Putting A Real Coal Load in My Legacy PRR S-2 and TMCC T-1

Wow Nice work Lee, It looks great!

That doesn't look bad at all Lee, I had my doubts about doing that to those engines. But it looks good. I read your thread earlier about your doing this and thought to myself he's gonna' ruin them. lol

Big improvement and well worth it!

I have a couple I want to do, that looks like a pretty easy mod, and it looks great as well!  You've given me the incentive to take the plunge.

 

Lee, fabulous work!!!  THAT's the way locomotives/tenders of that caliber should have been delivered from the factory.

 

David

Looks great!

 

I have also used Aquarium filter charcoal with very good results.  Like you I broke it up to smaller chunks and sifted it to be more of a realistic size.  I also brushed on glue but when that dried I also used an eye dropper to put on a 50/50 mix of glue and water with a drop of dish detergent the same way as you would do ballast.  Since they get handled more then yours it was a way to really secure the coal load. 

Good idea with the second coat of glue, I may do that as well.

Looking great

That looks great Lee! Terry

Great job, This looks easy! Did you wash the coal before you put it on the glue.

Pat

www.patstrains.com

No. I thought about if I should and decidced it might change the appearance and I had no proof it would improve anything.

Very nice Pic-toral   Thanks for posting  Mike

Lee,

 

Nice work and an excellent "how to do it pictorial".

 

You should write articles on this stuff.

 

Paul

Lee

 

Nice work.

Great Idea and Tutorial Lee!

If you're looking for real coal, I have it in 5 different sizes.

Another great idea from Lee.

You're truly amazing. I would never have thought to to it like that?!

 

Gilly

 

The "cheezy"coal load's never bothered me, but I gotta say that does look much better.

Jim

This should be an article in the magazine, excellent work Lee. 

All of the above Lee, now email those pictures to Lionel asking them what the.....?

 

That dries completely clear, then, I assume?

 

Nice work, Lee!

Yes nice and clear.  

I use a touch of Isopropyl Alcohol in the 50/50 glue mix, it appears to do the same thing as the dish detergent for ballast, hopefully it'll work here too.

 

That absolutely works just fine. The alcohol/ballast glue was included in the detailed instructions I had provided in Lee's first posting on the subject. If you actually run your locomotive, the ballast glue as an additional step really helps to keep things secure. For a shelf queen, hair spray is enough to keep things in place.

 

Here's a PE Tender with the coal load I added....

 

 

One thing has always struck me about the coal loads on our models.  The tender is always filled to the brim, it's like we're always just starting that leg of the journey, we never seem to get to use any coal.   Has anyone modeled a tender with a lot less coal?  I realize your electronics won't fit, just wondering.

 

John,
I have had the same thought. Lionel must have room to do a half load. They modeled the big boy with a removable coal load so you could see the auger.

In my Legacy 0-8-0 there is plenty of room to do this.  I really would love to do this but I am not a good enough scratch builder to do this on my own yet.  

I have a number of steam locomotive models that have the tender coal pile "dug-out" towards the front of the coal bunker of the tender. Thus it looks like the stoker has been eating away at the front of the coal pile, just as with a real locomotive.

 

Depending on the space available inside the tender necessary for the electronics, the forward portion of the tender can be opened up, and used as a lowered coal pile space.

Got any pictures of what you did with those?

 

Lee, you can't get more realistic looking than using real coal.  It looks super.  Thanks for all the photos and narrative.

Thank you, TrainsRMe, and everyone who commented.  A couple of points:

 

1) I experimented with a diluted wash of white glue painted/dribbled over the coal.  It does dry clear.  But my experience was that it played with the sheen of the coal, dulling it a little.  I decided to forego its use because I wanted the sheen and felt the coal would stick well enough (if barely) without.

 

2) I am content to model coal loads as "full."  I understand the concept of modeling a partial load, but frankly any representation of a coal load is of the tender at only one specific moment: they varied from full when the loco left the coaling station to near-empty right before re-fueling.  You can't do better with a static model than model some state between full and empty.  Hmmm, which brings up a point I will post separately.

Very Very Nice, Thanks

That's a really nice how-to Lee.

Thanks for posting.

I have a couple that I think I will try my hand at, likley using aquarium charcoal as was suggested.

One question; why is that beautiful 3759 Northern sitting on the shelf?

That baby needs to be out on the line.

 

Rod

Because I have a 3751, too, and have to alternate.  Fantastic loco.  I run one one week, another the next, then switch out for the V challenger, then back.   I love 'em.

Given Lee's history of having his models attacked by the stuff he puts on them, has anyone looked into the corrosive properties of real coal?

Lee,

 

Wondering if you could have used a rolling pin to crush that original coal after placement in a plastic bag?  Or, do you think the coal is too hard for that approach?

 

Chuck

Not only that, wait until it starts to oxidize and then turns to white ash!

I have it on good authority that it's supposed to oxidize in the burner in the locomotive, not in the tender!