# My faking Coal



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I got tired of an empty coal car. I cut up foam with an exacto saw. Talk about static cling UGH. I sprayed painted ,which caused a shrinkage then painted with a flat acrylic paint. A first try and am pleased with the results.
Bob


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Since this is such a HOT thread, I decided to post another picture.









Thanks for viewing
Bob


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## Boston&Maine (Dec 19, 2007)

That actually looks very realistic; good work as usual...


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Grass carpet scrap.*

Back again for an update. My coal presentation was out done by other nameless forums. Mine is easy and fast with little mess. Basically, the other ideas had a black gravel and glued them to the shaped foam. Very effective so I wanted to mention it. 
I also wated to mention the wonderful green paper grass some of us adore. I just hate to trim it . Throw it on a piece of plywood and your done. Some of us still like to keep it simple. There is always room for improvement.:laugh: So, I had to trim my grass, I had it rolled over on one side and age took care of the rest. Now for the latest(We need an idea smiley). I painted the grass scrap a flat black and noted that it will look ok as a gondola load supported with foam. It does add some zip as roofing for my papper buildings too. Both are fast and easy projects, the elmers is drying now.
Pictures will have to wait.
Bob


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Latest*

Plans don't always work out. I glued the paper to the foam and used too much pressure with the clamps I used. The result.hwell:









Aside from the flat foam the roof looks ok. I placed it next to a black paper roof. 









I had to glue the thinned foam to another piece. That will take a while to dry.








Finished product. This car did not have a finished bottom. It has a hole in the center showing the metal frame.
It was simple fun.
Bob


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## stationmaster (Dec 7, 2008)

Dad did much the same thing. His idea differed in he but a piece of thin balsa in the cars and used less foam. Also the technique allowed him to "empty" the cars. 

Looks great, Bob.

Bob


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## Mit (Feb 12, 2010)

Recently, quit by accident, dropped some crushed charcoal into a coal gondola. with small dust like particles and larger chunks,it made quit convincing coal load. so i made a wooden insert and spread some white glue on it then began pouring more "coal" and adding glue until it was covered with a small mounded load. Since coal is adherently shiny i sprayed with a light coat of semi gloss. It actually looked very real.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Alternate ideas are always welcome!


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

i purchased a bag of "coal" in michaels...


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## gumguy (Feb 11, 2014)

Anyone ever replaced the fake coal in a tender with real coal? Any best practices for doing this?

Thanks


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

tankist said:


> i purchased a bag of "coal" in michaels...


Yeah, I use that stuff too and it works great! 










It was in the artificial plant section in our Jo Ann Fabric and crafts store. It's so much fun to look for things to adapt to unintended purposes. I use their little plastic jewels for lights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzhx7AxFToQ


Greg


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Henning's Trains sells large bags of "coal", it's really plastic tailings from plastic molding for parts. They grind them up and filter them, it looks very realistic and works well in the Lionel accessories.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Nice loads T, I guess I have never seen them before today.
I.....didn't comment?


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

It was a quick thread, started before you joined. You somehow missed two posts.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Well there are other posts in there after I signed up.
I still missed it.


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## Don Trinko (Oct 23, 2012)

I use black aquarium gravel. It is a little shinier than charcoal but not as messy (dust) and easy to find. Don


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## carinofranco (Aug 1, 2012)

tankist said:


> i purchased a bag of "coal" in michaels...


what Michaels product is it? which department?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

T man, great idea. And looks good to boot. Probably a better idea then gluing, 50 years down the line , when someone else is playing with your coal cars they will look the same. 
I use aquarium gravel in my operation coal loader. Works great and the weight of the gravel prevents it from scattering.


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## Taylor622 (Jan 31, 2013)

For 6 bucks and 2 bucks shipping these are very nice. Made with real coal from Pennsylvania. On ebay, http://www.ebay.com/usr/usanamoose I bought 2 and they look great.


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