Question about Lionel Operating Dump Cars.

The 3469 and 3461 dump cars (and the similar 3459 and 3451 cars with coil couplers) use a solenoid activated plunger that pops up underneath the dump body when energized to empty the load.  One side opens (or stakes tilt) to let the load go as the bed tilts up.  Gravity and the weight of the dump body return the body to level (sometimes just in theory with the log dump, which can get hung up with the stakes sticking out horizontally).  In a word (or four) - they ain't slow dumpers.  I haven't had much of a problem with loads getting flung all over, but they aren't slow precision dumpers either.  If you have the juice really turned up high, the 3461 log car beds can go past the "point of no return" - I've added a piece of elastic to the bottom of mine to limit travel and help pull the bed back down more reliably.  If the ore dump bed hangs, a couple more activations of the plunger will usually knock it back down.  The 3469 cars also need to be adjusted properly (and very lightly oiled) to keep the side that opens closed up tight for running/loading. 

The 3361 log car has a stepped gear that rotates once with each press of the op. track button, slowly lifting the bed to dump the load (similar to the 3359 twin dump I believe), then falling back to level.  I had a few of these as well, but I didn't care for 'em much - no tall stakes to reliably contain the load while moving (or loading), and too frustrating to get perfectly positioned on an O27 op. track - they're really meant for the longer O guage op. tracks.

I've got a handful of the MTH dump cars as well (log and ore dumps) - really neat how they dump slowly and give an extra tilt up before fully returning), but they have the same positioning problem on O27 track.  At some point I'm either going to stick an O section in to use them, or modify two of the earlier O27 1019 tracks (with full length operating rails like the O RCS track) - actually cut and join them together to make one long section.  You can find those MTH cars for alot less than $90 on ebay or elsewhere - don't believe I paid more than @ $30 each for mine.  Only other problem I've had with the MTH cars is they would actuate automatically when crossing one particular K-Line automatic switch - wouldn't notice it until several passes and the cars would go by tilted with partial loads....

I've got at least 15 of the 3461 and 3469 cars so far - want a 10 car train of each eventually.  Only thing about the 3469 ore cars is that they're heavy, and if the wheels aren't kept well oiled they'll stringline - not a pretty sight, a train of loaded ore cars stringlining on an elevated section....