Fun

That looks like fun stuff.

Seems like a steep grade on the track up the hill.

I'd like to see how this plan will work with your existing layout.

The modified version

This is the original track plan.

I modified it by flipping it right to left. I did this to fit in the area were it's going to go.

I haven't decided if I'm going to stay with the way the tracks are arranged or make slight adjustments. The upper right end were the stone crusher and storage bins are going to go need to be modified. I've got a picture in my mind of how I want it, I just haven't committed to it yet.

Think I'll build up the bench work and set some track down for a better idea.

Be patient, this project will take a while. I'll post up dates as they happen.

Bernd

Good and fun layout

I did that layout in O scale 2 rails about ten years ago. But to operate it you really need to engines. What I did to use one engine I added a passing siding next to the lower left track and it was a lot more useful. But it was a challenging layout. My grade was 3.3 %. I usually push or pulled one or two 40 footers per train up the grade.

It's going to be Fun

Kevin,

I'm developing the beginnings of my layout. It will  have HOn30, HOn3 and standard gauge. I need to up date my model railroad web site. I've decided it's not going to be On30 as I originally thought. I've decided to moth ball all that O scale stuff to concentrate on HO.

The quarry idea came from a couple of local quarries. One is located in Leroy, New York. It served both the Lehigh Valley and the B & O (originally the B,R, & P) It was a 30" gauge line. If your interested go here: http://frontiernet.net/~thecat/critters.htm , then scroll down to the GE65 1 section and read about the limestone quarry. The last picture is of a steam shovel that dredged the Panama Canal. I still need to find out more about the narrow gauge line that served that quarry.

There's not much left. Trucks haul a majority of the product now.

Bernd

O scale Gum Stump & Snowshoe

Nick,

Well as you'll read I'm going for HOn30 and making a limestone quarry out of it. I've already taken on N scale engine and started modification on it.

Bernd

More layout design

More layout design parameters

This picture is from a few years ago. You'll notice that I haven't added the two 2' X 4' sections to the right in the background. I was planning the track layout at that time.

Here's two pictures of what I was doing when I was building the On30 layout. The portion facing the viewer will have the foam removed.

In this picture the 2' X 4' portion on the left needs to have the height adjusted to lower it to the level of right hand piece. Confused yet?

Here’s the On30 layout getting the foam removed.

Starting to clean off the glue.

Clean table top plus spots on the camera lens.

Here’s a drawing of 2’ X 4’ modules drawn up into a layout concept. The “E” shaped layout is 8’ X 22’.

This is the general layout of where the quarry and mine will be located. I think it’ll undergo some changes as I progress from the quarry around to the mine section.

Here’s a cad drawing of the mine. It’s 2’ wide by 12’ long.

Here's the suggestion for building up the Gum Stump & Snowshoe portion. I'll follow it but not in use of materials.

That is the plan anyway. Right now it's looking like the "E" shape will change. As I wrote this up I was thinking I need to do something with the right side and the two middle sections. I have a track plan for the lumber part of it. I just need to figure out how to move a few of the 2' X 4" blocks around.

Another thing that needs to be done is to cover the insulation before I get to serious about putting in scenery. Haven't quite figured out if I'll use drywall or 3/8" plywood. Think I'll sleep on it.

Bernd

Test for grade first

That grade may be the limiting factor as to how many cars your engine can push up it, or if it can get up at all.

You could just make a straight section on a board and try different grades and see what it does to engine performance.

That grade

Ya that grade looks steep on that drawing. I was wondering that myself. The track gauge will be 30" or N scale. There will only be empty cars being pushed up the hill and loaded coming down as I plan on animating loading/unloading. Guess I won't be able to tell until I actually build it. Thanks for the advice.

bernd

Free Lance Prototype

It was rather odd that I thought of using the Gum Stump & Snowshoe track plan for a lime stone quarry. About 30 miles west of me is a town called Leroy, New York. Just outside the town is a limestone quarry that has been abandoned several years ago. I did a little investigation using Bing maps and did some screen captures so i could add history to my theme of the railroad.

I knew that the quarry at one time severed the the Lehigh Valley but never knew exactly where. I also knew that it severed the B & O (former B, R & P) because I had pictures of it on my train web site.

First a bit of aerial viewing of the area.

This shows the quarry and the two railroads. The LV long gone and the B & O, which is now the Rochester Southern R.R. and the quarry now longer is mined.

Here you can see what is left of the loading bins. I remember two tracks going under the bins.

A view further east shows what looks like a crusher. I now wish I had taken more pictures.

This is the LV loading area.

And something of interest.

That's a Marion steam shovel. It was one of 3, I believe, that was used to dig the Panama Canal.

Here's a much better picture of it.

The shovel and engine pictured above is a composite of two 126 Kodak Instamatic pictures spliced together. The engine is a 3 foot gauge as is the little tipple car. The engine and car now reside at Central Square, New York with Central New York NRHS. The steam shovel is still at the quarry.

So I came up with the model idea first. Then I looked for a prototype emulate it. Close enough since I'm using both LV and B,R, & P railroads to follow.

Interesting thing about lime stone is it's many uses. It's used in portland cement, track ballast and building blocks for large buildings. I still need to do a bit of research on what else lime stone is used for.

So I think I've chosen a worth while industry to model.

Bernd

Some benchwork started

Got a little bench work done this afternoon.

Screwed down the upper section and the intermediate were the switchback is.

The upper section. I plan on putting the bins up here some were. Need to lay the track first to give me an idea of how big the bins should be.

This is the switchback section.
 

Looking at the first picture you can barely see a red line. That line shows how wide the original Gum Stump & Snowshoe is. I was going to bring the standard gauge line in here. Looking at it didn't make sense to have a narrow gauge line if the standard gauge could get this close to the quarry. So I'm thinking of expanding some of the narrow gauge to fill the extra width. I was thinking of maybe something like I showed in one of the aerial view of the Leroy quarry. Besides limestone ballast I was thinking limestone slabs being shipped to a company that cuts it into limestone blocks for buildings.

So the narrow gauge will be off this section of the layout. It'll give me a better and bigger transfer facility.

Bernd
 

Track experimenting

While deciding what to do next on the quarry layout I experimented laying some HOn2½ (N Scale) track. I wondered how a quarry car about 15 prototype feet long would look on a 12" radius curve. Plus I was curious to see if code 70 would look ok. The code 70 makes a heavier looking rail.

Here's a 12" radius curve I made using my home made rail bender.

I made some printed circuit board ties. ACCed them to the plywood. Then I soldered the rail down using my resistance soldering rig. Works great.

I also figured I'd take the two 2' X 4' modules and moved them to their new location. Plans are for a switch back out of the quarry, then around a 12" radius corner to the transfer station. Here's the two modules in their new location.

That's it for now.

I'm hoping the parts come in soon for my crane so I can continue and finish that project.

Bernd

Nice curves!

Looks like the home built bender does a nice job.

Being a plain old HO guy, that radius looks awful small to my 1:87 eye but it seems like your narrow gauge rolling stock will handle it.

Similarly, I am still waiting for some crane parts, and I just remembered I still have to order trucks, whoops!

Hope your stuff arrives soon.

Thanks for the update!

Rail Bender

That bender will work for any size track you want to bend. Makes a nice cured bend. If you don't like the bend you turn the rail around and run it through the other way and it comes out straight.

Can't remember what minimum curve is for N scale. Being a sort of tram line I guess it can be quite a small radius.

On the crane project. I need to redo the electrical pick up ring. The inside wiper rides right on the very edge, plus I was getting binding in the home made pogo pins. Probably should be working on the boom and winches, but am having to much fun working on the quarry layout.

Bernd

Fun stuff

I may pick your brain in the future about your rail bender...

As for the crane, it will be there when you are ready to get back to it.  Have fun with the layout!

Maybe ....

Looking and reading this, I might redo my small O scale layout and do a modified version of the Gum, Stump and Snowshoe. That is a neat layout and I really enjoyed it when I had it.

I think you should

And when you do make sure you let us all see your progress. Be neat to see that in O scale. 2' X 12' nice mircro layout for O scale.

Bernd

An up date

I see I haven't updated my blog on the aggregate tram line. I found all my pictures that had disappeared when I remodeled my train web site. I've restored all the pictures plus have a couple of others posted here.

I made up a quick stone bunker out of 1/8" foam board so I could get an idea of track separations.

I used the printed out track to lay some HOn30 track on PC ties and soldered a piece of brass square stock across all the rails at two points to see how it would look.

And that's as far as I've gotten since I started this blog. Between trying to get two critter's built and researching the eddy current drive, I haven't progressed much on the layout. But the colder season is coming so I should be able to work more on the projects I have cooking on the stove right now.

Bernd

Having done the GS&S in HO

I found that the length of the two tail tracks on the switchback limited me to three 40' cars and a PE 1600 class locomotive.  The grade was not a challenge for the locomotive and mine was a lot of fun because of the live overhead power collection.  The only problem was I didn't have bumpers on the switchback tracks because I needed the space for the couplers to overhang to get the three cars on the trains.  My twin sons (at that time five years old) managed to run the locomotive off the end.  I still have a slightly mangled loco to this day.  The layout provided hours of enjoyment and helped the sons learn responsibility. 

Car Length

Tom,

Remember I'm using HOn30 equipment. The dump car I'm going to build for the line will be 15 HO scale feet long.

And here's the equipment that will haul the cars. A little gas engine or an 0-4-0 steamer. Using these will allow at least 6 cars and engine on the switch-back.

Bernd

Me Too

I am working on a Snow Shoe and Gum Stump as well

On30

34" deep x 103" long + detachable car float + detachable lead / staging yard.

Have the benchwork built and starting to work on the roadbed.

Built the benchwork out of metal studs with thin luan plywood on the bottom to stiffen it up.

Using Pink foam for everything above the metal studs.  

So far so good, will see if I can get some pics

First pic is a rough plan, it has changed a little since this was done.

Second is of the metal stud frame work

You Too

Glad you joined in. Nice start. Keep us posted.

Bernd

P.S. first picture didn't make.

Shame on me

I just realized that I haven't commented on this yet.  I love what you're doing so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing it on operation.  The GS&S is one of my favorite plans, and one of the only ones I've seen published which I actually wanted to both build and operate.  Please keep us updated, Bernd.

" Gum Stump & Snowshoe "

Trouble with this design is it looks very unrealistic, a short line would not spend money on that extensive concrete retaining wall and steel bridge to just access a freight house and one other minor industry. They'd just stop the tracks at the bottom of the slope and build their freight house down there and tell the industry to do the same.  :> ) ....DaveB

Selective compression

I look at micro layouts, or small layouts in general, as exercises in selective compression and willing suspension of disbelief.  A "real" railroad would not build any of the layouts you see on MRH, or anywhere else in the hobby press for that matter.