Cuspidor and Southern RR History

Friday, 11 March 2016

Saratoga Mine tipple continued 3

I decided against stacking any more trestles on thop of the base, I hadn't enough lumber anyway. I thought a "long drop" chute would be more realistic and more easy and economical to do. I built it board on board.

The rear frame

Trying for fit

Boarding over

A selection of in-situ pictures

Thursday, 10 March 2016

Saratoga Mine tipple continued 2

I was concerned ( why??? it's only a model!!) that the tipple loader would not represent a feasible delivery method so being kind to my LPPs (Little Plastic People) who will labour there I put in a slope sheet wall and support walls for the bucket hoist from bits of the FSM rock bunker. I then added a machinery house also from the FSM kit, with an access doorway into the bunker. Those FSM shingles are nigh on impossible to stick on straight!

Saratoga Mine tipple continued...

Here's a selection of build and progress shots.

I'll have to add some NBW castings to these braces, they look a bit bare! My usual slapdash construction is resulting in a nicely rickety structure.

Saratoga Mine tipple

This threatens to be a fairly fiddly set of structures, albeit small because of the space available. The idea is that ore is trammed to the cliff edge then tipped into a receiving hopper (ore bin). It then falls down a chute to a second bin and thence via a controlled chute to the delivery bin. In the delivery bin will be a mechanical bucket hoist that lifts the ore into a rail gondola spotted alongside, under the cliff. The bins will be held in place by a tall set of wooden trestles. The mechanics will come from an old Fine Scale Miniatures Rock Bunker that I bought on Ebay without checking first that it was all complete. (Lesson learned). It wasn't but a lot of useful stuff was included and it didn't cost a lot. After creating my usual imagineering plans on the back of a fag packet (sic) I got stuck in.
First here are two shots of the location - it's a long way down and I'm almost out of scale lumber, it's become so hard to find in the UK. I'm going to have to import some.

The tipple bins will go between the Olson's service track in the foreground and the main line out of the tunnel. A small space but offering opportunities for detail.

The first trestle using the jig from my truss bridge.

Sticking them together for the ground section, I'll work my way up to the top.

Gluing the four sides together was like wrestling with a cat.

Bottom delivery bin lined with scribed siding.

Saturday, 5 March 2016

Inexpensive track cleaning tool.

Many years ago John Allen made a track cleaning car with a hardboard (masonite) plate hanging underneath. Recently Woodland Scenics have come up with a set of cleaning pads and handles that look pretty good too , although naturally at a price. I decided to try combining the virtues of both at a negligible cost. My track has not been cleaned in a year and my first test produced great results. I recommend this system to the house...

Cut a hardboard pad just wider than the rails

Round off corners

Chamfer leading and trailing edges

Glue on a strip of styrene thin enough to float over the moulded on spikes and narrow enough to fit between the rails with a bit of play for curves, you could also round off the sides if you have very tight curves. Chamfer the leading and trailing edges and the sides.

Turn pad over and drill a hole part way through for a dowel pusher. I made a double ended pusher for tunnel entrances.

Push pad along track with pusher or your hands

My worst piece of trackwork in every way - before ugghh.

After - shiny

There it is a very cheap, very effective and easily made track cleaner that doesn't scratch the rails or add any coating. Later I intend to make Allen's track cleaning car too.

Thursday, 3 March 2016

100lbs of casting plaster later....

With the exception of a small area around the new tunnel mouth that I'm keeping accessible until trains are rolling happily around the main loop I've finished all my plaster rocks. Yippee!