Weaver 3 Bay Hopper Coal Load

@coach joe posted:

I couldn't find a Weaver load at a reasonable price I took the advice of my fellow members and made my own.  I had some black aquarium gravel on hand, it's not quite as angular as the  coal of the manufactured load but I'm pleased with the result and don't believe it ill stand out in a coal train.  Homemade load to the rear of the first two photos and to the right of the third.

Joe,  Did you pour the gravel or did you fabricate a flat base and add 'coal'?  Did you use any adheasive?  Your load looks good to me.  John

Very nice job on the coal load Coach!!

I'm a big fan of making my own coal loads.  I have a 26 car coal train and I like each individual load to be unique ... although I do have some duplicates, I space out those duplicate loads when running this train.  Eventually I plan to replace all the duplicate loads with individual loads that I have created.  

I used a flat base then added "coal".  I lined the hopper with plastic wrap to protect it, put the base in, added "coal", didn't make a heap or piles because the other loads were basically flat, sprayed it with wet water then poured on the 50/50 white glue/water mix.  This was actually the first time I used that method for anything.  I gave it a good soaking.  Several hours later the coal on top was still loose so I gave it another soaking.  The next day the load seemed solid so it was time to remove it to take the plastic out.  As I lifted the load out glue mix started running to one end of the load and on to my work table.  Off to the sink to remove the plastic and let the excess glue out.  Luckily the load was firm enough to withstand this operation.  Anew piece of plastic wrap and back into the hopper, I didn't want the coal to have room to start spreading out.  24 hours later the bottom of the load was still tacky but the coal seemed solid so I left the load out of the hopper, upside down to allow the glue to finish drying.  As I said this was the first time of done the 50/50 mix so I don't know if it normally takes that long to dry, I added to much because the top was still loose, the plastic wrap increased drying time or if my mix should have been more glue less water.

Joe,

I know you answered a similar question earlier but what did you use for the base?

Dave

@coach joe posted:

The other day I posted this photo in Buy Anything Cool Lately.

I have 3 other Weaver Alaska Basic Industries 3 bay hoppers and they all came with coal loads.  I mentioned that I was looking for a Weaver coal load so that this hopper would match the others.  Several members recommended making my own as it is not hard.  I was worried that a homemade load may be obviously different than the manufactured loads.  Since I couldn't find a Weaver load at a reasonable price I took the advice of my fellow members and made my own.  I had some black aquarium gravel on hand, it's not quite as angular as the  coal of the manufactured load but I'm pleased with the result and don't believe it ill stand out in a coal train.  Homemade load to the rear of the first two photos and to the right of the third.

Joe, IMO the homemade load looks more realistic, great job! The aquarium epoxy coated black gravel did the trick! The real gravel will add weight to the hopper too.

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

Joe, IMO the homemade load looks more realistic, great job! The aquarium epoxy coated black gravel did the trick! The real gravelwill add weight to the hopper too.

True, but unfortunately near the top making the car a bit top-heavy.

Looks great. I have some Weaver GM&O hoppers that need coal. I have done coal "loads" before - but only in tenders.

@luvindemtrains posted:

Joe,

I know you answered a similar question earlier but what did you use for the base?

Dave

I was going to use black foam core poster board.  I remembered seeing one some where that was double thickness which would have been just right.  I went to Michaels and it wasn't there that I had seen it so I was going to buy the regular black and double up But at $8 a sheet I balked because Walmart has it for $3.  But I found black craft foam sheets.  A closed cell foam about 1/8" thick so I gave that a try.  Even though I doubled up on it I was worried it may be too flexible and sag under the weight of the gravel.  It was a tight fit and once I placed the gravel the way I wanted it didn't seem to sag.  Once the glue dried the whole thing was pretty solid so I don't think I'll have any problems. When I removed the load to discard the plastic wrap the foam had sagged but it must have happened before I added the gravel because the top of the load hasn't sagged.  That's kinda long winded but I would prefer the foam core in the future to eliminate any worries.

@PRRMP54 posted:

True, but unfortunately near the top making the car a bit top-heavy.

Even though the load added sufficient weight you are correct it was near the top so I added some extra tire weights down discharge hatches for balance.

Patrick I understand the desirability of individuality I was just worried that I wouldn't find a coal that would be similar to the other loads rendering my load the sore thumb.  The aquarium gravel worked well and is close enough.  I've three or four of those Lionel traditional size 2 bay hoppers that need loads so I won't hesitate.

Thank you all for your compliments.

Great thread !!!

Thank you to all posters !!!