I should have stated that we need trap door SPRINGS, not hinges. I've been so focused on getting the doors put together that I forgot about the latest development where the lead guy fabbed hinges from steel tubing and milled steel brackets.

The true need is some sort of spring, probably a torsion spring that slides over the tubing spacer between the hinges. Any help/suggestions/sources would be appreciated.

Jim King
CML

You'll probably find something in McMaster that will work - but you may have to alter the new hinges to accomodate it. Better to finalize the design before fabricating.

dave

Greetings:
Valley Railroad uses cut up sections of McMaster-Carr 2594K13 "flat rod drain cleaners" with success (Scott Whitney at the Green Mountain told me about this material for a replacement spring).
We make custom "hinge pins" to fit.
J.David

Perhaps you can edit or delete the prior post.

Steve

On some pre-war CN lightweight coaches, we replaced the corroded rubber-faced trap doors with new ones formed from steel step tread, a bit heavier than the originals and much more durable. The coil springs were junk on these traps, but we had new ones made up at a local spring shop. I can't remember how we specified the springs to the shop, but we must have told them how much load they were expected to lift in torsion, and the adjustment available in the hinge design let us fine-tune it to make the trap spring up just right. It was pretty cheap, too.

Aarne Frobom
Bear Trap Springs, Michigan