Creative uses for spare parts...

Gabriel Nov 23, 2004

  1. Gabriel

    Gabriel TrainBoard Member

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    Ive got a bunch of old rusty 9" strait pieces that i'm gonna pile next to the track along with some ties, just to add a little clutter. I've used old plastic wheel sets and an old flat car to create a MOW car, look pretty good.

    What has everyone else come up with?
     
  2. Grey One

    Grey One TrainBoard Supporter

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    I think we have all used box cars for sheds..

    I'm working on a design to use passenger cars for housing. Some maybe 2 cars high. Old rails and ties will be used in the construction.
     
  3. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    Here is my scrap yard. The scrap piles along the fence are made from small spare parts that are piled on sheet styrene and then sprayed with Elmer's diluted white glue. Everything is then sprayed with Testors rust color. I think you can make out a worm gear in there.
    [​IMG]
     
  4. Powersteamguy1790

    Powersteamguy1790 Permanently dispatched

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    Flash:

    That's a great looking scrap heap otherwise known as a "junk yard"...


    Stay cool and run steam..... [​IMG] :cool: :cool:
     
  5. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks, Bob. This is a small representation of Alamo Iron Works. Anyone remember Henry Cisneros and the contaminated "Dome Dirt" hurrah? (It is a long, uninteresting political story.) Well, the reason that the dome dirt was contaminated was that Alamo Iron Works had contaminated the soil (where the Alamo Dome is presently located) because they processed scrap steel and fabricated steel parts in that location for 75 years. It is all cleaned up now. (Dallas Cowboys practice there for the preseason, sometimes.) There is a website for Alamo Iron Works now as they still do business in another location in San Antonio. It is very different from the past:

    http://www.aiwnet.com/aiwnet/index.jsp
     
  6. Alan

    Alan Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Flash, where did you get the beaten up cars - or did you beat them up yourself? Hope they were cheap ones :D
     
  7. Colonel

    Colonel Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I have seen more of your layout in the past few weeks and it looks great, I think the scrap yard looks very realistic.
     
  8. JASON

    JASON TrainBoard Supporter

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    More [​IMG] more [​IMG] show us more Flash!
     
  9. Grey One

    Grey One TrainBoard Supporter

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    sapacif
    Your referance reminds me I intend to use a couple of shells from old dead locos for diesel generators. I plan to put them on platforms without the trucks. I realize they don't do this in the real world but I do know they use the guts of old diesels for generators on oil rigs. (well they did in the 60s, I don't know if they still do)

    BTW: is the worm missing its gear? ;)
     
  10. BELG

    BELG TrainBoard Member

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    Guys this is an interesting little segment and while not wanting to answer for Flash this is a link I've used several times with very good results.
    http://www.horailroad.com/a_onlineclinics.shtml
    There are several great clinics on this site with links to some good websites. Pat
     
  11. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    Alan:
    Burt Industries. Glen Burton. He is the guy who sells the cast container ships on ebay. I did not do anything to them; they come like that, already painted and not very expensive. I remember that I ordered direct from him. He is a nice guy and is in Florida, USA. I ordered some things and he did not have some of them, so he just put some extra stuff in the box that he thought I would like. [​IMG]

    The car casting are very good. Also the rubber tire piles. Some of the scrap piles are piled too steeply to be realistic. I cut those down and combine them. There are all types of things. Also roadside buildings that have to be repainted and shored up. They look pretty good, though. I would recommend them. There is one tire pile in the picture and two scrap piles. Also, the blue garbage containers in the background are Burt Industries, too.

    As I remember, no website, but check ebay for N scale container ships. I don't think they make HO scale.
     
  12. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    Grey Gryphin:

    Agreed. [​IMG] I just break an old shell a little and paint it rust color. Not prototypical, but at least visitors can recognize it.
     
  13. Fotheringill

    Fotheringill TrainBoard Member

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    Darn, you're good.
     
  14. 7600EM_1

    7600EM_1 Permanently dispatched

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    Flash that looks great! Takes a good imagination to come up with things like that!

    Myself, I have used "left over parts" for on my MOW train, carring parts from wrecks, and replacement parts on the train itself made from old parts that were junk, (not in good condition to use as replacement parts for actual running parts) and took some of them, made them look new, an added them to the train so they represented new replacement parts for that detail of the train....
     
  15. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    Tuesday night I saw the new junk yard in San Joacquin at the Belmont Shore Club. This one was made by Joe Wolar. It has a lot interesting items in it that I recognize. I think that it is good because each piece is individual and there is a minimum use of castings for piles of junk. Pardon the white asphalt roadin the background...still under construction. Nice line of San Joacquin reefers in the background.

    No 1
    [​IMG]

    No 2
    [​IMG]

    No 3 [​IMG]
     
  16. SP 8299

    SP 8299 TrainBoard Member

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    Nice looking junk!
     
  17. Powersteamguy1790

    Powersteamguy1790 Permanently dispatched

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    Flash:

    That is a great looking pile of junk :D [​IMG]

    Nice use of bolts and washers. ;)


    Stay cool and run steam.... [​IMG] :cool: :cool:
     
  18. Espeeman

    Espeeman TrainBoard Member

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    Flash,

    That junk looks so good I'll bet Oscar-the-grouch could be found there! [​IMG]

    What's the history of the San Joaquin Fruit Growers Co-op? Google turned up nothing. Could be the allergy pills I'm on [​IMG] :D I tried several phrases but to no avail.
     

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