HO scale short ore-hopper cars

[Ace-Garageguy]

HO scale model railroading is getting pretty expensive, especially now that many online auction sellers are hawking items they know nothing about, asking stupid prices for old toy-train junk just because it's old and it looks kinda like the good stuff, or was made by some of today's well known name mid-range manufacturers before they moved from toy-quality products into high-quality scale models over the years.

HOWEVER...I'm usually pretty good at finding deals, and I do a lot of research before I buy anything.

My to-be layout will include a coupla different mining operations, and ore-carrying short-wheelbase hoppers (they're shorter than regular hoppers because iron ore is HEAVY) can run into a substantial pile of cash if you want enough to realistically model the kind of long ore-trains that run from mines to ports or steel mills.

                                 

Anyway, these ore car shells came up pretty cheap, missing underframes, trucks, and couplers.

I got to looking at them carefully, and they looked to me like they were one-piece copies of the Varney multi-piece ore car kits dating back to the mid 1950s I'd seen online earlier.

                                             

So I rolled the dice and bought several of the vintage nobody-much-want's-em multi piece kits to see what what was what.

Turns out I was right, and the ancient Varney underframes are a drop-in fit under the much newer one-piece cars (which appear to have been tooled directly from an assembled Varney kit). A little silicone mold work to copy the ancient Varney underframes in a low-melting-point-metal cerro-alloy (I've already been amassing decent Bettendorf trucks and Kadee couplers in bulk as they come up cheap) and I'll have a nice fleet of shorty steel iron-ore cars for a fraction of what I'd have to pay for new...or even good used.

The 1950s Varney underframes fit under the new one-piece shells like they were made for them...which they kinda were.  

Edited February 14, 2024 by Ace-Garageguy

[mustang1989]

On 2/13/2024 at 6:08 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

HO scale model railroading is getting pretty expensive, especially now that many online auction sellers are hawking items they know nothing about, asking stupid prices for old toy-train junk just because it's old and it looks kinda like the good stuff, or was made by some of today's well known name mid-range manufacturers before they moved from toy-quality products into high-quality scale models over the years.

HOWEVER...I'm usually pretty good at finding deals, and I do a lot of research before I buy anything.

My to-be layout will include a coupla different mining operations, and ore-carrying short-wheelbase hoppers (they're shorter than regular hoppers because iron ore is HEAVY) can run into a substantial pile of cash if you want enough to realistically model the kind of long ore-trains that run from mines to ports or steel mills.

                                 

Anyway, these ore car shells came up pretty cheap, missing underframes, trucks, and couplers.

I got to looking at them carefully, and they looked to me like they were one-piece copies of the Varney multi-piece ore car kits dating back to the mid 1950s I'd seen online earlier.

                                             

So I rolled the dice and bought several of the vintage nobody-much-want's-em multi piece kits to see what what was what.

 

Turns out I was right, and the ancient Varney underframes are a drop-in fit under the much newer one-piece cars (which appear to have been tooled directly from an assembled Varney kit). A little silicone mold work to copy the ancient Varney underframes in a low-melting-point-metal cerro-alloy (I've already been amassing decent Bettendorf trucks and Kadee couplers in bulk as they come up cheap) and I'll have a nice fleet of shorty steel iron-ore cars for a fraction of what I'd have to pay for new...or even good used.

The 1950s Varney underframes fit under the new one-piece shells like they were made for them...which they kinda were.  

This is frickin' COOL!!! If I had the space I would build a small town with a railroad surrounding it. I've heard from more than one person that model railroading prices have skyrocketed.

[Dave Van]

I must have 30 of the old MDC ore cars. I bought them new back when undec versions were under $3 ea. I painted them silver with D&RGW decals.

[OldNYJim]

On 2/13/2024 at 6:08 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

little silicone mold work to copy the ancient Varney underframes in a low-melting-point-metal cerro-alloy

I’m familiar with making molds, but not using them for metal parts - would love to see a tutorial as and when you get to this project!

[Ace-Garageguy]

10 hours ago, CabDriver said:

I’m familiar with making molds, but not using them for metal parts - would love to see a tutorial as and when you get to this project!

No need to wait.  

"Cerro-Bend" was (is?) used a by railroad modelers in times past to add weight to locomotives for enhanced traction, and to cars for better performance (less prone to derailing, especially when light cars are placed in the middle of long trains...also a consideration with real railroads).

It was also used in place of higher melting-temperature lead or zinc alloys for die-casting by hobbyists.

One nice thing about the stuff is that there's virtually no waste. Flash or trimmings or unused material remaining after a pour can be remelted and reused indefinitely.

Cerro-Bend is once again readily available commercially.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/301231342282?

It has a melting point of 158 deg. F, making it suitable for use in silicone molds that will withstand high temps.

As many silicone mold-making materials are good to 450 deg. F, this is a non-issue.

The mold-making process is identical to that used for making molds for "resin" parts.

The first video below shows detailed metal soldiers being cast quickly, for a large display, in silicone molds.

The second video below explores some interesting methods for ensuring exceptionally clean castings.

 

 

[OldNYJim]

Thank you so much Bill!  Fascinating!  

This opens up a world of possibilities  I LOVE finding out about products like this - thanks for taking the time to post that information!

[Old Buckaroo]

Very cool, Varney RR stuff brings back a lot of memories. Do you remember the John Allen adds ? The original post was a bit back, did you get all your ore hoppers finished?