HO Scale Cargo Ideas

[furstukin]

I am just getting into model trains, and I am finding one of the more interactive things my kids love is loading and unloading cargo from flat cars, gravel cars, etc. So far, I have created some real logs using a ~1/4" stick I cut and dried. I also got some 1/4" PVC pipe painted it flat white to hide the print that was oversized and wrapped 3 with jewelry chain adding a clasp at the top to allow a crane to pick it up (If I get a crane lol). And I have some 1/4" copper pipe I am going to paint aluminum and do the same thing as the PVC. Anyone have other suggestions on cargo for my kids to play with?
 

[Len]

When they were younger (6 - my grandkids loved loading and unloading gondolas with 'Go' stones. 'Go' is a Japanese board game that uses black and white oval stones. They are available from a number of on-line retailers for a reasonable price. And they don't make a hard to clean up mess, like an actual coal load, if a car gets knocked over.

Another possibility to to take 1/4" wide strips of heavy duty aluminum foil and fold it over on itself to make scrap metal 'bales' about 1/4" square. Glue the end shut with a dab of super glue and paint with a thin 'rust' wash. Can be stacked in various combinations to make gondola and flat car loads.

Len

[JonJet]

1) Michaels stores have 5" x 12" 1/4" thick pine craft boards...cut them in various widths to make a lumber load - 1/16" or 1/8" black pinstripe tape to act as banding (I superglue the end on the bottom to make sure it won't come loose)

2) I cut 1 1/2" wide - add trucks and couplers to make my own flatbeds and dropdeck railcars

3)You can do much the same using typical hardware store paint sticks

4) Hobby Lobby has a craft wood section with many different shapes and sizes as well as square dowels that can be cut to length for containers

5) Roll up styrene strips to simulate metal coils

6) Paint anything and everything using acrylics from either store - no smell and fast dry

7) Graphics can be applied to single or stacked containers using adhesive labels with pictures of anything You or kids can imagine

Metal filings / drill waste can be random-dumped into a gondola for scrap steel loads

9) Ballast material or ground cover can be used to create a coal/taconite/ore/gravel/dirt load - mix paint with water and white glue - alcohol will assist in allowing glue/paint to penetrate

10) Strip out the wires from construction wiring to create copper wire coils

11) Search eBay or TheGoog for "HO scale loads" to find hundreds more ideas