# Double Tip Bucket Ore Car



## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

As I mentioned in the Public Forum last week, here is information concerning the Playmobil double tip bucket ore car that I purchased at Watts train shop. The car cost just under $30, so I thought I could convert it from a toy to a model without too much trouble. 


The first view shows how the car would look when assembled per the manufacturer's instructions. 












The second view shows the car after I removed the buffers and the coupler hooks. I saved the buffers. They will make nice lunch counter stool seats. I had also replaced the stock wheels with Gary Raymond steel wheels by this time. 












I found that Kadee 779 couplers would mount to this car, so I cut away the coupler loops and the buffer mounts to clear the 779 couplers. Then I mounted the 779 couplers. The car is short enough to handle body-mount couplers on fairly tight curves. Next I added a car number, weathered the carbody and added a spare LGB brake wheel. I sanded the graphics off the tip bucket frames and the tip buckets with disposable nail files. I sprayed the tip bucket frames and buckets with gray primer. 


I found a spray can of Rust-Oleum American Accents Cinnamon at the A.C. Moore craft store. It had a satin finish, but it did look like a good industrial base color. I decided the weathering would dull it down, and it did. Once everything was painted and weathered, I lubricated the bucket trunnions with a mixture of Labelle 107 oil and graphite (lock lubricant). I put a drop of oil on a Q-tip, then dip it into a small pile of graphite, then spread the mixture around each trunnion. 


Anyway, here is the finished car. I did not add grab irons, as I decided riding this kind of car would be too dangerous. My rules book states the end steps may only be used when the car is stationary. 












Have fun, 
David Meashey


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Dave, 

Very nice! Thanks for posting the pictures. 

Best, 
TJ


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Nicely done! I've also got some Playmobil stuff I want to increase the detail level on someday. 

Chas


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Gentlemen; 


Thank you for the kind words. I have a real talent for turning a silk purse into a sow's ear. The reverse process does not always work so well for me. 


Yours, 
David Meashey


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

I've got one of Palymobil's Work train units I want to convert into something else at some point. I've simply not decided what yet. 

Chas


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2008)

Dave Meashey, 

did you find a way, or do you plan, to outfit the car for automatic unloading?


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

koemsen; 


I had to dismantle my garden railroad just over two years ago. (It stayed buried under pine needles, and was ground level.) For the forseeable future, the "giant hand from the sky" will be in charge of all dumping services. The "V" tip bucket cars should be easy to build a dump lever for. It could be controlled by a cord or cable. The car shown in this thread will, I expect, be a little more problematic. The device would need to combine lifting and tipping motions. I hope to someday get a chance to puzzle out some kind of simple machine to do the job. 


Yours, 
David Meashey


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