Brennan's "real"coal load.

Very nice job. Looks good.

B&M, looks great.

Yes, I'll bet you're happy you went with real coal.

Chris what size did you end up using? #3 ?

Yes Dennis suggested #3 so I went with that.  I'm very pleased with the results.

Chris

Nice job, all my coal hoppers have been modified that way, it makes a real difference

Steve

It makes a big difference Steve. If I find any more cars like it I'll do the same thing to them.

What an improvement!  Real coal in the correct size makes all the difference, nicely done.

Hello Chris, looks great.

I made the same kind of coal loads but I did mine the hard way.

 

I was working in a coal mine near Delano PA and I happen to pickup few nice lumps of Anthercite coal that were laying along the haul road.

 

I brought the coal home and washed it in the laundry tub and then let it dry overnight.

 

I wrapped one lump of coal at a time in an old bath towel and smashed the lump into small bits (this was the worse part)

Once smashed up I used different size kitchen colanders that I bought at a couple different dollar store to separate the different sizes of coal.

 

Once I did this I basically ended up with three sizes of coal.

 

The larger lumps I made a couple of coal loads that looked line mine run coal.

The finer coal I made coal loads so it look like processed coal.

 

I had some coal that was in between the sizes so I covered my tender tops on my MTH steam engines that have just the plastic fake looking molded coal load and covered the tender tops with this medium size coal.

I used  Woodland Scenics Hob- B- Tac Glue for the adhesive.

 

Two of my tenders on my MTH Railking Pennsy I1A I put down the first coat and let it dry overnight

 

Then I applied more adhesive in the center of each coal load and built up the center of the coal load so it looked like the holster wanted every pound of coal he could pack into the tender. 

 

I am out on the road but when I get home I will send you some pictures.

 

Again nice job !!!

Yes, they sure look real.  I did not have this info when I did coal loads in my hoppers.  So I went to my local pet store and bought charcoal that is used in fish tank filters.  I washed it and it looks pretty good also.

 

What I did is first is on the smooth flat sides that come in contact with the car I masked them with painters tape. I brushed on white glue on the plastic load then added the coal.  I let it dry a bit then mixed some water,glue and a little dish detergent"For water tension" then put the glue mix over it with a sponge round brush dabbing it on.  I let it dry then removed the tape and cleaned up the edge.

Hey Chris, the painters tape on the side is a good idea.

Save some clean up time for sure.

 

I will try that on the next round of loads.

 

One thing nice about it the excess coal that comes off the coal load can be reused on the next coal load so there really is no waste.

Here's the real thing near Minersville, PA. This conveyor carries coal across a highway.

Chris, how are you adding your photos? They don't enlarge to get a close look.

 

One thing I noticed about anthracite is that it fractures. I didn't think it looked lumpy enough like the bituminous that they used for the steamers.

 

They definitely hauled a lot of it for use elsewhere. Looks great in the hoppers.

Try double clicking on the image.  It works on my IPad. 

Posting Pictures

Anthracite was used by several railroads out east since it comes from PA. The Lackawanna advertised it because it burns cleaner:"The Route of Phoebe Snow"

 

This thread seems to be for those modelers that want real coal. I think it looks good but the plastic loads in the MTH hopper cars also look good to me. For model coal to look like home heating coal it would have to be smaller than 1/32 of an inch. Steam engine coal would need to be 1/16" long. Point is that its difficult to notice detail that small.

I don't know. A lot of you guy's know way more about coal than me. I just like the look of the real coal better than the K-Line plastic load. I'm not that fussy about it.  To each his own I guess.

The most common anthracite coal was chestnut; it ranged in size from about a 1/2" to 1". There were many other sizes, both larger and smaller. Several guys have stated that they use Black Beauty, and some have said that real coal can oxidize. I've lived in northeast Pa for almost 60 years, and have not seen this happen,

I use the finest Black Beauty, as it represents the common chestnut size. The only drawback is that there are various bits of white and red material mixed in, along with tubular bits that I remove.

Chris, is your coal placed loose in the hopper, or glued? It looks good.

Don

 

 

 

Nice job Chris. The real coal looks much better than the plastic coal load. I want to update my MTH coal hoppers with real coal. The plastic load doesn't look right to me. Thanks for posting you helped me make a decision on my own hoppers.

The hoppers I had from John Armstrong had real coal loads and they were also loose in the car.

The one ore car I have has real iron ore in it as well - seriously heavy.

Chris,

I missed the post where you described how you put the coal onto the plastic load. Disregard my question.

Don

Can you post pics of the ore load? I'd like to see what real ore looks like in a model.

Don

I grew up in Hazleton, Pa. and we had all kinds of Anthracite coal at our disposal.  I used rice coal.  Put it in a baggie and use a rolling pin or a hammer and break it down to a finer size.  Take a piece of half inch ridged foam board (pink or blue or green) cut it to fit the inside of your hopper about a half inch below the top of hopper.  Use white glue and adhere coal to it then the half water white glue mix to finalize after you attain height you are looking for.  Very easy and inexpensive. If you want it to look like Bituminous Coal, spray paint with flat black.  

If I can locate it in my inventory database, yes.  There should be photos there already.....

Not too surprising - I do recall that it's rusty,

As others have said, coal comes in various sizes related to its use. I offer 5 sizes of Real Anthracite Coal. Sizes 1 and 2 are used for home heating and industrial respectively. #3 looks good in hopper cars and is what I call Mine run. #s 4 & 5 work well in operating accessories.

Dennis,

On your website product page, I see ballast, fence, supplies, etc. but not coal.

Please select "Natural Ground Cover"  It's the first listing.

Dennis,

I found the coal. How much is in 1 order? I need enough for 12 hoppers.

Hi Pat,

 

I sell it by volume. Are you covering a plastic coal insert? If so, one bag should easily cover 12 hoppers.   

Thanks Dennis.

Pat. The bag in my photo was $8 or $9 and I have plenty more for other projects. I took a cover from a box and sprinkled the coal in that so I can reuse the extra loose coal. 

It makes me smile when a picture is taken of a train car that needs re-railing. ☺

 

 --Joe

I hadn't even noticed that.  Of course, I also haven't noticed derailed cars in photos I myself have submitted.

Chris,

Thanks for the info. I ordered the coal from Brennan. Dennis if very nice to talk to on the phone. I have very positive expectations for this order. Thanks again Chris and Dennis for your help and advice.