal"-load, to prevent the wagon getting top-heavy.
2) Make a mixture of wood glue and water
3) Mix the stones with the glue
4) Put plastic film in the wagon
5) Put the foam in it and add the mixture
6) Let it dry for 2 days
7) Spray black (stones were light grey)

I'll take some pictures of the new load and the foam I used.

 

[vasim]

Oasis (for flower arranging) is a good foam to use as it cuts easily and if not exactly cut correctly is very forgiving. I used this idea many years ago with a sprinkling of that multi coloured aquarium course gravel glued to the top and painted. I also used sand as a load variation and crushed real coal is light and a good alternative.

 

[Gizzy]

Sorry - one more question just to clarify - did you put the litter in to the hoppers "dry" then pour the glue mix over it, or did you mix it all up in something and pour a litter/glue "slurry" into the wagons?

Ta!

Jon.

In my case the glue and kitty litter was mixed in a bowl and then pushed into the wagons and the load is full depth

I mixed the kitty litty with some left over Cascamite (a powdered resin glue) that I had, lined the wagon with clingy film, shovelled in the dry mix, and then dribbled the PVA/water 'slurry' onto this. A tiny drop of washing up liquid in the slurry helps to make it 'wetter' and seep into the kit lit mix.

It does add some (beneficial IMO) weight to the wagon, but much less than real gravel, and my five loaded wagons were no problems for Wizzy Bo-Bo.

I'll bring a wagon along next time we meet up....

 

[stockers]

Just as a point of interest...weighting wagons for more solid running.
Is there a weight formulae per axle as in N or OO gauge? where I believe, N gauge = 1/4 ounce per axle.

Not that I am aware of Ross. Metal wheels is always a good idea and adds weight low down. Other than that I have never had the need to make my rolling stock heavier - one of the things I really like about G - it stays on the track.

 

[Gizzy]

Am I correct in assuming that I think that I remember that very fine 0-6-0 travelling around Beavercreek a year or two ago?

Not as far as I know...... And not likely to be this year either
[/quote]
Mike, that particular Class 03 belonged to Mole's mate, Bob.

He painted up the controls and I sent him some glazing, and then he sold it on.

Ed's Class 08 came from another source....

 

[mmts]

Going off at a slight tangent, acting on advice from this forum I bought half a dozen Binnie Engineering hopper kits for my LGB Feldbahn loco. What sort of loads can I make for them? The FBL is seeming so light that it can suffer wheelspin on its own! Put 2 LGB Feldbahn wagons behind it and it runs on the spot in various places all over the layout.
What chance has it got with 6 (albeit tiny) hoppers filled with cat litter?
Before this topic was launched I had thought about cornflakes sprayed matt black. Anybody tried it?

Not heard of anyone trying breakfast cereals so let us know how you get on roly......
Have you thought of using those polystyrene beads from bean bags??:thinking: