Lionel 3472 Operating Milk Car VIDEO

Very nice, I remember as a child having that on the set my dad built. I still have it but no place on my set to put it.

I'm impressed with the speed, or really lack there of, for how Mr. Milkman puts the cans on the stand.  No matter how I set it, my seems to go like a maniac.

I played with my grandpa's version as a kid. I loved that thing. You operate yours with great skill. I always had the voltage a bit too high and he unloaded them with gusto haha

I was impressed with the slow speed. My cans always seemed to launch like they were on the missile launching car.  
Did you simply reduce the voltage, or do you have some other trick?

Alan

David:

Great video and a great reminder of Lionel's creativity! I had several of them over the years and enjoyed every one!

Thanks for posting!

Stan

@BillYo414 posted:

I played with my grandpa's version as a kid. I loved that thing. You operate yours with great skill. I always had the voltage a bit too high and he unloaded them with gusto haha

The trick is don't just set the voltage and press the unload button.  To get the cans to come out smoothly you need to slowly increase the transformer voltage, then after the can comes out, slowly reduce the voltage and the man goes back in.  Do this continuously for each can.  Also, to keep the train in neutral, don't reduce the voltage all the way to zero, or the train will start to run as you bring the voltage up.

That's a great operational tip!  I have run mine with the car shell off, and the milk cans shoot out like bullets!  LOL, Thanks aging for all of your tips over the years, still planning on doing your technique on double heading vintage steamers.  Best, Dave

David;

         That is a really good idea about increasing and decreasing the voltage to get what you want. I am in the process of automating my layout with hundreds of small electronic circuits and your idea may get added to my collection of circuits. A thought I had would be to create a small circuit that would allow you to still push the button for the Milk Car but a circuit in the middle would take care of raising and lowering the voltage over an adjustable time period.

Thanks;

idea-thinker

@Former Member posted:

Lionel 3472 Automatic Refrigerated Milk Car produced 1949-1953 One version is original, the other I repainted DT&I Twin Pines (a Southeast Michigan milk distributor).

Great paint job, looks nice

Well done, David!

Peter

@idea-thinker,

If your idea comes to fruition, please post some details.

@Former Member posted:

The trick is don't just set the voltage and press the unload button.  To get the cans to come out smoothly you need to slowly increase the transformer voltage, then after the can comes out, slowly reduce the voltage and the man goes back in.  Do this continuously for each can.  Also, to keep the train in neutral, don't reduce the voltage all the way to zero, or the train will start to run as you bring the voltage up.

Dave!...

Just like your barrel car/ramp video, another winner!

Love the manipulation of voltage to achieve a more genteel, K-Line/MTHesque action.  Although I know you'd get more laughs with leaving the voltage at a can-launching level!!

Hey, I have an idea!  Arttista makes a chubby boss-like character...

Place him on the platform at the top of the stairs.  Then, have George at ITT Products make a 30-seond custom sound chip/module with some 'boss-talk', suggesting that the delivery guy pick up the pace!...Time is money!!!...deliveries behind schedule!!!...MOVE IT!!!...etc...to be played as you gradually increase the voltage!Put the speaker under the table, beneath the platform. 

KD

David,

You did a great job on the repaint, makes it look a lot better. Don't know if you use TMCC, but ERR (now Sunset 3rd Rail) has the Mini Commander HC that is used for Lionel Milk cars and allows the operator to activate the car anywhere on the layout without having to install the Lionel Activator Track.

I installed one in my Lionel Milk car and have 2 platforms on my layout. The Mini HC works great.

Guess I need to pickup another milk car and repaint it to my old home town milk supplier, Berwyn Dairy.

RAY

@Ray of sunshine,

I'm still getting up to speed on all the new electronic gizmos since the 60s.  I looked up the Mini Commander HC, and that's awesome.  I don't know, but is this able to be controlled from a Cab1-L controller connected through a Cab1-L base, or do you need a separate remote control?

@Former Member posted:

The trick is don't just set the voltage and press the unload button.  To get the cans to come out smoothly you need to slowly increase the transformer voltage, then after the can comes out, slowly reduce the voltage and the man goes back in.  Do this continuously for each can.  Also, to keep the train in neutral, don't reduce the voltage all the way to zero, or the train will start to run as you bring the voltage up.

Well how about that! I never thought of doing it that way. This must be how Lionel intended it to work.

texgeekboy and others. The Mini HC can be activated with a Cab1, Cab 1L or Legacy controller AND even the MTH DCS controller. When I first installed it, I had an MTH DCS system along with the Cab1. So I could use either the Lionel Cab1 or MTH controller to activate the Lionel Milk car.

A few years ago, I sold off my MTH DCS system and installed a Lionel Legacy Cab2 base and remote.. So now the Legacy activates the milk car.

Also, installation was a snap. Anyone can do it.

RAY

Consider getting 8 to 10 or more Lionel Postwar Operating Milk Cars so you can have a milk car unit train.

I tend to run Postwar operating cars as long trains (8 or more cars) when I have an audience.  When I do this, I put one drop of light oil on each side of each wheel where the wheel rests on the axle so the wheels glide easily and smoothly over the tubular track and through all my numerous 022 switches.

I think it's best to run long operating cars with sliding shoes by using a locomotive with speed control like an MTH Proto 3 using DCS or a Lionel Legacy or LC+ using the Universal remote or dedicated remote so the locomotive pulls the long train with sliding shoes nice and slow and evenly.

Beware of the sliding shoes getting snagged on the 022 switches which could rip off the sliding shoes. That has never happened when I have run these trains with locomotives that have speed control.

Arnold

David, great job on the repaint, even better job operating it.  Thanks for the tip.  I picked one up at a show several years ago and haven't used it yet, can't wait to try your method.

David, that is one awesome looking operating milk car with lots of metal milk cans. My way around getting the track voltage just right was trading out my old Lionel Hood's operating milk car with the old solenoid for a new Lionel 6-38252 operating milk car with the servo motor mechanism. With this one, there' no buzzing and the little man puts each can out onto the platform at just the right speed. But I like the appearance of yours better.

Interesting technique!

Along with several other Lionel classic accessories, always a challenge to get voltage just right for smoothest operation. The barrel loader is a good example.

Here's my Bosco Milk Car unloading. I have a Lionel type 'Z' transformer wired up for controlling several finicky items and it allows me to really dial in the voltage, as needed.