Eastern Tn logging on the DG CC & W RR 1928

[Bill Nelson]

Testing

I tried to post this twice yesterday, Zealot was either strange, or I was especially incompetent.


I had put trucks and couplers on 5 of 6 of the Tichy train group Hoppers. and decided to test them on the mountain. With a couple trips up and down from The Gizzard to below terrapin, they went through some of my most challenging conditions without too much problems, so I can start to detail them up.

These will be lettered for the J. E. Patterson Coal and Lumber Co. I was planning on taking them to the club, but in view of their fragility, due to the scale thickness s of the body and frame , I think I will keep them home so I can destroy them my own self.



They will mainly be in use between the Southern staging yard and delivery locations in Harlow, Crooked Creek, and Montgomery Furnace, with the coal for delivery on the mountain comming off the Narrow gauge, or the Marrietta and North Georgia.


However I like all of the cars on my RR to be able to have a possibility of going up the mountain, so I tested these.


Also this weekend I did some work splicing in a switch into the stub end of the Southern Staging yard, bringing it very close to completion. I tested the switch with # 14, which was available in crooked creek. I'm thinking of using # 14, a very fine locomotive work passenger service from Crooked creek up the mountain to State line .


Bill Nelson

 

[Bill Nelson]

I did some work yesterday in Georgia staging, adding roadbed for the narrow gauge loop. and adding some braces under the subroadbed to stiffen it up. I also cut the first chunk of foam for the scenery filler that will fill the gap between the loop and the iron mine up above it in Gegokayoosa.


As you can see Georgia staging is a dark hole, I'm adding some under the cabinet lighting under there. I will be able to lengthen two standard gauge (M&NG) staging tracks and three narrow gauge tracks ( M & NG and State Line RR), as well as adding a spur outside of loop, that I may be able to use as an abreviated logging camp.


Bill Nelson

 

[Bill Nelson]

work on Georgia staging,and Gegokayoosasa loop

Starting to feel better after 3 weeks of respiratory crud, have been working up in the mountains, changing the benchwork in Gegokayoosa to allow a tall bridge. and getting the roadbed in for the narrow gauge loop I'm working on in Georgia staging, which will also allow me to lengthen some of the staging tracks.

in the second and third photo you can see where the roadbed for the narrow gauge loop merges with the roadbed under the shinohara dual gauge track. I will cut out a section of the straight shinohara dual gauge track, and build a switch that will will allow the narrow gauge to stay on the dual gauge,, or spit off to the far side to far side, which will require two normal frogs , and one odd one, and will be a lot of fun to build.


in the bottom photo you can see where I have altered the bechwork @ the Gegokayoosa loop to add a tall bridge over a creek with waterfalls. the bridge will be a Vollmer curved stone viaduct, thoroughly inappropriate, but I saw one when I was a kid and always wanted one. Maybe no one will wonder why the narrow gauge is better engineered than the standard gauge railroad it feeds.


Bill Nelson

 

[Bill Nelson]

More progress

I got some more work done with narrow gauge track beginning to go down on the Georgia Loop, and making some progress toward getting the masonry bridge in up on the Gegokayoosa loop. I should be able to get some spectacular scenery in there with some more water falls on a curving creek.


Bill Nelson

 

[Bill Nelson]

Did a little work on the roof of the engine shops @ crooked creek, and also on the viaduct in Gegokayoosa.

 

[S class]

put a roadway through the viaduct, that way you can tell anyone who asks that the railroad paid off the local mayor 'Boss Hog' to get the permits needed to put their track on top of the road way forcing motorists to share with the railroad.

 

[gbwdude]

Bill,

I've seen floating railroad bridges before, but not a floating stone viaduct. Is there a prototype for that?

Also could you do me a favor and measure how tall a HO scale figure is? I found a article in MR from the 50's that John Allen wrote up that explained how to make figures out of candle wax and small gauge wire and thought I'd give it a shot. That and paying out $10 (give or take) for 6-8 figures is obscene. It's also a way I can continue working on the WRRy empire.

Tyler

 

[Wojtee]

I really like train modellers and their models, boldly assaulting the borders of kitsch
Just kidding, i feel quite a respect to someone working on a single project for so long...

Anyway, a figure in H0 should be about 20 mm tall, one milimeter more or less. If the scale is still 1:87, it is around 180 cm. I am writing this here, because I am curious how the sculpting of something this tiny will go

 

[gbwdude]

Tiny people

I really like train modellers and their models, boldly assaulting the borders of kitsch
Just kidding, i feel quite a respect to someone working on a single project for so long...

Anyway, a figure in H0 should be about 20 mm tall, one milimeter more or less. If the scale is still 1:87, it is around 180 cm. I am writing this here, because I am curious how the sculpting of something this tiny will go

Wojtee,

In John Allen's article he made figures out of bare copper wire, candlewax and paints. He soldered the bodies together using a longer wire for the skeleton and a shorter wire for the arms. He then brushed on candlewax until it got to the thickness he desired and then sculped the figures with a modelling knife. He then painted the figures with white shoe polish as a base color and then with oil paint.

My approach is similar, the differences are that I'm using coated wire from the guts of CAT5 cable and I'm supergluing the arms onto the torso. Other than that everything else will be the same as JA did it. I've included a pic of what I got so far, I'm waiting on candles to get here to get some wax since the Army doesn't want us burning down our b-huts by leaving candles unattended.

Tyler

 

[Bill Nelson]

That is cool Tyler, and an interesting project that could produce valuable resources for the future. One thing you need to think about is keeping the product of your labor away from extreme heat.

I don't know if you have temperature controls down there, and any wax figures might get exposed to heat while getting shipped stateside. I would be a shame to find hours of work in a puddle on the bottom of a box.



you might want to consider using something like the miliput putty instead of wax, which is some stuff that comes in several grain sizes from coarse to medium and fine . you can work it and sculpt it like modeling clay, and when you bake it it hardens like porcelain .


I finally got my errant package from Micromark, mare than a month after I ordered it . This will help me fill up my southern staging yard. I have six Bowser data only Boxcar kits, three Bowser data only flat cars, and three Titchy Train Group steel flat cars with low wooden gondola sides. This should help fill up t he Southern staging yard. also on Back order from Walther's I have six Bowser data only 55 ton two bay hopper cars.


These two orders should make progress toward fixing the car shortage I created when I doubled the size of the lumber loading tracks in Crooked creek, tippled the size of the Southern staging yard, and took a hard look at the cars on my RR, and carried most all of them that were not strictly appropriate to 1928 to the club, where anachronisms abound.

When we were forming the club there was some discussion of what era to model, Some of the guys thought we should model the WWII era thinking that that was the heyday of railroading in our military town; and I had to point out that by 1922, half the RR in Clarksville TN. had been abandoned already. Then I not very helpfully suggested we model the 60's (1860's) and the subject of era was never brought up again.


Bill Nelson

 

[Bill Nelson]

shake the box kits!

I had built one of the Bowser data only flat cars and one of the Bowser data only box cars, when I realized I was building current production shake the box kits, MADE IN AMERICA!- with scale size details!

these cars look good! of course those scale sized step stirrups thingies on the end of the cars will get knocked off (just like the over sized ones do.


Bill Nelson

 

[Bill Nelson]

I now have the three flat cars and three of the box cars built, I'm liking these kits the plastic magnetic couplers have metal knuckle springs, and the axles are non magnetic, so the couplers and wheel sets don't need to be replaced immediately. I use magnetic uncoupling, so magnetic axles cause unintended uncoupling, and are no no.


Unless the snow discombobulates me some tomorrow, I should be able to get the other three boxcars completed, and get nine cars up onto the RR. the three Tichey train group gondolas will take a lot longer , as they have an insane number of tiny pieces.

Here also is a picture of the snow from the front porch.


Bill Nelson

 

[gbwdude]

Love the shot from your backyard, you make me envious. Now only if RJ Corman had a snowplow in front of their steamer chugging over that bridge...

What's the build date on your Bowser cars you recently bought? I'd imagine the flatcar may be ok, but the all steel boxcar is probably 20 years ahead of it's time. Most of my rolling stock is all pre-1960 so when I want to run half way correct trains I have them. My only exception is my collection of GB&W stuff, which I have from all eras.

Tyler

 

[Bill Nelson]

build dates

the build date on the box cars is 38, the flat's don't have a build date.

Steel cars showed up earlier than most folks think, as maintaining wood cars was expensive. For mainline railroads , steel all steel construction was the norm well before WWI. wood cars reappeared during WW1, and composite cars became common responding to both a car shortages, and steel shortages during the two world wars.


My railroad is too big for me to obsess about build dates. that particular obsession is a lot easier for folks who model the 40's than folks kike me back in 1928. It is hard enough trying to focus on southern road names (hence the data only cars).


Bill Nelson

 

[Bill Nelson]

The nine Bowser cars are done excepting the brake wheels on the 3 flat cars. When my kids were little I left brake wheels off of everything . I saved them though, so somewhere I have a ****load of brake wheels.


I have started to study the instructions for the 3 Tichy gondolas. these, don't look as though they will be as intimidating as the Tichy 55 ton twin bay hoppers. anyone who thinks that there can't be too much detail should build some Tichy kits.


Bill Nelson

 

[Bill Nelson]

Cars for the Southern Staging!

I got the six Bowser data only cars on the layout. I put three down in Southern Staging, and three up in Crooked Creek, replacing three other box cars already at the lumber loading docks,: and placing those displaced cars down in Southern staging. I'm half way there, I have one of three of the Southern Railway staging tracks filled up.

Currently the Southern Passenger train is on track two, as I am still working on the two tail tracks to the Southern staging yard. the passenger train will live on one of those.


I will need to get back to work on tabs, making more for Crooked creek, as well as all of the tabs for Harlow. I probably have too many cars in Crooked Creek right now, but that is where the action is. The new data only boxes don't stand out too badly amongst the older equipment in the yard


Bill Nelson

 

[Bill Nelson]

unexpected detail

I had my optivisor on to help me get the brake wheels on the brake staffs on the Bowser flat cars, and I saw some detail that I didn't know was there. check out the lettering on the wheels.

since the beginning of December I have added 17 cars to the layout. I seriously need to make a boatload of delivery location tabs.


Bill Nelson

 

[Doctor G]

THose are very nice kits Bill. You also have been doing a heck of a lot of work on the RR. Pictures look very good. Thanks for sharing.
Doc Tom:thumb:

 

[Bill Nelson]

Those three flat cars may need to go to the club, they are kind of long for my RR, also the metal weights in the under body catch the incoupling magnets. I could fix that by replacing the steel weights with lead whights, but one of the cars seems to have some problems with the vertical curve going into the helix down to Southern staging. Two of the three cars will do that transition, so I'll have to study them.


If i did not have the option of taking them to the club I'd have never taken the chance on flat cars that long. Next in the list of cars to build 6 MDC shorty flats, to be C & S interchange log cars. I know those will work, although I'll need to spring for Jaybee wheel sets to make them really great cars.


Bill Nelson

 

[Bill Nelson]

C & S cars

I have 6 C & S log cars on the way. These come from the old MDC 3 in one kit shorty flat cars that have been the mainstay of Tom and My logging car fleet due to short wheel base, metal frame- giving them the weight to operate well over bad track, low cost, and most importantly, did I mention low cost. sadly the 3 in one kits, which could get you an operable log car for less than $4.00 ( with Kd's- JB wheel sets greatly improved them, and pushed the cost up to $6.00 or $7.00. I was happy to find two three in one kits in my surplus stuff.

These will co into interchange service, coming in to Harlow from the Southern staging loaded, going to the Berghausen-Shoemaker Mill in Crooked Creek. and then get sent back to the southern Staging for the trip back North to the C & S. Operationally this will make a lot of sense. Tom's old C & S had more logging camps than his mills could handle, and My mill is too big for the logging operations that are modeled or inferred on my RR.


This will Keep C & S log trains rolling, get log trains in Harlow, help feel the bog mill, and be fun all around, also it will allow some log cars into trains that the 2-4-4-2's can pull.


Bill Nelson