Hi
I recently purchases a 4-8-4 Class J DCC locomotive - it came with no instructions, just a parts list. It came with a small baggie of what looks to be large granules of graphite. Can anyone shed some light on what this is / used for?
Thanks in advance!
From what i read in the past, its suppose to represent coal and you glue it onto the bunker of the tender or something like that. Thats just my guess, i could be right or wrong.
That's an excellent guess, JTF.
I'm holding on to all my little baggies of coal dust, in case I ever get brave enough to weather my steamers. :)
Regards,
Jonathan
Bru - You don't have to wait until you weather your locomotive to use the small bag of coal. Brush a thin layer of white Elmer's glue (or other water-soluble glue) on the existing coal load in the tender. Gently sprinkle on the 'coal' while the glue is still wet. [I would suggest you do this over a piece of newspaper to capture any errant grains of coal.] The glue will dry transparent and will secure the [much better looking] coal load to your tender. Should you desire to remove the added coal; merely dampen the coal/glue and it will be released...'not sure whether or not you can reuse the same coal. I have used this method on both of my Bachmann Spectrum American 4-4-0s with good results.
Regards,
Ray
bru-
You can also use the dust as soot to weather your model. Just use a soft brush to spread it around, especially near the stack, and secure it with Dullcote or some-such.
-- D
Thanks, everyone!
I appreciate all of your help!
bru