New Project Hulett Loader updated photos August 30, 2015

great start you should make molds of the individual parts and offer a kit.

Alan; if anyone can build this it would be you.

Wow. Now that is going to be cool!

 

 

This ought to be cool!

What will the footprint dimensions be? The layout must be quite large. Keep us updated on your progress.

Don

All I can say is Wow......... that would be really something in O scale. This would be the ultimate operating accessory.

 

 I saw these beasts up close and personal in 1978. Took me a while to figure out where the operator actually was. As one quote says, "riding a dinosaur's head while it is feeding".

All the Cleveland , OH Huletts are scrapped now, save for the remains of one lying in the grass awaiting a restorer. I think there are one or two smaller ones left in Conneaut, OH. I will be following your progress with interest.

Check out the video, including the narrow gauge trolley lokeys pushing the cars around.

 

Not forgetting the Meccano model built to 1:32

A friend of mine has built 2 of these in HO both being fully operational with multiple micro-motors, relays, etc. So, building an operational one in O scale should be quite doable.

 

Also, some years ago some company was taking orders for these in brass; no idea if they were ever produced though.

       
       

I believe they were $5000 each with half for the model and half as a "donation" to whichever preservation society was doing the model.  I might still have the link on my computer.  I'll check around when I get home.

They truly are amazing machines.  I grew up around loaders and unloaders in Toledo.

Jim

That's a lot of parts. 

Here is the link to the Ohio Museum of Transportation and Industry pdf on the Hulett offering.  $5000 plus depending on how you pay for it.  Volume discount when purchased in bulk!!!

 

I have no idea if the project gained enough traction to get built.

 

Jim

Alan,

 

I am glad you are tackling this project!  I would love to see this offered in O scale although I do not see a huge demand for them.  It would definitely require some major reconfiguration on my layout because you would need at least three.....

 

Great job.  Thanks for posting!

 

Dave

Chuck Sword at dhs diecast in Berea had a sample. Not sure if that was the only one. Last I heard it was not going to make it, although I wrote a check for my son's next to last term in Mechanical Engineering school and thought, there goes three Huletts. They were quoted at $5500 to me. I never heard the $5000 figure. 

Here's a picture of the one he had. Not a very good picture but then I didn't have a very good phone back then.

By the way, somebody said there was one disassembled Hulett on the southwest corner of whiskey Island. I'm not sure but was always told there were two there. Go on Google Earth and go back to the 6/29/07 satellite shot and it sure looks like two. 

 

Charlie

Very aggressive project. Know you can have fun with this one, Alan.

You go Alan!  Love to see the finished model.  Looking forward to the updates.

Quite an undertaking!  Can't wait to see the results.

I wonder if George Lucas got his inspiration for those mechanical walking fortresses on Star Wars from a hulett? What an engineering marval; it had to get boring after a while operating one though.

Don

I think it will be fun to build one.

 

However, I also think that by the end, you will be very glad your customer asked you to build only one!

You must have a lot of patients for this project.  Keeps us up to date.

Looking forward to your updates.Nick

As they were all electro-mechanical, the innards are fascinating too:

 

http://www.clevelandmemory.org...ticles/magnetic.html

 

I think Cleveland has the only Hulett remnants left, as the two remaining operating units in Chicago were scrapped a few years ago.

It's not only that the Hullets were huge, the wharf, car areas, and the general size of the ships they unload makes an O'scale version something that you'd find in a museum layout. I've got a modest sized layout and a Hullet installation would take up half of it. But they are sure fun to watch.

Wiki says: There was one in New York City to unload garbage.   Another twist on this interesting machine.  Worked best on the lakes (Great Lakes, Erie had the most) with limited tidal effect. 

(75)  were built.

Electrically operated.  Each bucket was 10 tons of ore.  

Operated into the 1990's, Ore carriers are now self-unloading. 

Two remain, in pieces, Cleveland, plans are uncertain.  

Don,

The model will be about 33 inches long, 18 inches wide and 20 inches tall.

 

I guess I better get cracking on this model. It sure has generated some interest.

 

Alan Graziano

Here are a few updated pictures of the main structure beams and the ore hopper.

 My method of construction has been to copy each piece from the HO kit and assemble following the directions with the kit. The grey colored pieces I have constructed are ABS and the white pieces are styrene.

Alan Graziano

Alan:

 Are you building both models, HO and O, at the same time??? That is what I'm seeing.

Mike CT

My hat off!!

nice project.

AG.

Alan, you are a master! And your work habits are SO different from mine. Try as I might, I never have a pristine work space. It always looks like the aftermath of a natural disaster. It's only clean in few moments.between projects.

Incredible work! Love it!

 

Peter

Thank you fellas.

Ray, I cannot work without cleaning up as I go. It drives me crazy to have too much of a mess.

Mike,

I am actually building only half of the HO model. If I build the whole thing, I cannot use the parts again to reproduce another Hulett if someone wants one.

 

Alan Graziano

Alan

We are expecting blow by blow details of the progress. Doing this can go on your resume.

Enjoy

Steve

Alan, that's going to look so nice when your done cant wait to see it Joe 30thstreet

It sure has been a while since I posted progress pictures for this structure. I had a lot of other things going on and I was just bale to start on this project again. Here  pictures of the wheels and frame support. The wheels were a real challenge for me but after some time I figured them out. The ore hopper and Larry car are painted and in the background.

Alan Graziano

Thanks for the update Alan.

Fantastic!

 

It has been a while since I have worked on this project. Now, I want to stay on it and complete it a s soon as possible. Here are some pictures of the completed track structure for the loader. I have to add a few platforms. I will then start to work on the actual loader. I plan to paint the structure black except for the trucks.

 

Alan Graziano

I'm at a loss for words!  That is just plain AWESOME!

 

Chief Bob(Retired)

I second that opinion!

I agree with the 2 previous posts.