Faux Snow to Faux Coal

One note:  Those are styrofoam, so only use a water-based acrylic paint to paint 'em.  Your basic rattlecan enamel will melt 'em owing to the solvent-based paint...  

I also would not bother painting the entire batch of "coal";  rather, cut load bases out of thin cardboard to the size of your hoppers, cement an uneven layer of "coal" to that and then paint it for a nice coal effect.  

Hope this helps!  Always fun to see someone thinking outside the box!  

Mitch

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

One note:  Those are styrofoam, so only use a water-based acrylic paint to paint 'em.  Your basic rattlecan enamel will melt 'em owing to the solvent-based paint...  

I also would not bother painting the entire batch of "coal";  rather, cut load bases out of thin cardboard to the size of your hoppers, cement an uneven layer of "coal" to that and then paint it for a nice coal effect.  

Hope this helps!  Always fun to see someone thinking outside the box!  

Mitch

Appreciate the advice on the paint to use for painting the snow! As for the cardboard, I'd rather stay away from any and all things sharp because I do not want to cut myself. Thanks though!

A friend of mine bought actual coal lumps from Ebay, washed and crushed it into bits small enough to make his own hopper loads. I believe he glued them to a Styrofoam base covered with white glue.

Here is a listing for a 2-pound box of anthracite coal

---PCJ

Here is a link to a youtube video I made showing how I make my coal loads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tnsjd-KDPWI

RailRide posted:

A friend of mine bought actual coal lumps from Ebay, washed and crushed it into bits small enough to make his own hopper loads. I believe he glued them to a Styrofoam base covered with white glue.

Here is a listing for a 2-pound box of anthracite coal

---PCJ

Real crushed coal looks much better than the molded plastic loads mfrs. provide.  Boy that's a long trip from the Anthracite fields of Eastern PA down to Arkansas then to the end-user.  There should be NO complaining about the higher MSRP of newly cataloged engines when the calculated price of that ebay anthracite nut grade coal is going for $11,450 per ton delivered.  Probably the true shipping coast is more than the value of the chunks of coal.

Last year I found an old coal delivery receipt from around the late 1960's to 1970 and IIRC we paid $45 for 2 tons of rice coal delivered and the coal man not only delivered the coal but also would go into the coal bin and stack the retaining boards that held the coal in place to allow room to later shovel coal into the furnace's hopper/stoker chute.  My grandparents home burned nut (basement furnace and kitchen stove that combined w/ a gas oven) and I think nut was cheaper than rice.  At $11K per ton, we'd likely go cold and hungry.

I'd be hesitant to use the faux snow to make coal loads because of it's electrical charge and the uniformity of the balls.

If you're concerned about cardboard, take some 1/2" - 1" foam board and cut it in pieces equal to the width and length of your hopper(s). Buy some aquarium gravel or try some kitty litter. Put glue on each foam board (spray adhesive works well) and sprinkle with the gravel or litter so that the entire piece of foam is covered. Paint it satin black. When dry, press the foam board into the hopper and you're done - easy peasy. 

Richie C. posted:

I'd be hesitant to use the faux snow to make coal loads because of it's electrical charge and the uniformity of the balls.

If you're concerned about cardboard, take some 1/2" - 1" foam board and cut it in pieces equal to the width and length of your hopper(s). Buy some aquarium gravel or try some kitty litter. Put glue on each foam board (spray adhesive works well) and sprinkle with the gravel or litter so that the entire piece of foam is covered. Paint it satin black. When dry, press the foam board into the hopper and you're done - easy peasy. 

Appreciate the advice, but I would rather make do with what I have. I...simply don't trust myself with a knife or any of that pointy stuff. I know Mr. Mitchell Marmell above said acrylic paint but I am still on the fence about what to use, are there more options for painting utensils?

Also, what tools could I use to subdue the electrical charge or is that unchangeable?

Keystone posted:

RailRide posted:

A friend of mine bought actual coal lumps from Ebay, washed and crushed it into bits small enough to make his own hopper loads. I believe he glued them to a Styrofoam base covered with white glue.

Here is a listing for a 2-pound box of anthracite coal

---PCJ

Real crushed coal looks much better than the molded plastic loads mfrs. provide.  Boy that's a long trip from the Anthracite fields of Eastern PA down to Arkansas then to the end-user.  There should be NO complaining about the higher MSRP of newly cataloged engines when the calculated price of that ebay anthracite nut grade coal is going for $11,450 per ton delivered.  Probably the true shipping coast is more than the value of the chunks of coal.

Last year I found an old coal delivery receipt from around the late 1960's to 1970 and IIRC we paid $45 for 2 tons of rice coal delivered and the coal man not only delivered the coal but also would go into the coal bin and stack the retaining boards that held the coal in place to allow room to later shovel coal into the furnace's hopper/stoker chute.  My grandparents home burned nut (basement furnace and kitchen stove that combined w/ a gas oven) and I think nut was cheaper than rice.  At $11K per ton, we'd likely go cold and hungry.

As much as I would like to use the real coal I do NOT want to make a mess. Plus, I kinda want to keep my N&W hoppers clean ^^;

Quote: "One thing I should mention: I do NOT want to use anything that involves cutting and sharp & pointy objects. I don't trust myself with cutting utensils and all that pointy stuff because I fear that I will puncture something that shouldn't be punctured."  I don't blame ya', I don't think I would trust you either.

Quote: "Appreciate the advice, but I would rather make do with what I have. I...simply don't trust myself with a knife or any of that pointy stuff. I know Mr. Mitchell Marmell above said acrylic paint but I am still on the fence about what to use, are there more options for painting utensils?" Pay no attention to Mitch, he don't know what he's talking about.  You could try flat latex house paint and applying it by finger painting.  Water cleanup, nice and easy.

Quote: "Also, what tools could I use to subdue the electrical charge or is that unchangeable?"  Dryer sheets have an anti-static additive.  Get a box of sheets from your mom, strip down to your skivvies, and wipe yourself down with them.  Also, get some 16 or 18 gauge stranded automotive electrical wire.  Frequently available in 25' rolls or thereabouts.  Unroll and Strip 6~8" from one end and wrap around your wrist.  Strip 2~3" from the other end and wrap around a convenient exposed piece of copper water line.  This should help dissipate any static electrical charge, plus give you up to 25' of mobility.  If 25' roll not long enough, get longer roll, or splice shorter rolls together as required.

Quote: "As much as I would like to use the real coal I do NOT want to make a mess. Plus, I kinda want to keep my N&W hoppers clean ^^; "  Smart man.  Forget the messy real coal, and go with the fake foam beads.  Once you are done painting, let it dry overnight.  Once dry, no mess - can't beat that!

Hope these suggestions help.  

Before you bother with paint, see if your local Dollar Tree has floral sand in black. Ours has two sizes, coarse and fine. Fine is about like half-inch power plant feed and coarse would be small lump coal. It even has the right satin shine to it for bituminous. If you want anthracite, a spray-on gloss coat would also help keep it stuck down to your underpayment.

I use black rock from the aquarium/fish store. Cut a Styrofoam insert to fill most of the hopper and put a layer of fish tank pebbles on top