Most often, manufacturers offer open freight cars without any loading. But what model railroader only wants to run empty trains? During the last years many accessoires' producers presented allready complete loading, which are, however not very cheap. Moreover not all kinds of laoding are offered, there are simply to many possibilities to load freight cars. On this site, I present some ideas how make freight car loading yourself. If you also have allready made some freight car loading, please send me some pictures and a short description, so that I can extend this collection.

Low sided wagon with church bells

I got the bells on this car somewhre before christmas last year. Such bells can be found on chocolate Santa Claus figures or other christmas items. It would be a pity to throw they away. I used them to load a four-axled low sided wagon which was ideal for that. I suggested how the bells would be fixed during the transport - they have to be fused in order not to slip. I made a frame of thick cardboard an painted it brown so that it looks like wood. Finally the bells were tied down with a copper wire, so that they could start their journey on the open car.

Picture 1 - the low sided wagon with church bells

.Heavy freight car with aluminum profiles

Don't use real metal for this because of its high weight. Moreover, this roco car is already a heavy model because of its metal construction. I used the sticks of an old "Mikado" game. They were cut into the right length, glued together in two layers. I vasnished it in silver, the boards put under were made of balsa wood.

Of course you can also use other kinds of sticks (plastic sticks for example), but they shouldn't be to thick.

Picture 2 - the heavy freight car with aluminum profiles

Wood

For high sided wagons this is an ideal loading. Take a piece of corrugated cardboard, cut it into the right size and form, so that it fits into your wagon. Then take toothpicks, cut them into the right lentgh and glue them on the cardboard. When all has been dried, clean the edges with a file, so that it better fits into the car, glue some filling pieces on the bottom side so that it doesn't seem to be so low.

Picture 3 - cars with wood laoding

Wood - another version

When I presented the first wagon with that loading in our club, many club members became interested in this special kind of wood loading. I only used waste material, nontheless the result is quite impressing.

Plastic kits don't keep single parts, mostly injection-moulded articles containing several parts. After taking aout these parts plastic rest are left. Most often they have a round form. Don't throw them away!

Take a piece of corrugated cardboard, cut it into the right size and form, so that it fits into one of yours open freight wagons. Then, cut the plastic rests into the right length and glue them on the cardboard. At several points of those plastic rest, other palstic pieces have been cut away or broken of. Let them be like they are! Let it drying, then paint it with brown Plaka colour. Don't use original browm colour - I used a mixture of colour rests, the result is a good "woodern" effect.. Points where other plastic pieces have been cut away now look like the those points of a bole where branches have been sawed off. A very realistic effect! Don't forget the filling pieces on the bottom side!

Part of a steel construction

I found this part in my rest box - it could be a part of a bridge, a power pole, a crane or of some other construction. That low-sided wagon from Fleishcmann was just ideal for that. I made a frame of balsa wood, tied the part down - a new loading was completed!

Picture 4
Picture 5
Picture 4 - above a car with wood loading made of plastic rests, below on Picture 5 the car loaded with a steel construction		Picture 6 - below, the wood loading made of toothpicks, in the middle the wood loading made of plastic rests. Above the the bottom side of the wood and ballast loadings. One can see the some other pieces of cardboard have been glued on the bottom side - as filling pieces.

Ballast

On the old sections of my layout I had laid Merkur track bed, there were still some filling pieces left. Cutting them into the right size and form you can use them as a ballast loading for open freight cars. Then take some other filling pieces (cardboard!), glue them among it, and refit the ballast a little bit, if necessary. Not much work at all, but one empty car less on your layout!

Compared to styrofoam, styroplast can be cut much better, but use a sharp knife, otherwise you don't get any exact cutting edge! Of course one can also take normal styroplast wiothout ballast, cut it into the right size and then glue another kind of ballast on it.

Picture 4 shows two kinds of ballast, the original rest of the track bed can be seen on the left side.

Picture 7 - the ballast

Picture 8 - an open car loaded with ballast