Atlas O 5161 Trinity hoppers

They are on the light side, but without dismantling the cars, or using stick on weights on the outside of the underbody, I'm not sure there is much you can do.  Maybe gluing some buckshot inside the car if you can even get enough in to the car.

I don't have one in front of me but it sounds like you are going to run these cars and so the resale value will be less .That said one can always drill a hole in the car bottom or through a hatch way if they are removable and add beans, rice, or sand to bring the model up to your desired weight. I did that with a few HO models in years past.

I have to check mine, but if Atlas built them similar to the 4427 covered hoppers, there's a seam running between the car sides and the roof which snaps out. The trick is you need to be careful of the ends of the cars so as not to damage ladders or connections to the roof walks. If the hatches open, another option is to just pour in some BB's or fine lead shot, then dribble in some white glue to hold everything in place.

AGHRMatt posted:

I have to check mine, but if Atlas built them similar to the 4427 covered hoppers, there's a seam running between the car sides and the roof which snaps out. The trick is you need to be careful of the ends of the cars so as not to damage ladders or connections to the roof walks. If the hatches open, another option is to just pour in some BB's or fine lead shot, then dribble in some white glue to hold everything in place.

Atlas screwed up with the roof hatches on their Trinity 5161 hoppers. The hatches do open BUT there is no access to the hoppers insides.

It makes no sense to me why Atlas did that. Their  PS 4427 covered hoppers have hollow insides that allow access down to the bays at the bottom of the car. If the Trinity hoppers were made the same way, I'd put small weights inside the bays and glue them in.

Curtis1983 posted:

AGHRMatt posted:

I have to check mine, but if Atlas built them similar to the 4427 covered hoppers, there's a seam running between the car sides and the roof which snaps out. The trick is you need to be careful of the ends of the cars so as not to damage ladders or connections to the roof walks. If the hatches open, another option is to just pour in some BB's or fine lead shot, then dribble in some white glue to hold everything in place.

Atlas screwed up with the roof hatches on their Trinity 5161 hoppers. The hatches do open BUT there is no access to the hoppers insides.

It makes no sense to me why Atlas did that. Their  PS 4427 covered hoppers have hollow insides that allow access down to the bays at the bottom of the car. If the Trinity hoppers were made the same way, I'd put small weights inside the bays and glue them in.

Can you drill small holes and add ballast inside that way?

BobbyD posted:

Curtis1983 posted:

AGHRMatt posted:

I have to check mine, but if Atlas built them similar to the 4427 covered hoppers, there's a seam running between the car sides and the roof which snaps out. The trick is you need to be careful of the ends of the cars so as not to damage ladders or connections to the roof walks. If the hatches open, another option is to just pour in some BB's or fine lead shot, then dribble in some white glue to hold everything in place.

Atlas screwed up with the roof hatches on their Trinity 5161 hoppers. The hatches do open BUT there is no access to the hoppers insides.

It makes no sense to me why Atlas did that. Their  PS 4427 covered hoppers have hollow insides that allow access down to the bays at the bottom of the car. If the Trinity hoppers were made the same way, I'd put small weights inside the bays and glue them in.

Can you drill small holes and add ballast inside that way?

That might be the solution. Thanks for that idea.

As Matt suggested, I have used BBs and a 50-50 mix of white glue and water with some success on these and other hoppers and tank cars. You can drill a small hole under one or more of the openable hatches right through to the interior. Then add BBs - I bought the ones that come in a bottle with a funnel top that really helps get them in there. But I would still do it over a tray as the little buggers can escape pretty easily! Then squeeze in some glue until the overall weight is what you want. Then shake the car end to end and side to side until the C of G is right in the centre of the car. You'll know when you have enough glue because the BBs will stop rattling.   

I found it best to just use regular water, not "wet water" like you might for scenery use, in the glue so it doesn't find ways to leak out so easily. If it does leak, just clean off, put masking tape over the seam until the glue dries then it will plug itself.