Nee help on scrap loads

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I have been looking at several empty gondolas and wondering what I can do for these. I was looking at Hay's Brothers loads and not entirely impressed. Maybe it's the way they paint them? They just look like brown blobs.

I am looking to model bailed scrap, bulk metal scrap and shredded metal scrap. I have no idea how to model this. Any ideas?

[CBQ Fan]

I have been looking at several empty gondolas and wondering what I can do for these. I was looking at Hay's Brothers loads and not entirely impressed. Maybe it's the way they paint them? They just look like brown blobs.

I am looking to model bailed scrap, bulk metal scrap and shredded metal scrap. I have no idea how to model this. Any ideas?

Have you ever seen Hayes Bro’s in person?  I have quite a few and am quite pleased. You could always weather and detail them a bit.

[Jim Starbuck]

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Keith Kohlmann did this for me and it’s one of my favorite cars.
The scrap metal load is actual metal.
The story goes his old Toyota in the driveway is rusty enough to have metal flaking off of it. I think he just swept some up and crunched it in his hand to create N scale scrap pieces.
Cover the car loosely with kitchen plastic wrap then tuck it down into the car. Pile your scrap, rock, sawdust or whatever you want to use for the load into the car and when you’re satisfied with the shape, eye dropper in diluted white glue to hold it all together. When dry lift the load out of the car by the plastic wrap and you should have a nicely shaped load that fits the car.

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I’ve use this technique using metal shavings from a band saw. I fit a block of balsa wood in the car under the piles of shavings to keep the weight down. After the glue dried I lightly brushed it to remove any loose pieces to avoid anything falling out onto the layout. You can also spray it with Dulcote to seal it.

Hope this helps.

Jim

[IAIS513]

If you have a metal shop near you go ask for some metal shavings. I got some and put them in some water and alcohol anlet them sit for a week and rust. then put them in the gondola and coated them with deluted white glue.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Have you ever seen Hayes Bro’s in person?  I have quite a few and am quite pleased. You could always weather and detail them a bit.

This is exactly what I was going to say. They're really good and I bet a little weathering and detail painting will go a long way.

[mu26aeh]

I have a few Hays Bros load, perfectly happy with them.  Also, remember not all metal loads are rusty brown.  Baled/shredded aluminum is also an option, one that @wm3798 showcased a while back with a couple loads for his retro fleet.

[Albert in N]

   Here are photos of a scrap metal pile and a gondola metal scrap load.  Took outside so details would be the best I could do with my cheapie digital camera.  The gondola load was from MTL (two loads for their 40-foot gondolas).  I cut one to add to a 40 for my MTL 50-foot gondola.  Looks like that item is no longer available.  The scrap metal pile probably came from Detail Associates or who knows since I have had it for ten years.  Anyway, look what they did.  Here is a link to ModelTrainStuff that may be what you are looking for:
 https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/fine-n-scale-206-plate-and-structural-scrap-load-for-gondolas-up-to-65-3/

[sd45elect2000]

I really like Hay brothers. I just bought 125 iron ore loads from them.

Is it just me or does it appear that almost everything Keith Kohlman touches turns to gold?

Randy

[wazzou]

If I recall correctly, this load was made by Chooch.
I just randomly painted stuff.

[mu26aeh]

Here are 2 that I have, marketed as Shredded Scrap Metal loads.  I think any of the metal loads could use some touch up work, just for the sake of not looking like anyone elses load.  I still need a couple for some coalveyors I have in metal service.  Those will get the loose aluminum treatment, ala like Lee did.

[OldEastRR]

Way back in the Retro Age I read about making steel bales out of crushed up aluminum foil. You can make a small box of the scale size and then keep stuffing in crumpled tinfoil until its packed. You can hammer it down to make a nice flat top, then pry it out of the box. With chalk or weathering powders and a little water you can rust them up if you want. I think most crushed scrap looks pretty shiny, tho, since they usually go right from the scrapyard to a steel mill.
For shredded metal it's hard to beat actual shredded metal from steel machining or cutting. It even rusts prototypically.
For bulk scrap metal are you talking about chunks of steel cut from larger objects, bent up structural steel, miscellaneous metal items like steel doors, machine parts, etc? For those you can try making your own custom loads that are unlike anybody else's.

After a catastrophic error wrecked the scratchbuilt double-track top curved chord bridge I'd been working on for months, I figured I might as well make a nice gon load out of the pieces.



 I went ahead and made as many gon loads like that as I could from the wreckage and gave them to my fellow N railroaders.

Then I mixed in a collection of junk box parts and leftover Evergreen structural pieces to make another.



Finally I had lots of pieces of atlas/RR heavyweights from kitbashing and modifying the stock cars into other versions. Here I'm in the process of building a solid removable one-piece load piece by piece representing scrapped passenger cars. After I glue all the pieces together I'll paint it and "rust" it.



Even if you want to use mainly pre-made loads for your gons making up even one unique version of your own is fun.

 

[Jim Starbuck]

Just had a thought for baled aluminum.
You might try a piece of 1/4 or 5/16 square tubing or styrene about 1/4 long as a mold. With one open end on a flat surface stuff it full of bits and strips of foil then when sufficiently packed, push the bale out of the mold.
I’ve never done this but might be worth a try. Even if it didn’t work the investment would be minimal.

[peteski]

IIRC, few issues ago the N-Scale Magazine has an article on how to make crushed aluminum cubes.  It showed how to make a fixture to do them in quantity.

[Blazeman]

Former employer received gons by the dozens of scrap borings and turnings...high chrome content from machine shops. Lightly rusted if at all.

Use shavings from a pencil sharpener to reprsent them.  Fasten to a styrofoam block carved to fit.  Some silvery spray paint, then very light weathering.

[nkalanaga]

Jim:  I did exactly that, about ten years ago, to make a baled aluminum load.  Only needed one, as there's no place to ship it to or from on my layout, but it worked perfectly.