Equiping Ore cars with working bottom doors


Steve B

Firefighter
Have you ever converted a Walthers Ore car or any bottom unloader by fitting working bottom opening door's, Hornby did an ore car with opening door's, did any American firm make anything like it. I'd like to run an Ore train to an unloading dock and unload it as the real thing does. There have been articles on how to make a working loader but i have never seen a working un-loader

This is the Hornby OO gauge model, you can see the working hinged bottom door, it's designed to be slowley pulled or pushed along to do the unloading cycle

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This is how it work's, upon entering the unloader the catch on the right strikes a post releasing the door downwards alowing the contents to drop out
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Second the arm which is attached to the door get's pushed up closing the door, this is while the catch on the right is still held open
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finally the catch on the right clears the post allowing it to lock the door closed
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i think this system could be made to work on an ore car, as for a suitable material, photo etched brass would work well, a section of pipe or lift rings could be soldered on to form the door hinge with a steel wire forming the door lifting lever soldered to the door at the hinge.
How much fun would it be to drive an ore car train through an unloader watching it emptying before your eye's, great fun i recon.:D
 
There is an HO double bay hopper, I believe it was made by Tyco. It would appear that some sort of pin opened the doors to let the product fall between the rails where I asume there was a chute or means to take the coal or whatever away fromm the trucks. I have a few of them downstairs but couldn't see any mfg. marks or names on them.
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Willis
 



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