Loading hopper for the sand quarry

[ge_rik]

Putting the finishing touches to the first loading hopper for the sand quarry. Three more to follow.
Mostly 3mm and 5mm foamboard, with a few bits of plasticard for detailing.

Eventually, it will have a corrugated iron roof. I've got some miniature pulley blocks on order from Cornwall Model Boats to operated the sliding hatch and the loading chute. Decided they were a bit too fiddly to model from scratch.

Rik

 

[ge_rik]

Decided to make three loading hoppers rather than four. I have nine hopper wagons, so .......
More or less finished the main structures. I've rolled the aluminium for the corrugated iron roofs but won't fix them in place until after I've finished painting the hoppers. Also awaiting some larger pulley blocks for the chutes to arrive - the first ones I ordered are a bit too small - but I'm sure I'll find a use for them.

Test-fitted them in their eventual location. Had to 'adjust' some of the rockwork but I think they will look OK. The 2' gauge feeder will run behind them (and on a trestle over the 3' gauge line).

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Painting next on the agenda.

Rik

 

[ge_rik]

I've had a go at painting one of them. Still somewhat experimental - I can tweak my techniques as I do the other two.

Slightly brutal full-frontal view. Gives some idea how it looks in situ.

Close-up of the mechanisms for raising and lowering the hatch and the chute. Based around some model boat fittings.

Three-quarter view of the hopper in its location in the siding. Not sure I've quite got the corrugated iron right yet.

Rik

 

[voodoopenguin]

Three-quarter view of the hopper in its location in the siding. Not sure I've quite got the corrugated iron right yet.

Lovely looking models, excellent work. Corrugated iron? Even a rusty old sheet of corrugated iron will sit in the grooves of its neighbour so in this scale you might have to stick adjacent sheets together. The colouring is very good.

Paul

 

[ge_rik]

Lovely looking models, excellent work. Corrugated iron? Even a rusty old sheet of corrugated iron will sit in the grooves of its neighbour so in this scale you might have to stick adjacent sheets together. The colouring is very good.

Paul

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try gluing the sheets together before fixing them in place. My paper corrugator unfortunately doesn't give consistent results, so the corrugations aren't uniform. I think the pressure in the centre of the rollers is less than at the edges and so the corrugations are less deep.


Rik

 

[Madman]

Great work. Over the years I have fiddled with differing versions of sand/gravel loaders. i will plagiarize your design, with or without your permission.....

 

[ge_rik]

Great work. Over the years I have fiddled with differing versions of sand/gravel loaders. i will plagiarize your design, with or without your permission.....

No problem, Dan. Permission granted .... not that you need it

Rik

 

[dunnyrail]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try gluing the sheets together before fixing them in place. My paper corrugator unfortunately doesn't give consistent results, so the corrugations aren't uniform. I think the pressure in the centre of the rollers is less than at the edges and so the corrugations are less deep.


Rik

It will be interesting to see how the doors close once you have finished loading the Sand. This is always a crucial issue as Friction does not appear to scale down that well. We monkied about with a Gravel Loader on the Ruschbahn, I made a complex arrangement of a sliding load stopper but it just kept getting clogged up with damp detritus. Hope you have better luck Rik.

 

[ge_rik]

It will be interesting to see how the doors close once you have finished loading the Sand. This is always a crucial issue as Friction does not appear to scale down that well. We monkied about with a Gravel Loader on the Ruschbahn, I made a complex arrangement of a sliding load stopper but it just kept getting clogged up with damp detritus. Hope you have better luck Rik.

Hi Jon
No, my loaders are purely cosmetic. The wagon loads are removable so I can pretend they are filled when they get to the quarry and emptied when they get to the exchange sidings. I was tempted to try using real sand but didn't relish the effect that might have on the loco mechanisms.
Rik

 

[dunnyrail]

Hi Jon
No, my loaders are purely cosmetic. The wagon loads are removable so I can pretend they are filled when they get to the quarry and emptied when they get to the exchange sidings. I was tempted to try using real sand but didn't relish the effect that might have on the loco mechanisms.
Rik

Sensible decision, that is where we got to reluctantly with a disapproving decision by the Ruschfuhrer. I do the same with my Gravel Loads at the original Ruschbahn Loading Point.

 

[Riograndad]

Great build,talking of corrigated iron,there`s a guy on u tube that uses old cat food tins cut about and it works well,

 

[dunnyrail]

Great build,talking of corrigated iron,there`s a guy on u tube that uses old cat food tins cut about and it works well,

I use old Dog Food Tins, Baked Bean or any other work as well. But do take some care to work with and getting good flattened edges is hard work. The Rusty Grey Building in the foreground is the former Ruschbahn Gravel Loader Built that I built some 8-10 years ago on a frame of near 1inch Timber with Sections of flattened Dog Food nailed onto it. Appears to be surviving quite well despite having a wood frame. Much cruder than Rik’s super efforts though.

 

[ge_rik]

More or less finished them off this afternoon. A quick test-fit on-location. Will need to do some proper landscaping and think about how I'm going to tackle the 32mm gauge feeder behind them.

Can't believe I'm saying this, but it's too hot outside to do more than take a few quick pictures....

Rik

 

[ge_rik]

I use old Dog Food Tins, Baked Bean or any other work as well. But do take some care to work with and getting good flattened edges is hard work. The Rusty Grey Building in the foreground is the former Ruschbahn Gravel Loader Built that I built some 8-10 years ago on a frame of near 1inch Timber with Sections of flattened Dog Food nailed onto it. Appears to be surviving quite well despite having a wood frame. Much cruder than Rik’s super efforts though.

I like the natural rusted look. Much more difficult to simulate in plastic (or aluminium).

Rik

 

[ge_rik]

Have now cast an embankment behind the hoppers so they can be loaded from a 2' gauge feeder line.

Of course, most of it is hidden behind the hoppers - but we all know it's there!

I've blogged the build in case anyone is interested - https://riksrailway.blogspot.com/2019/0 ... -from.html

Rik

 

[trammayo]

Have now cast an embankment behind the hoppers so they can be loaded from a 2' gauge feeder line.

Of course, most of it is hidden behind the hoppers - but we all know it's there!

I've blogged the build in case anyone is interested - https://riksrailway.blogspot.com/2019/0 ... -from.html

Rik

Very nice - I wondered how you'd created the moulds - a good idea how you made them and I never would have thought of using what you did! Well done!

 

[beavercreek]

Absolutely fabulous Rik.
Constructed intriguingly, looks like it was always there and is another masterclass in creating an industry on a line.

 

[ge_rik]

Thanks for the kind comments folks. Just taken couple more photos before the weather takes a turn for the worst.

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Seems like the quarry is employing horse power for now - they might be persuaded to move into the 20th century eventually ...

Rik

 

[PhilP]

He'll need more than that hammer, to sort your loading-gauge problem there, Rik!

You can tell your line is based pre-'elf-n-safety'.. Standing across a loose-coupled pair of hoppers.. No brakes, or chocks..

 

[Madman]

Thanks for the kind comments folks. Just taken couple more photos before the weather takes a turn for the worst.

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Seems like the quarry is employing horse power for now - they might be persuaded to move into the 20th century eventually ...

Rik

Quite a few years ago, there was an article in Garden Railways magazine about a "Walking Man". I don't recall the author of the article and who the modeler was. But whomever it was spent time working out how to build a scale man that actually pushed a mining cart on a track. I've tried to locate the video on Youtube, I know it's there, to no avail.

Now, the real genius would be to animate that horse to pull the skips !