Railroading with
The Märklin Diary of a 44 yr old Kid

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Freight car loads add realism

Why is it that so many model railroaders, and Märkliners are no exception, operate their freight trains with empty gondola, hoppers, flat cars, etc?    After all, when you were young and played with 0-gauge Märklin or Lionel, you always loaded those open cars with everything and anything you could find in your toy chest.   

So, why not now?

If you are a reasonably serious modeler, there are countless low cost, often free, loads for your open freight cars.    I don’t think I have any freight cars that do not have some sort of load.    Many freight cars offered by Märklin and other manufacturers list cars with various interesting loads.    These, be they cars or trucks, are fine but plastic logs, plastic lumber and finely ground iron ore are not the answer in my opinion.    Much more realistic loads include crushed (real) coal and volcanic rock (simulate iron ore), logs, lumber, electrical parts, vehicles, cable drums, pipe and steel rods.    Freight cars with real loads are only limited by your imagination.    If you are a collector and don’t play with your trains, none of what follows applies to you.  

Gondola cars

Gondola cars just cry out to be filled with loose bulk products such as coal, lumber, sand, etc.   Go into your backyard and look for little twigs.    Cut them to a length a little longer than the depth of a high-sided gondola car.   Then just stack them into the car standing up.   That’s all there’s to it but try not to use small diameter dowel.    These are much too uniform but then again if you have to at least stain them some sort of brownish color.  



Logs cut from small dried branches



There is no substitute for crushed real coal

Low sided gondolas, on the other hand, are ideal for loading cars, small trucks and backhoes, forklifts all of which are readily available but if you exercise your imagination you can do better for less money.    For example, when I realized that I have several dozen three-pole rotors left over from digital conversions, I knew I had a truly different freight car load.    I built a small balsa frame to simulate a packing frame for them.   



If you’re wondering about name, Ohm & Mho Elektrowerke; Ohm, is, of course, the unit of electrical resistance and Mho is the reciprocal of resistance, i.e., electrical conductivity.   
The load is old three pole rotors left over from digital conversions.  



The pipes on this low-sided gondola are left over tubes from an old fax machine ink film cartridge.  

Stake cars

Since the humble beginning of their Tischbahn, Märklin has always offered stake cars (Rungenwagen).    There is a broad selection from the simple two-axle hobby version to the long four-axle Era V cars.   All of them just cry out to be loaded with real logs made from suitable dried pieces of tree branch.    Actually many of early stake cars were loaded with real logs.    They do not need to be finished in any way and the car does not need to be altered in any way.   These same cars can also be loaded with strip balsa or hard wood to simulate finished lumber.   The right sizes are available at any hobby shop that sells model airplanes.  



Real bits and pieces of dried branches

Flat cars

Flat cars, whether they are four-axle or the Era V six-axle variety, can be loaded with any number of heavy steel rods or rails.   Check your local hobby shop for metal or plastic shapes and small diameter tubing.   They are best cut to length with a hand-held rotary tool (Dremel) and, if they are brass, can be painted with rust color paint.   I loaded one with steel rods made from cut-to-length caution flags used to mark lawns that have to be dug by a contractor.   Again, bundle the rods and place them on small 2 x 4s on your flat cars.   



Bits and pieces found in my workshop. The wooden ‘crating’ was made from balsa.



The steel rods were cut from ”do not dig here” flags.

Hopper and ore cars

This is where I really went to town as they say.   First I weathered my hoppers and ore cars (484XX).   Granted, I have an airbrush and this is not about weathering but it certainly adds that extra touch.  

The classic two-axle Talbot hopper (4610) was never issued with a fake load.   So, for starters I fill the empty hopper with a suitably cut piece of balsa or Styrofoam shaped to form a heap.   I simply wedge this in place or use a little hot glue to hold the insert in place.    Next I lather the insert with white glue before dumping in the load.   In my case it is crushed volcanic rock, available at any nursery.   I make sure that there is a lot of spillage.   Remember, when hoppers are loaded, there is always going to be spillage be it coal, rock, sand, ore or whatever is being loaded.  



Note the spillage of crushed rock on the right Talbot.

My ore cars (484XX) came with removable load inserts, advertised by Märklin as real iron ore.   It might well be real but I definitely do not like its uniformity.   Real iron ore is not uniform by any standard.   I leave the original load in the car but, again, a lathering of white glue follows.   Then, I douse the load with the crushed volcanic rock.   Let things dry, shake off the surplus and you’re ready to go.   So much for uniformity.  



Note the spilled ore on this ore car.



Even an empty ore car should at least show that it carried a load of ore at one time.  Beats shiny plastic any time.

Now, if you have the Era I Bavarian four-axle hoppers with the brakeman cabins, you can make inserts and add real crushed coal.   That, of course, raises the question, where does one get real coal?   I can’t really answer that but if you visit Greenfield Village in Dearborn and wander over to the roundhouse, I’d be willing to bet that the nice men working there will gladly give you a lump or two of real coal.   Take it home and crush it in a tin can with a heavy hammer. That’s all there’s to it.  

Dampflok Tenders

On the subject of loads and coal, it took me a while before I got up the nerve to add real coal to my steam engine tenders.   Again, a layer of white glue, sprinkle on the real crushed coal and your Dampfloks take on whole new appearance and, in addition, you can hear the collective moaning of the collectors.   Now, when I buy a Dampflok and after I run it for the first time, I stop to add real coal to the tender.  



Real coal spilled over during coaling. The small crate adds another realistic touch

Now, you gentlemen who own the liquid metal car(s) and slag car(s), don’t try loading with liquid metal or slag.

and a last comment…

Some time ago I bought two issues of “Model Railroader” magazine; one from 1950 and one from 1952.   The April 1950 issue had a letter from a reader who, get this, suggested the use of dried and painted macaroni for a freight car load of pipe.