Which cars used sliding shoes to operate accessories?

Rich,

The operating milk cars, the side dump coal cars, all of the early post war freight cars that had electro-couplers.

Mike

Rich: Sounds like a Lionel post-war operating milk car would be a good choice for your application.  You could easily replace the car body with a box car-type body to enclose your sound unit.  All of the various post-war versions used sliding shoes to activate the milk can unloading mechanism.  But stay away from the earliest version, #3462, because the sliding shoe also opens the couplers when activated.  The good ones would be the 3472, 3482 and the larger 3662.  Of course the #3672 Bosco car would also work but you won’t want to pay the premium for that car to “plunder”!  The 3472’s are a dime a dozen at train shows.

There have been modern milk car remakes none of which I’ve ever owned but chances are they use sliding shoes, too.

HTH,

Bill 

What about the old American Flyer way and play the sound from a hidden speaker as the train passes by? Then you would only need an insulated track.

I happen to have a post war milk car that is empty inside, but does have the trucks with slider shoes.  I believe its a 3472.  If you're interested I can dig it out and send you some pics.

Actually, cars with shoes are pretty easy to find. Not only all the operating cars, but any early post war car with coil couplers had them.

Once you've built the car, you might consider putting DC voltage to your activation blades, then connect the DC ground to the outside rail. I'm assuming that your car will contain electronic sounds that need DC anyway. Otherwise you could use track power with a rectifier and a voltage regulator to power it.

Problem with those shows is that they foul on some many switches.  Consider placing a microswitch or a copper leaf near the outside rail, to be activated by the wheel flange.

I agree with the part about the shoes being problematic, but I'm a little sketchy on the micro switch by the track concept if the sound unit is on the car.

Now if there was a reed switch on the bottom of the car, you could scatter activation magnets anywhere. That would work very nicely.

May an old HO guy chime in here with a question about the shoes?  I am new to operating cars, and bought a couple that have shoes and the rest have center activating coils.  What is the difference between how they work and how the center activating coils work?  Does each type need a different type of operating track section to activate?  So I guess that is two questions.   

Thanks!!

I mis read the original post.  Thought he wanted to have the recording play lineside.

The reed switch idea is a good one.  Use uncoupling tracks to activate.  Use trucks with center pickup rollers (or a battery powered music box). You can use a time-delay relay to power an electronic music system, or a latching relay to toggle it on and off.

Not sure what you mean by "center coil" Mark. I think you are referring to magnetic activation plungers that are found on modern log and coal dump cars and operating box cars. Those are all spring loaded, single use, and then have to be reset.

The ones that use shoes, take their power from control rails on special track sections.

Elliot,

Thank you for responding.

Yes that's what I'm referring to, magnetic activating plungers.  No wonder my employer picked me of all their electronics engineers to put out to pasture a couple months ago.  lol  

So on say my newer log car, I have an operating track and push button.  It drops the logs then goes back into position.  What happens on the barrel car that is in excellent shape that I bought that has the shoe?  I haven't even tried to operate them yet.

As an aside, the fools at the company gave me a nice severance package, pension, retirement gift card (which I promptly went to Mercer Junction Train Shoppe and spent), then brought me back as a contractor on special 'integration project'.  I could be on that a couple years.  Go figure.   

Mark,

The shoes on the barrel car activate the coil which vibrates the metal ramp making the wooden barrels move towards the unloading platform where the blue man stands and then either into a black #160 bin or on to the #364 barrel ramp. They can be activated by either a USC, RCS or the special OTC-1 with the 2 rail clips and a momentary button #90. I have several.

Mike

Most of the early post war had the slide shoe feature. You could easily take the truck assembly and swap it to another freight car. You will need the five rail uncoupling track to use with it.

Lee Fritz

Mike, Rich,

Thank you very much.

Your comments plus a comment from c.demille in an email ve got my thinking right.  Now I need to go home and take a look at what I have.  ;-)