equipment height above the rail. The height of the loader
determines the location of adjacent structures and buildings.
Fast loader construction
I started this project with an HO Walthers Flood Loader kit. I
replaced the H-columns and I-beams in the kit with Evergreen
H-column #283 and #284 and I-beam #274 and #275.
Evergreen #123 .020” x .060” styrene strip material was used
for the cross bracing. The structure turned out pretty well, but
I didn’t like the fact that the long dimension was straddling the
rails, and it just wasn’t massive enough. The conveyor entrance
was from the side, but I needed it to be from the end. So I
decided to scratchbuild a suitable fast loader.
The primary dimension
that determined the final
size of the this fast loader’s
footprint was the storage
bin diameter. I wanted a
scale 24’ diameter bin. A
3” diameter piece of PVC
pipe was the closest size I
had on hand, which with
the thickness of the pipe
wall worked out to an over-
all diameter of scale 26’.
That was OK! The second consideration was the overall height.
I could build this structure upwards to over 120’ and still have
a prototypical conveyor angle. I settled on a 92’ height. This
height just looked right with the size of the building. I added
10’ for the control room and equipment space to one side. The
overall dimensions are 26’ wide by 36’ deep and 92’ tall. The
36’ dimension sits perpendicular to the rails.
I built the storage bin first. I cut the PVC pipe to a 40’ length,
then formed the lower cone from Evergreen .015” styrene
sheet. I added Squadron Green putty, then sanded it smooth
to hide the seam. The load chute was built from Evergreen
.030” styrene sheet, then filed and sanded to fit over the
lower cone. I constructed the 6’ lower section of the load
chute to be moved out of the way for railcar clearance.
11. Fast loader bin. It’s
made with a 3” PVC
pipe. The lower cone is
made from .020” sheet
styrene.
11
12. The loader bin, cone, and loader framework.
12
Fast loader - 5
MRH-Dec 2014
