I just received my 4 pack of GN 3-bay hoppers. they look great by the way. But they seem to be a bit on the feather weight side. Are they suposed to be like this or am i just crazy. Nick
Mine are light too, and they clothesline easy, so lowering them and added weight in the bottom might help. I have some lead wool that I was going to try on mine.
Nick, Yes, the Pennzee hoppers are bit light. But, this really does not affect performance. The only time I have had touble running these cars is if I put them behing a 6 axle loco with body mount couplers. Running on tighter curves, the lack of the weight and the spring action of the coupler can cause them to derail. The simple solution is to place a heavy car behind the loco. I use FR coal porters since they are heavy. I also have a weighted Pennzee hopper that I use. By the way, a weight car behind the locos is a neat trick. It act like a slug unit would in real life. A little more motive traction is gained plus it absorbs any vibrations from the locos. Rob
What is the best way to remove the load from a Pennzee hopper without damaging anything. I've read about drilling a hole in the bottom which just goes against my grain. Using a razor blade to pry the load out seems to be the only way to do it without damage. I guess I would rather drill a hole through the load and replace it with a hays load if I have to inflict damage. How are the loads actually attached? Are the loads of the new Pennzee hoppers (PRR) attached just like the older ones - I have a set of the older Chessie hoppers. I also have a set of the Full Throttle Peabody hoppers where the loads just fall out. I'm hopping the newer Pennzee are like the Peaboady hoppers. Thanks for any help.
I can post a picture of the internals tonight. I think I have one still open. The loads are lightly glued in, you can slip something along the sides or ends and work it up. You can also drill a small hole on the bottm (don't need a big one and come on, do you proudly display the cars upside down?). NOTE: there are two metal rods in the bottom if I am not mistaken. There is a gap in the middle so you should clear it but wait until I find my open one or someone else opens them for a pix. Nic: you just think they are light as you come from the N scale world I added about 10 BB's (you know, the kid gun ones) using Robert's gram scale. White/yellow glue, Goo or what ever adhesive you add to make a correct new weight (don't forget the glue weight !!!) The Hoppers aren't so bad, it's the Cylindrical Hoppers that are real top heavy.
The Full Throttle hoppers ( 2 bay and 3 bay) use Hay Bros. loads. These look much better than the plastic loads in the PennZees but are more top heavy when put in the cars. They are more easily removed, but this also means they fall out if you have a derailment. You can try small gauge but stiff wire and make a hook at one end. Insert it side ways rotate to catch the load and pull it out. If you are just looking for better loads, rather than trying to add weight, you can try glueing real crushed coal on top of the plastic PennZee loads. If you put weight in the cars AND use Hay Bros loads, just keep in mind that the Hay Bros loads are much heavier to begin with. Randy
Jeff, compared to other Z scale cars, the PennZee hoppers are light. Not only are the Cylindricals top heavy, but many of them came with pretty loose fitting trucks. You may have to push the bloster pin in more securely. I guess lot's of Z scalers just become perfectionists because things work better that way when there is no room for error. ;-)
It doesn't really add more motive traction (as you said it would need to be powered like a "ghost wagon") but the dampening effect does greatly improve performance. We've run over 100 car trains of PennZee hoppers. It can be done, but tricks like this make it easier. Randy
Hello Charlie and welcome to Trainboard! I always drill a hole in the penzee load to remove it and replace it with haybros load.
Nick, they will run fine the way it is, but there is certain things to watch for. Specially on tight radius, you need to match body mounts to body mounts, and truck mounted to truck mounted couplers. Some people have Transition cars from MTL to Marklin. I have transition cars for body mounted to truck mounted. The swing of the couplers are very different between truck mounted to body mounted couplers. With my AZL C44, I will run the C44 first, Then my GP39. The end of the C44 will be body mounted. The front of the GP 39 is body mounted, and the end is truck mounted. The first car should be Truck mounted coupler. it may seem a lot of trouble go through, but it doesnt take much to derail some cars.
I have found that 6 size B (not BB) lead shot works very well to add weight to the PennZee hoppers. Just glue one in each of the chutes. I have never found a PZ load to be glued in, though, some are tighter than others, and some stick to the paint a bit. I use a couple of pieces of thin steel shim to slide between the ends of the loads and the car. I work them up and down slowly until the load begins to move, then I alternate from end to end and gradually pry the load out. Dan S
The last couple of cylindricals (and all future ones) come with double weights in them. While most of the problems I had were caused by loose (or tight) trucks, not top-heaviness, the added weight should clear up this issue. Dan S.
Randy, I dont like use my dad's way of making things fit, which is to use more pressure. Of couse, he broke a fair amount of stuff. I like to use a hobby knive to trim it a little fist, then use a file to sand it flat. Also, the bolster pin not fitting also applied to a lot of MTL cars. For some reason the bolster pin seem bigger, and have hard time going into the bolster.
Neat idea John. I had never thought of using a truck-mounted to body mounted transition car before. I just tried to keep them all grouped with like cars, but took my chances with the transition. Randy
Hah, everyone always talks about drilling holes in the bottom of the car so I never thought of drilling a hole in the load itself. I am looking at glueing real crushed coal on the PennZee load (or replacing entirely) so the hole in the load would be covered anyway. While the PennZee load is out it might be possible to trim or shave it down some so it doesn't fit so tightly. Randy
I'm curious to see if anyone has taken the load out of a PennZee hoppers and detailed the interior of the bay as an empty car? Randy
