# Best way to lock Bachmann side-dump ore car in closed position?



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking for some advice on the Bachmann side-dump ore car:










I'm making up some removable loads (stuff glued to plywood inserts). But I'm finding that the loads would look and sit better if the sides were locked somehow in the closed position. 


The obvious answer is to just glue them shut but I'm making the loads removable and I want to keep the option of having the cars work as they do now. So what do you think of something less permanent as a way to lock the side action in the closed position? Maybe a bead of silicon along the inside? Would that be removable later do you think?


All comments and ideas welcome!

Best,
TJ


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

non-hardening clay might work too


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## ohioriverrailway (Jan 2, 2008)

How about drilling a couple of holes and inserting a couple of those small eye bolts that Micromark sells? That way they'd look like part of the car, and you could just pull them back out when you wanted the sides to open.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

As easy as it is to accidentally lock up moving parts with a misplaced drop of super glue, I'd expect you could intentionally do it.


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

SE18, 

Never worked with non hardening clay. I'll have to research that. Thanks for the suggestion. 

Rick, 

That is a great idea but may be beyond my modeling skills at the momemt, but that is really a great idea. 


Torby, 

Yeah, gluing was my first thougth but I'd like to have the option of undoing later on. What do you think about hot glue as a removable option? 


Best, 
TJ


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

I hate hot glue. It's blobby and always unglues when you don't want it too.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Maybe some cross members underneath so the bin doesn't tip. Or blocks. 
Are there levers on the end that control dumping? They could be tied down. 

John


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

John,

Very good (no pun intended) train of thought. Well maybe a little pun intended. But that has me thinking and I think there's something that might work along those lines. I'll post some pics if it works.

Best,
TJ


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Okay, based on some recommendations here, I decided to go for a mechanical solution other than glue to fix the dumping action of my three Bachmann side-load ore cars.

The solution I used was a simple zip tie, one on each end of the car on opposite corners.










After painting it is hardly noticeable. Thanks for the solid feedback on this, everyone!

Best,
TJ


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Cool solution....


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I still don't understand why they needed locked down... do they unexpectedly just decide to dump the contents while rolling?


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

CT, 

> do they unexpectedly just decide to dump the contents while rolling 

No. But the load box can pivot if the load is not perfectly balanced. Since I don' t do anything perfectly, the load tended to tilt to one side or the other as the geodes/rocks making up the load are relatively heavy. So locking them down eliminates any tilt. 

Hope that explains it clearly. 

Best regards, 
TJ


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

John, 

> Cool solution.... 

You gave me the idea, I just applied the zip tie . 

> They could be tied down. 

Thanks for the tip, really seems to solve the problem and the car looks very good with the load and no longer tilts. 

Best, 
TJ


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

And with a couple of snips is reversed... 

Happy to help. Other's have helped me. 

John


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