Loads of Loads

Hello all,

I scored a very large cache of loads for gondolas and flat cars.

My question is, what is the best way to adhere them into the cars, but not make the load permanent?

Under different operating conditions, I may want to move the loads from a 50' SP flat car to a Santa Fe 50' flat car. Gondolas have a way of holding the loads without any prblems so I guess it is more the flat cars.

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Delux Inovations container glue. It is sort of like silly putty but sticky and removable.
Kevin

 

X2. Also you might luck out and had loads that are a tight fit.

 

For gondola loads I like wood structures under the load that fit into the gondola. This limits the load to a particular type of gondola, but it remains removable. I also love those drop-in loads by Hay Bros. or MTL.
For flat car loads I built very tiny wire pins that fit into the stanchion pockets. The wire is either soldered to some brass sheets, or glued to wood structures.
I have also used some kind of rubber cement that is removable, the local brand name in Germany is "Fixogum". When dried, you can peel it off paper again, it is mainly made for graphic artist business. I did not make explicit tests to check whether this affects paint, but I use this only as kind of last resort.

 

Christoph, do you have any photos of this? I'd love to see it.

 

Like mentioned above. Or it might be cheaper to find a general purpose temp hold type of puddy at pretty much any hobby shop. They make it to stick posters and things to a wall or other applications like that. Might be much cheaper than something that they repackage for specific use. Same stuff tho.

Also, I have even used wax for temp securing like that. Light a candle and melt a blob of wax onto a surface and place load in it before it cools, and that will hold a load in place, and easily removable.

 

For anything I want removeable,say,stacked trailers,loads,even locomotive bodies I scratchbuild,or ones that just don't fit tight,the best,cheapest,most non destructive thing I've found is just a speck of plain old Elmer's white glue.On loco shells,if you remove them for service,most times,the remains of the glue are still on the shell,if you just add a tiny bit,it repositions the shell for you.
If the cars have any kind of steel weight in them,you can also put magnets into the loads..

 

If you can find it, earthquake glue will work.

 

a little hot glue works .easy to remove and restick no mess just peel right off

 

If you can't find earthquake glue, the same stuff is packaged and labeled as museum putty, in non earthquake prone areas. Places like craft stores and sometimes Home Depot will have it.

 

I forgot about the magnets. I have a bunch of those little bitty rare earth magnets that you can hide anywhere you need a magnet, and they are VERY strong and will hold allot. Just be sure they are far enough away from your trip pins on your couplers, because they are strong enough to jack with those..

I might also add a disclaimer about using hot wax, or hot glue like mentioned above. be real careful with that, and not let the wax or glue get too hot, because it can warp plastic if it gets hot enough. Can be used, but with caution..

 

Beeswax. The doll house modelers use it to "hang" pictures. I use Mini-Hold by Handcraft Designs, Inc.

Elmer's rubber cement for school students.

If you are kit bashing, try to design it so it has a little friction for a gondola. Use wooden stakes for flat cars to keep the load pretty well centered.

 

THATs the stuff I was talking about, but couldnt remember what it was.. "Bees wax"

 

Thanks everyone,

I think I have it figured out. I cheated because I had to stay home with the baby all day and I came up with cutting the adhesive strip off the post it notes and folding them in half. When I attach the load, it presses on the adhesive and stays in place fairly well.

Not saying it will be the best solution, but the best I could come up with while I was household detail all day.

I will see about the bees wax when I can, I think something like that would set the load a little better.

Thanks again!

 

X3. You should also know that DI container glue is specifically formulated to NOT mar paint or decals, so if you need to remove the item, it does not damage either of your items.

 

I know I am late, but I have now some pictures of a modified flat car load. The wires are glued (with thick ACC) to the laser cut wood supplied by MTL, this is a kind of weak spot.
The wires hook into the car, so the load is removable.
What is still missing are tie-downs, but when I first tried to add them the wires went off again.

 

I use a product called Blue Tack; which is a putty like substance that is reusable. Found at the local Hardware Center

 

A bit crude-- but I can be a bit crude...
I have built a couple of sulphur gondolas. Want eventually to have a fleet of 6 or 8 or 10, deliver to a sulphur export terminal and pick up empties.

I make loads with light density flower-pot foam, cover with yellow dry tempera and include a little wire loop I pretend not to see to provide a place to grab the sulphur load to make the car an empty.

The fine dry tempera can be messy. For just gravel, I like a "live" load. ie loose gravel.