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Bridge Identity


Outoftalent

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Hi Folks, Apologies if this is in the wrong department. Can anybody advise on whether or not this is/was a hornby product and if so what its product code is please. I have looked everywhere and cant find it. Thanks, Ed/media/tinymce_upload/31ac05b6a6ce20bb144abaeb1c87ad17.jpg

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This is the "Gravity Unloading Bridge".

 

Laterly it was only available as part of a set including a special operating hopper wagon, and incline / high level piers and receiving bin with "mineral" (Plastic granules).

 

It was a Tri-ang Railways product. I think your example has Super 4 type rails?

 

Tri-ang made several working hopper wagons.

 

Transcontinental Bogie Hopper (Various Colours)

 

Transcontinental Bogie Cement Hopper with removeable roof Early light blue/grey, later grey.

 

BR Hopper Wagon. Grey.

 

BR Grain Hopper (Hopper wagon with removeable roof with sliding doors. (Early Green, later Grey)

 

Private Ovwner Hopper Early Red Oxide, later Green.

 

Hornby Railways re-issued the set at least twice. One set has two Super 4 to System 6 track converter rails, the last issue has System 6 rails on the bridge..

 

As the special wagon is pushed (or pulled if the loco does not contact any part of the bridge) from right to left in your photo, the projections ( on the bottom side in your photo) catch the retaining lever, allowing the bottom door to swing open, and the load (Usually Plastic Granules) to fall into a receiving bin or another wagon on a siding below....

Also see here...

http://www.southportmodelrailway.org.uk/page21/page32/page78/

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Hi

Why is it that we have lost the operating elements that were available when we were younger?

The operating hopper wagons and bridge, the end tipping wagons with lifting bridge, the conveyer belt with hopper, operating bell set, vans with opening doors, open wagons the drop down doors and sides to name but a few. For me they made model railways more realistic, stick a box van with opening doors on a siding with the doors open and a flat bed lorry next to it, load being delivered or loaded, 3 or 4 x 10 ton drop down side wagons with half load of ballest on each with men with shovels shovelling it off (Rail maintanance crew 1900 - 1960's).

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 I have always admired from afar the now very old Trix conveyor and ore dump car. This had a ore car that tipped its load sideways into a bunker by the track. (Worked by a magentic impulse) There was a conveyor belt on a bridge that ran from one side of the layout to the other driven by an electric motor. The train then went round to the other side of the oval and stopped under the chute of the conveyor. The conveyer then started and the belt picked up the dumped ore from the bunker, travelled it across to the other side of the layout and dropped iot into the  now empty ore car, ready to do it all over again. Hours of simple fun!!

 

http://www.vectis.co.uk/Page/ViewLot.aspx?LotId=430104&Section=5937

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Sadly a lot of the fun element has gone out of the hobby. Such models made things fun, Tri-ang did a few wagons with drop sides, bottom emptying wagons and a few vans with opening doors. These added to the fun and realism of layouts. The push for ever greater rivet accuracy and scale albeit mainly on incorrect track has knocked a lot of the play value aside alas.

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Totally agree, hanging onto my examples.  Lovely bit of kit from the times when model railways were fun.

They still are with a couple of bits of bent steel coat hanger wire for a giraffe car center rail need to watch the second-hand dealers for the more modern hopper bridge.

regards John

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Hi Buz...

 

Did you know that the Activated Rails for the Giraffe Car (also the Battle Space "Sniper" Car) were ordinary Super 4 straight track rails, mounted upside down in plastic brackets to clip into the sleepers?

 

So, it should be possible to do something similar with rail?

 

You could also have the activation rails go around curves, by using curved rails....

 

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