Picture thread of your Logging, Mining, or unique industrial equipment.

gbwdude

General Manager, W.R.Ry.
I don't know how I missed this, but I have a strange love for steam shovels. Every Saturday my Grandpa and I would go to the next town over to pick up feed and molasses in our '68 F100. On the way there was a old quarry that you could see into from the road and close to the road was this big steam shovel. It was mostly rust flavored with the cab and body showing hints of orange. I'd get so excited to see that huge hunk of metal and wished I could see it operate. As cool as your model is Bill, that's not why I'm here.

While cruising through random pages involving trains in miniature, I found something that I know a few guys would appreciate. It's located here: http://www.discoverlivesteam.com/magazine/142/index.html

Maybe someday I'll be able to have a ride on railroad empire like my late uncle, for now it's all a pipe dream.

Tyler
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Great site

Hi Tyler,

You happened upon a very prolific modeler who has done a lot for large scale model rail roading.

Here is Rick's work in the Chattanooga area where I hail from http://csme-eprr.com/ In fact his club's ride on RR is near Dunlap Tennessee where I worked to pay off medical school loans X 3 years.......a beautiful but isolated part of this great state of Tennessee.

Enjoy your ride on the big model steam engines. Maybe we could arrange a visit some time.

Tom:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:
 

gbwdude

General Manager, W.R.Ry.
Tom,

Even though the real Whiskey River is bigger, they win hands down on the scenery! It doesn't matter the scale or gauge, if it's railroading related I'm interested. Hopefully you could show me this place at some point in the future before I leave, whenever that'll be.

Tyler
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
ASL A_1  TWR Skdr a-1.jpg ASL A_1  TWR Skdr a-2.jpg Back at it agian, this time with a Tower skidder!

It has been a while since I started a new project (the steam shovel is still in a project tray, in about the same stage of completion as the last photos indicate.


I am doing a major rebuild of my home railraod. at the same time we are doing a major rebuild of the Club layout in Clarksville TN.. My narrow gauge to standard gauge log reload facility in Ridgemont has been removed.


In that location, I had a kitbashed rail mounted log loader that was made from a Brownhurst crane model (MDC or Atheren most likely, i did the original conversion so long ago there are no digital photos to document what it originally looked like. I will dig through my photos and try to come up with a photo of this crane's last incarnation..


I built two Surry Parker skidder laoders, making one for Dr Tom. when he went to large scale I got the second one back. When I do my rebuild, I will have one at the narrow gauge- standard gauge reload facility, and the other at the log camp; so the kitbashed log loader was out of a job. The tower skidder will likely go to the club for a second logg camp on the newly rebuilt high line.


I had the boom extended with some CV girder material, but I will need to make it lomnger still so I dissasembled it. I filed on the end of the boom, so it will rise higher, and I may need to remove just a little more as I will need the boom to raise up to a vertical position.


Tower skidders did a lot of work and had massive boilers. What I am using here is a Bachman O scale two drum skidder. this is a small machine in O scale , but is a monster in HO scale; just what I need.



I will rebuild the boom, (now a tower) with CV girder material; most likey this machine will go to the club. I wish the crane's original frame was longer, but "m not messing with it, as it is cast metal, and heavy enough to support this project.



If my spelling is worse than normal, my browser's spell check switched itself to German, so almost everything is redlined, I have not figured out how that happened, much less how to undo it; and being dislexic, my own mental spell check doesn't work very well


Nelson
 
Last edited:

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
ASLA-1a twer skidder on cr.jpg found flatcar

I had a flatcar in mind to mount this unit, I believe it was an old MDC car . It did not like my railroad, but tracked a little better on the club layout, so I had it there. I finally found it there, and brought it home for use on this project, which will likey be stationary, so it won't matter how ****y the car is.


I photograped it on the workbench, the clutter there is usually much worse.


I'm looking for the spool of light gray button theread that I use to represent wire rope, once I find that, I need to make a swivel head with a pulley for the top of the tower, figure out how I'm going to rig this monster, and then I can start to put the drums in the base of the donor crane.
 
Last edited:

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Now that's nice.

Bill,
That is a nice looking build you got going there. I agree it will look real good on the club's logging show.

Here are some pics from over on the Large Scale Central forum showing a build of Lidgerwood tower skidder in 1:20.3 Large Scale. The thing is huge and the base is made from actual welded angle iron.
Tom
 

Attachments

  • skidderonggrrc002.jpg
    skidderonggrrc002.jpg
    187.7 KB · Views: 53
  • skidderoperatingplatform003_zpsb40fbed8.jpg
    skidderoperatingplatform003_zpsb40fbed8.jpg
    150.3 KB · Views: 33
  • Skidder 3.jpg
    Skidder 3.jpg
    129.7 KB · Views: 27

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
The complication of that model shows why I am building a shop built tower skidder, and not a ledgerwood. specifically my unit does not have the loader, it will bring the logs in from the mountain top, we will have to lad the cars with the Barnhardts.
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
ASLA-1a twr skdr w bm #1.jpg re thinking

after studying the landing site at camp Gravestone at the club where this monster will likey get placed, I decided that a loading boom would be a good idea I am using the end of the brownhurst boom, which I am extending with some leftover pieces from a Centralvalley Truss bridge that I shortened. This boom, as it is is too long. I need to design a pivot, that will let the boom move from side to side, and then I will shorten it considerably.


Not finding the button thread I used to rig my big Donkey project, and the Surry Parkers, I purchased another spool of thread. once I have the pivot for the , or perhaps even before that I may start painting the machinery and start assembling this monster. ot will be slow going as most of my effort is going into the rebuild of my home railroad.
 
Last edited:

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
ASL-A1a rsty stuff.jpg 'm reworking some bridge spans for my new RR design, and needed to repaint them with a mix of flat black and red auto body primer to get the rusty blackl metal look. I tossed the tower skidder machinery in there as well to improve it;'s looksand I'm liking it!


the first photo I made had a white backdrop and the flash overpowered the photo, and my graphic converter program did not help much, so I re shot the photo with a black back drop, and this shows my rusty metal look much better.

I sparay with flat black and then follow with red auto body so quickly that the black has not had time to dry yet, and the colors mix on the part. These bridges were off of my Gizzard module, and have been in service for close to thirty years. they were silver to start with, and then they were flat black, and later rusty black. they were repainted several times with rusty flat black, but this is the best yet. from this angle the flash found some of the old silver, which is not visable to the naked eye.
 
Last edited:

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
This thread has been dormant for a while; as I have been working on a massive rebuild of my rr. I just went through my build logs, and edited the photos to full image, to make the treasd easier to follow.

Just a reminder, I did not start this thread, it is an open thread If you have a finished project, please share it. A work in progress, even better.
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
a logging  machines 2:3:14.JPG

Working on logging machines again the rio grande Models Dholbeer donkey to the left was in the shops for repairs. to the right front, a home made logger I made the frame for a long ways back, just got a winch. the boiler on the sled is from a Bachman flatcar load, and is too small. I need to find or build a larger boiler for this unit, which would be placed perpendicular to the track , on cribbing slightly above the level of the flat cars, with the center of the fixed boom directly over the center line of the track. On the track behind the front line is a shop built car mounted skidder loader I have been making From a Bachman O scale flat car load, and an HO Brownhurst crane (Possibly MDC) . the watertank is built from a Bachman HO . These two loaders my go to our Clarksville Tn club logging operations. I think I need to go back to study my documentation of my Surry parkers, and figure out how I made the working log tongs, and make another pair for these two loaders.

Bill Nelson
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
a logging machines  2 16 15.JPG


THe machines in the foground had been damages in storage, and found thie way to the workbench for repair, I have actually done some new work on the long machine's roof. the long machine has parts form an SSLtd kit, as well as pats from two Evergreen kits. the Dolber Donkey to the right is a Rio Grand Models kit built as intended.
 
Top