Cargo for an electromagnet crane

I'd be happy even to find something "unsafe."  I've been using old rails, but am not happy.

I have the siding isolated where the crane is so I don't worry about shorts. I have found the perfect load is o gauge track clips, light but very magnetic!

You could do the washer trick with gondola air canisters:

i cut up metal tubing, both solid and hollow.  works well, but would cause havoc if dropped on the rails. not an issue now as my crane does not move, even though it is on tracks.  the new one from lionel which will be mobile and which i will get, could be a problem.

Where did you get tubing that crane could handleand is magnetic?

Shower rod.

Or Lionel culverts!

Ditto on the culverts.  

I wrap them in saran wrap.  Mostly so they don't stick to each other when being lifted by the crane, but also keeps them from shorting the track.  I pretend it's packing material.

I would have thought shower rod too heavy.  How long do you cut it?

I've been collecting this and that for gondola loads for years.  Little broken gears, steel balls, small springs, pre-war wheels.  If you've got kids, finding little ferrous things makes a great game.  You'll forget about it but the next time you junk something they'll be on the lookout. 

Nathan

(some of the stuff is admittedly too big)

I have numerous sections of chrome shower rod cut to the length of the Lionel culverts that I did back in the '70's. They are exactly the same diameter, and a little lighter in weight.

"Where did you get tubing that crane could handleand is magnetic?"

local hardware store.  they have an astounding variety of stuff.  took a magnet with me.  will post some photos tomorrow.

I picked up some wooden barrels someplace, probably from the old barrel loader-put a metal thumbtack in one end of each of them and set them in a gondola.  Kids have a great time unloading the car and putting the barrels into a stake truck.

Funny, I never really thought about it to the extent you guys have.  I always just sliced up some cruddy old O27 straight track and ties (i.e., the kind that's pretty much given away under tables at train shows).

As far as shorting anything out, I would never have the siding powered while the crane was working.  If I needed to move a new gondola into place, I shut off the crane, move the train, and resume loading.

As a visual, however, I like the idea of a nice clot of miscellaneous junk, so maybe I'll look for different things next time we go to the local demolition and salvage store where we shop for items for old home restoration...a bunch of old gears from a clock restorer might be cool too.

Here is a video showing many types of loads.  Notice that that the crane moves back and forth along the rails.

Don't put them inside - I tried that and the magnet isn't strong enough.  I did glue a washer to the OUTSIDE of film canisters and then painted them and added some signage:

 I also did what Rob showed - I picked up some dirt cheap and glued a washer to the top.  You can see them in the 2nd photo

Both work really well.

= walt

You win!

You guys are having way too much fun with your gantry crane.  I need to get one for sure.

David,

That's a neat video - thanks. Very precise positioning!

What most of us really need is a small crew of animated men to steady the loads as they are being lowered into position.

Jim

I use the canisters as well. I punched out disks from galvanized steel and glued them on.

This crane moves as well and some figures are animated. Good idea Jim about animated figures in the truck trailer and gondola.

Pete

There are some really good ideas here. I have a gantry crane that I didn't think I could use on the Beer Line, but after seeing these posts, I think I can adapt the wooden barrel idea. Also, I have to ask: is that a Legacy crane or did you motorize it somehow?

Thanks.

saw an article where they glued washers to the top of these canisters for just such an occasion!!

I have also glued small disc magnets inside the cannisters.  When oriented the right way, they provide enough attraction for the energized crane to pick them up.

This may work only because I have an ERR crane commander - it might put DC on the magnet.

Very Nice David!

Great set up! Man I have to get me one of those!

as promised, here are some shots of my crane load.  first in the gondola and then in the storage bin.

"Here is a video showing many types of loads.  Notice that that the crane moves back and forth along the rails."

clever angling of the trucks, david.

I have a bunch of old postwar wheels and trucks that I use for my crane along with sections of cut off rails. It makes for a more realistic pile

David, great video.  Your magnet must be more powerful that my ancient Lionel crane.

Is the ability of the crane itself to move something new from Lionel, or something you did?

there were mods published to make the crane move.

lionel's last catalog had a crane with mobility in it.  not available yet.

"Your magnet must be more powerful that my ancient Lionel crane"

had that same thought, i did.

Do you remember where the mods were published?

Ralph, there are two basic techniques. David and I used a lead screw, basically a length of threaded rod with a nut attached to the crane driven by a gear motor at one end.  Others have used an endless chain drive. A motor with sprocket is located in a shack and an idler sprocket is located at the other end of the run. The links are fixed to the crane legs. You can find other videos on Youtube if you search on Lionel Gantry Crane.

Pete

What did you use for the geared down motor?  If you could post a picture of it, I'd appreciate it.

Two Photos of the Lionel Electromagnet Crane 

On The Detroit & Mackinac Railway in my Man Cave

Click photos to enlarge.....

I used a motor salvaged from an instrument. Just about any gearmotor will do. This one is rated for 36 volts but I power it with 16v. Speed is variable. The gear ratio multiplies the torque but it takes very little to move the crane.

Pete

Beer bottle caps work too.  

RE: magnet strength, try to find a magnet from a American Flyer crane, they are sronger.

Gary, where did you get that Michigan boxcar?

I use small tubular track sections, coupler parts, Lionel canisters with washers on top, and can motors with wood framing with my crane.

For the canisters, I cut the washers in half and glued them upright, instead of a whole washer glued flat.  I made would framing for some can motors to look like loads...

A full construction article on how I added the lateral movement to the Lionel Gantry Crane appears in the November 2009 issue of Classic Toy Trains Magazine.  Back issues are available on their website.