Postwar Operating Cars

Arnold,

Are those all operating milk cars?

I've never seen that many in a train before...

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

Arnold,

Are those all operating milk cars?

I've never seen that many in a train before...

MELGAR

Yes, Key is to have the wheels properly lubricated and to run them slow and smooth so the sliding shoes don’t get snagged on the switch tracks. This works best for me when they are pulled with a command control engine running on DCS, or Legacy or LC+ using the LionChief Universal Remote. Arnold

Do you have a platform for each milk car?

How about an operating milk car video?

MELGAR

@Arnold D. Cribari Great topic Arnold, another reason I kick my self for straying away from Lionel track. Besides not being able to run operating cars; any PW cars with solenoid type couplers are shelf Queens. I do have a horse car and a milk car on a siding.

I almost forgot about the power car that’s also stationary.

I also have several stationary cars that receive freight from operating accessories.

My first operating car was a twin bin dump car.  1st photo is the postwar version; 2nd photo is the Lionel Celebration version.  I run the cars and have operating tracks on my main lines.

I run some of them occasionally. Here are a few of my milk cars.

My first operating car was the milk car as seen in the first picture. That's me and my dad around 1950. Now I have a section on my layout that I call operation row. I have the culvert loader and unloader, lumber fork truck, sawmill, ice station, gantry crane, barrel car and thanks to help from @gunrunnerjohn I have a modern merchandising car with a mini commander installed that I can unload anywhere. I use the yard as an inglnook siding and switch cars from the mainline and back again after loading or unloading. I find the way to keep all this working is to use a TMCC accessory voltage controller. This way I program the proper voltage for each accessory and recall it with the remote.

Thanks Arnold!! Another fun topic..........

@pennsyfan posted:

@Arnold D. Cribari Great topic Arnold, another reason I kick my self for straying away from Lionel track. Besides not being able to run operating cars; any PW cars with solenoid type couplers are shelf Queens. I do have a horse car and a milk car on a siding.

Take those cars off the shelf and use them! This year (after a 12 year break) I pulled my stuff out for Christmas. I run MTH DCS, and Realtrax (no comments here about it) and I incorporated (I think Walt does also) much of my postwar stuff from the '50's. I have two coal loaders, dumping coal from the cars shown in Arnold's first video. I install the RT UCS track, works great. I have the Lionel log loader (forgot the number, green/red roof w/ the chains that lifts the log) also w/ a UCS track.

Your cattle loader and milk loader present two problems for you that I solved, and you might be able to do the same thing. The milk platform is problematic since it has that 90 degree bend on the outside edge. I have two of them. One year, I took a band saw, and sawed of the sides that interferred with the platform, and gave the MTH UCS the shape of the older O Lionel UCS track. Worked great.

Another year I decided to use an MTH UCS track, so I took a vise, put the platform outer edge in it, and bent it out flat - it fit under the UCS track. This year, I used 4 milk cars and started to put out 2 UCS setups....but then thought, "one platform on one side of the UCS track, one on the other side, and no matter which side the doors are on, the cans will leave a car, and wind up on the platform!

Unless the aux voltage to the UCS track is too high, then the cans get tossed, flip and....oh well, spilt milk! I do find that it is of importance, to use AUX transformer power to regulate the voltage to each track. Some cars need more, some less. This year, I hooked up two UCS tracks to each coal loader. Tested the loaders and the cars, all worked perfectly. Same with the log loader. New Year's Day, I had the first group over to view the train setup for 2024. (Ok, you sharp guys caught that I did NOT get the trains up for Christmas, despite starting Nov 1st. I just don't work as fast as I did 12 years ago!)

Back on topic. I used some older Lionel 1033 transformers for the UCS power, they were perfect and dumped the cars every time. EXCEPT, Jan 1st. I had to "manually" dump my loads, then run the loaders.

I figured out what happened, by now most of you have also: the cars were empty! The coal load and the logs required more power - thank you Tim Allen! Next day, I used different transformers to feed the UCS tracks, and it has all worked perfectly since. Only thing is, the milk cars are a compromise. Some dump great at the voltage I set, some don't, so I average it out instead of changing it for each car.

Like I told a parent who was watching the logs dump, "I have those features on here to entertain the kids!" He replied back, "They are great for entertaining the adults also!"

As for your horse loader, you have NO idea how many hours I have worked in the last months to get the cattle car and platform working right. See the post below!!  

I actually have a video of 5 cows that I did manage to get to leave the platform, enter the car, and exit the car - TWICE, before one of them keeled over. Maybe one day soon, I will post it.

Your horse loader is MUCH easier to master, by the time the got to the horses, Lionel saw that no sides on the tray in the car, let the cows tip and die. Inside your horse car, the sides are high to prevent this. They also made the sides on the "corral" high enough to hold them up. You should have no problem getting yours to work...if you try the following.

I don't have a horse loader, but if it works like the cattle, there is the corral/pen and on the Lionel track the cows have two slabs of metal that make contact to the shoe on the car. The car/pen tie to either the track voltage, OR a separate power source. I think the best way to get the cattle car to work, is to use a separate power supply for the track/car and one for the pen! A single power source for the cattle means high voltage to get the car to work right, equals too much voltage for the pen...the cows practically pole vault off of the pen/corral.

After I take my layout down, I am going to test that theory. I found that the UCS track will operate the car, and another power supply can operate the pen...two voltages for two uses. You may not have to go that far with horses, but most of us have had no luck getting those stupid cows to cooperate! (Maybe they just don't want to ride the rails to the slaughter house!!??)

HOWEVER - IF you really want to use Lionel O/O27 track, MTH made adapters to fit them to realtrax. Lionel probably did also. I used them this year, next year I am using UCS MTH, if I am here to put trains up next year!

At any rate, sorry for the length, but I want you to entertain some young'uns with those operating cars.!! You will have a blast. They are well worth the money and aggravation, once you get them to work. I am sure you can do it.

Best of luck, Greg

COWS.... https://ogrforum.com/topic/acc...2#188804206121794852

MILK PLATFORMS. on the left, I can get you better pict if you want it.

Noisiest thing you will ever install:

LOG AND CATTLE LOADER, early on. The American Flyer coal tower at far end.

I forgot that I had the operating cattle car and corral as a child, still have it,  but not on the layout. As an adult I acquired the operating horse car and pen, but that’s also not on the layout.

Melgar, I have 2 milk platforms, one of which is on the layout. Will try to shoot a video of the postwar operating milk car in action, and post it later, but it’s a bit of a juggling act to do that because I use my smartphone camera to make my videos.

I agree it would be great to post videos showing the operating postwar cars in action.

I’m glad that many of you folks find this thread to be entertaining.

Arnold

Here’s are 2 different postwar operating log loaders in action dumping logs from one loader into the other, and then into a postwar operating log dump car:

Arnold

This one’s for Melgar:

75% spilled milk, 25% delivered in good shape:

LOL, Arnold

Love my operating cars……they get run from time to time…..

The original operating car was the 3444 Animated Gondola……..from 1958……

From Christmas 1959….the 3661 Lumber Unloader and the 3435 Aquarium Car

Followed by the Operating Fireman & Ladder Car, the Minuteman Missile Car and the Reconnaissance Copter Car

After I got back into trains, more operating cars followed, like the Milk Car(s), Dump Cars and Barrel Cars

Great thread, Arnold!

Peter

Oops! How could I forget these guys? Though, they no longer bounce up and down……

Have a great and safe week, everyone!

Peter

MTH Railking  PS2 Jersey Central 0-6-0 steamer hauling freshly lubed postwar Lionel operating coal/ore dump cars, coal cars and Jersey Central caboose through passing siding:

Arnold

So glad that I am not the only one, and that so many of you "operate" the operating cars. Impressive photos! Greg

I have several operating cars.  The only one I run regularly is the 3662 milk car because it fits in well with scale cars.  My only tip is I have the blades wired independently from track power.

@Pup - I have never heard of this (I'm DCS).  What a beneficial feature!!!!!

- walt

I find the way to keep all this working is to use a TMCC accessory voltage controller. This way I program the proper voltage for each accessory and recall it with the remote.

@Bill N posted:

I have several operating cars.  The only one I run regularly is the 3662 milk car because it fits in well with scale cars.  My only tip is I have the blades wired independently from track power.

That seems to be one of the "secrets" to getting most of them to work properly. Power can be set on an individual basis. See my post on that  stinking cattle loader. And even each milk car can require a different optimal voltage to reduce spilt milk.

Greg

I’ve had so much spilled milk over the years that now I like it.

@Putnam Division posted:

Oops! How could I forget these guys? Though, they no longer bounce up and down……

Have a great and safe week, everyone!

Peter

So technically they are not operating cars. 😂

I incorporated my Hood's operating milk car (my Grandfather designed the Cow Logo for Hood's Milk Co, the black & white artwork on the milk bottle and orange milk car is original artwork of the Hood's cow.) into a Hood's milk factory and milk car unloading facility. The factory fits nicely in its corner space and the milk unloading platforms are easily accessible right up front of my layout. The orange Hood's Milk car is custom made from a Lionel tinplate tender and runs with my custom painted Lionel #259 passenger set.

Two different Lionel postwar log dump cars in action:

Arnold

Postwar operating log dump car unit train led by an MTH Railking Proto 3 Great Northern diesel switcher (I think it’s a VO1000):

@pennsyfan posted:

So technically they are not operating cars. 😂

Great video......

My guys..............well, true, their heads don't go up and down, but they are operating........... I still have to sweep out the cars after each run!

Peter

  Postwar operating cars used sliding shoes or rollers for power pickup. Often you will find the wires with cracked and brittle or worn insulation and in need of replacement. If I have to replace the wire, I will first install a rubber grommet (see Amazon) in the hole in the car floor for the wire to pass through so that the edges of the hole will not cut into the wire insulation and cause a short.     Earl G. 

MY first operating car was the American Flyer cattle car.

@Putnam Division posted:

Great video......

My guys..............well, true, their heads don't go up and down, but they are operating........... I still have to sweep out the cars after each run!

Peter

😂

My coaling operation started with a #97 Lionel Coal Elevator which I covered with Poly Styrene and added a storage   bin and shoot to load Cardine Coal Co. trucks. HO Tyco engines and coal hoppers enter the coal mine empty and come out with a full load of coal. Coal is also delivered by train on the upper level and dumped into the shoot to the coal elevator where it can be loaded on to another Lionel dump car.

@Gene magg those are great scenes! Thanks for sharing.