Lionel 97 Coal Elevator and 456 Coal Ramp

Amfleet25124OGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

To the accessories fans out there I have a question.

I know that the Lionel 456 Coal Ramp Bin is made so that it can specifically designed to work with the 397 Coal Loader, but my question is, have any of you found a way to make the 456 work with the 97 Coal Elevator? I can see from photos and the manuals for the 397 and 456 that grommets are used to raise the 456's coal bin so that it can empty out in to the 397's base.

Here is a photo of the 397/456 setup from Roberts Trains

http://www.robertstrains.com/Photo32.JPG

Other than the grommets securing the coal bin to the base (I would secure them to the tabletop), what's logistically there to prevent from using the 456's coal bin to dump into the 97's coal tray? I'm sure that there will be mess of coal around the area, but that's part of the fun.

I'm asking because I prefer 97 to the 397.

Thanks in advance.

9/3/1312:10 PM

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Mikado 4501OGR Forum Member

A friend of mine's layout (which I unfortunately didn't happen to take any photos of) had both of the accessories working together.

The way he did it was stabilize the 456's bin and posts so that they can stand by themselves. He also modified the receiving bin of the 97 so that it stays up all the time. This way the coal pours from the 456's storage bin into the receiving bin of the 97 with minimal spilled coal.

9/3/1312:38 PM

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Amfleet25124OGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

So it can be done!

Just what I wanted to hear. Thanks.