Municipal waste trains: recycled intermodal equipment
To install the tie-down rails (above left and right) use a styrene template to mark where the rails should be placed. Be sure the container is on a level surface. Then drill No. 80 holes and attach pre-measured and bent .015″ wire. Use needle nose pli- ers to insert the wire into the second hole.
modifications to the container will be necessary other than adding the tie- down rail, tie-down straps and tarp. My models are in HO scale, but suit- able containers are also available in N, scale from various sources.
The tie-down rails are located along the front and sides of the container ap- proximately 5′-3″ up from the base of the container. To insure uniformity from piece to piece, it is best to make a card- stock or styrene template a scale 5′-3″ high and 20 feet long. Place the contain- er on a level surface and hold the tem- plate against it, then, using a sharp pen- cil, mark a light line across the body on both sides and the front.
Remove the container floor insert and drill a No. 80 hole in each of the last corrugated panels before the solid corner posts, then erase the pencil lines. Bend a length of Detail Associ- ates No. 2505 or similar .015″ thick wire at a right angle and insert it into the first hole, allowing it to extend past the second hole.
Cut the wire a little longer than the end of the container and, using needle nose pliers, bend a second right angle into the wire and insert it into the sec- ond hole. If the wire bows up or down- wards this indicates it is too long. It should be removed and bent again. Once the three tie-down rails have been added they may be secured inside the container using cyanoacrylate ce- ment, then painted to match the color of the container body. The container can be weathered to represent a con- tainer in waste service.
The next step in constructing a 60
tarped container is making the tarp from styrene sheet, scrap foam and a standard household trash bag. Rather than attempting to cement the tarp di- rectly to the container body, a cap for the container is constructed from .010″ styrene sheet bent to fit over the edges of the container roof. This lets model- ers add a bumpy load under the tarp and also allows the tarp to be folded upon itself so it can be secured with both pressure and cement. To make the cap, cut a sheet of .010″
thick white styrene sheet, such as Ever- green No. 9010, 18 scale feet long. Mark a line on the styrene ¹/₈″ in from one edge, place the container along this line, and trace a second line along the oppo- site side of the container to mark its width. Now remove the container and make another line ¹/₈″ out from this last one. Cut the styrene to this width. The piece will be bent along these pencil lines to form two ¹/₈″ deep “flanges” on each edge with the flanges overlapping the container’s sides. Rather than trying to bend the nar- row strips of plastic along the edges of the piece it is easier to hold it in the
middle and bend from there. Place a straightedge such as the triangle shown in the photo along one line and bend the larger section inward. Repeat this for the opposite side, then sharpen up the folds by applying heavy pres- sure on the straightedge and sliding it along the folds to crease them. Most tarped trash loads actually ex- tend higher than the container’s top edge and look similar to a bumpy coal load. To simulate this look, a thin layer of scrap foam can be cemented to the cap and formed either by the placement of the pieces or by carving the foam once it has been applied.
Apply or shape the foam so there is a very thin layer at the outer edges con- cealing the straight, flat shape of the cap and having a crown towards the middle. Unlike a conventional open load,
neatness really doesn’t count
since the load will not be seen. In fact, a lumpy appearance is desired. Adding the actual tarp is fairly straightforward using a conventional heavy duty “black” household trash bag, or a thick colored bag from a retail establishment. As many of these mod-
JUNE 2012
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