Tangent Scale Models: Bethlehem Quad Hoppers in N Scale

[Smike]

@Tangentsm Very much appreciate the follow up direct from the manufacturer. Seems pretty simple to get them down to 15” minimum radius (if needed, since it’s only a few short spots on my layout.) 

[cfritschle]

Sesame seeds ?   

I thought poppy seeds (size-wise), but the color is too dark. How about mustard seeds?  The shape is similar to sugar beets (but still a bit too large) and the color is probably good too.

Jane and Peter,

Thanks for the suggestions, but I have explored a number of different seeds, and nothing really comes all that close.  Sugar beets are mostly an irregular cone shaped, and at this point I am thinking I will probably have to make a mold and cast them in resin.  At least I am not planning on modeling the piles at the dump or the factory. 

[nstars]

And he’s very right. They also measure curvature in degrees, not the sad radius inches we use to measure our curves.

Curvature is indeed typical for U.S. Railroads, but most countries use the radius as a measurement for the curve, not curvature. Curvature is a left over of setting out an alignment manually. 

Marc

[GaryHinshaw]

Examples:
1. If you remove the 2 rubber air hoses from the model (Needle nose pliers pull them right off from their 2-pin mounts), then the car will FREELY roll on a 15" radius curve.

Great.  My mainline has 18" curves, but my cement plant, where the hoppers will be spotted, has a 16" curve.  Thank you for the very specific examples.

For beets, I think the closest match is celery seed:

[nkalanaga]

"Also, railroads have curves, not corners"  Tell that to the Yakima Valley Transportation folks, if you can find any still around.  I once (late 60s) watched them drag an 89 ft TTX flatcar around a city street intersection.  That "curve" was a CORNER!  They had to detach the brake rods from the trucks, then pull the car around the curve with a chain, but it went around.  I'm pretty sure that would have been less than 18 inches in N scale...

"They also measure curvature in degrees"  Very true, for the North American railroads, but EMD gave the minimum radius in feet for their GP38 in the owners manual. 

[cfritschle]

For beets, I think the closest match is celery seed:

Gary,

I agree the celery seeds come the closest to any "natural" product for N scale sugar beets, but they tend to have a shriveled look.  Sugar beets need to be plump.   

[ridinshotgun]

Gary,

I agree the celery seeds come the closest to any "natural" product for N scale sugar beets, but they tend to have a shriveled look.  Sugar beets need to be plump.   

How about Chia seeds?

[Tangentsm]

Thank you for the clarification David, good to know just the airhose need removing... or perhaps modifying? Either way, I'm happy to lose the hose so I can have a bunch of these. (I doubt the hose alone adds a great deal to the cost.

Now I just have to figure out the most cost effective way to purchase from the UK!

Cheers,

Kev

Kev,

We sell directly to consumers right from our website 24-7.  Also, two hobby shops carry Tangent Scale Models in the UK - Model Junction and Mech Models. 

Thank you in advance!

David Lehlbach
Tangent Scale Models

[cfritschle]

How about Chia seeds?

I think Chia seed would be a little too plump.  This web site has a good photo of what sugar beets look like right out of the ground.  https://www.greencoverseed.com/product/1071/

The tops are sliced off before they are removed from the ground with a beet digger (at least in Idaho they are "topped" before digging).  http://parmacompany.com/ag-equipment/sugarbeet/harvester/6-row/

Sorry for the thread drift.   

[Spades]

Fine N Scale makes a resin casting of a sugar beet load for the Intermountain 40'? car. https://www.finenscale.com/loads.html

[cfritschle]

Fine N Scale makes a resin casting of a sugar beet load for the Intermountain 40'? car. https://www.finenscale.com/loads.html

The seeds they used for the master are a bit on the large size.   

[Spades]

As are the beets in real life. http://espee.railfan.net/sp_fcss-24.html.  I know they aren't 3' long.  You could distinguish individual beets in the car from about 15' away

[peteski]

The seeds they used for the master are a bit on the large size.   

Maybe someone will offer to design and render the load as a 3-d Shapeways printout. That way it could be made to scale. Shapeways parts are pricey. Once you have one print use it for casting more copies from urethane resin.

[nkalanaga]

3D print a pile of LOOSE sugar beets, then make masters from those.  A carload will go further if all you use is a layer on top of something else, and you can make multiple loads.  Shapeway can print moveable parts, so individual beets shouldn't be a problem.  Doing the artwork may get a little tedious...

[Peter Amling]

Has anyone been able to successfully order these off the Tangent website? I've been able to put them in my cart and get close to checking out but when I click place order it says Internal Server Error. I really hope they can upgrade the e*commerce part of their website to handle all their new N scale orders. This is very frustrating.