Don't laugh too hard...It's my first attempt!

So much has been going on in my life lately (some good, some bad) that I really had no desire to model and I haven't even been running the trains. Nothing inspired me....just in a long funk that I could not pull out of.

I was talking to Deano the other nite and told him that one thing that bothered me about the layout was the coal mine. It is the one thing that I didn't do myself (bought it at a train show, as is) and although it looks good in pics (especially from a distance) I would have done it a bit differently. But just the fact that I didn't do it, bothers me.

I think it was Deano's idea, but he said it was mine (he's wrong of course)....I am going to build the walthers new river mine and make it the way I want. I went out and tracked one down at a not so local hobby shop. Hopefully it will give me the kick in the pants that I need to get the layout moving again.

I also need to take advantage of the warm weather and make trees out in the garage....but one thing at a time.

Here are some up close pics of the current mine...you can see it needs a lot of work...re-painting and better weathering would do wonders for it and, of course, STAIRS!!!:gaptooth:

Not too bad from a little distance:
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Up close...a little different:
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Anyone need a "slightly" used coal mine?:twisted::gaptooth:

take care:wave:
 
Steve, I hope the new mine will get you back on track again :wave:. You are right, the current coal mine looks better from the distance. Judging by the structures you built and weathered so far, I am sure you will do a lot better than that.
 
Lynn:
Wow Steve I really like it
Click to expand...
Then you aught to LOVE the new one!:gaptooth:;-)

Kurt...glad you're back:thumb:. I hope you are right and I do it justice, but at least I'm excited to do it! I did get some scratch building stuff btw:winker:

I'll post with some progress pics...I just bought the kit today.
 
Steve....Good to see you around again. This happens to all of us, so don't sweat it. I haven't done muchof anything other than the coal station I entered in the kit building contest, until a couple of days ago I thought t was time to do some re-arranging in the small yard. So I got to it, and now I can't wait to get home and do some more...!! It's the way these things are...
Post progress pics on that mine of YOURS...
 
Good thinking, Steve. Way to have the courage to try something new and declare something 'not acceptable'. It's such a personal standard but I've seen many other modelers just accept a result they are not all that pleased with, and they don't ever seem really happy.

Hang in there, buddy. I've been in the funk as well. Job related stress. Anyway, you can do it! (Whenever and however you want!) I second the comment that if its anything like your other kitbuilding efforts it'll be just fine. As long as you're happy with it!

Galen
 
First Off, Folks, the NEW mine kitbash project WAS 100% STEVE's idea:eeki: , DON'T let him kid you:winki: ....i just jumped on his idea and agreed it was a FANTASTIC way to get back in the swing of things:thumb: . NOW THAT THE RECORD IS STRAIGHT.....

Steve:wav: , SO GLAD to hear you went and seeked out the mine kit:mrgreen: , the effort it took to do that just shows your READY to get back into modeling on your AWESOME layout again:bravo: . i also agree that YOUR mine will turn out 110% BETTER then what you had:winki: . from a distance, the mine looked GREAT, and up close there are a couple of things i liked about it, the green moss look in spots on it is nice:winki: , but SOME the weathering, i never noticed before that some of it was wiped SIDEWAYS:eeki: , thats a weathering 101 NO NO:winki: , and whats up with the hunk of wood with the 2 screws in the side of the building? :confused: i KNOW YOU can do MUCH better then the guy that done it did:thumb::mrgreen::mrgreen: .

NICE to have MY BEST FRIEND BACK!!!!!:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:
:deano: -Deano
 
I hope that your next mine is a great one. I am glad you are finding time to enjoy this hobby again. Take the time to look for what you want and make the "looking" part of the hobby.
Some people think that shopping etc is a pain, but if you think of it, it is really just one more facet of the total hobby itself. I enjoy the shopping and browsing etc. I find it part and parcel of the totality of the hobby.

Also don't get worried if you have to buy something else. Just because you did not 'make' that mine does not mean it is not 'yours'. It becomes yours as soon as it finds a place on your layout.
I never worry about my locos for instance. I rarely weather them or paint my cars etc simply because I suck at it. But give me a building of wood or scenery or hand laid track, etc and I love it. So you don't have to be good at everything. Just have fun. :)
 
Thank you all for the encouragement!
I wanted to start on the mine tonight but I was looking for something near the beginning of this thread and I noticed that I could finally edit all of my posts. I spent the next 4 hours inserting pics and fixing many of the broken links..........I am worn out!!!!

I have to work tomorrow, so it will probably be a couple of days before I get enough progress done to show. But I am determined to get moving!!!!

Take care!
 
joesho...the "git r done" got up and went!......if you scroll to the top of the page I briefly explain what has been going on in my life...the is a lot more I assure you! But I am back in full swing now....with one difference: I am pouring over EVERY coal mine pic I can find and every kit-bash project out there to do the best mine I can. I have about three choices now and I will decide very soon....so hang in there....I'll git r done.....eventually!!....LOL!!!!!!!
 
Since you asked, here's my advice. Yes, you did ask. Way back when. Anyway, here 'tis, some thoughts on setting up a mine on the layout, and some other stuff from the soapbox - rationale for what I'm thinking.

John Armstrong's planning book...did you ever get a copy of that? Anyway, he breaks down coal mining operation pretty suscinctly. All you really need is a single track with room for the empties to drift or be pushed by the loading chute.

The idea of dropping a single car at a mine is not without its prototype, but was not all that common. These situations occurred where a once heavily-trafficked mine was playing out, or a single car might take a week to be loaded by trucks from local smaller shafts, or in the early days when labor was cheap and small mines were plentiful.

But the stereotype "single-car-at-a-tiny-tipple" got perpetuated through fine firms like Atlas et al designing layouts (and structures) with just such a scenario in mind. And, let's be honest, these little tipples can have great character and do fit on our selectively compressed layouts.

Then along comes Walthers and brings us a big, beautiful 'modern' steam-transition era 'mine' (more than just a tipple). BUT, it still gets treated, often, like a small mine (ooh, three tracks means I can load three cars, not just one!) when really, a mine that size needs a long space to accomodate even half of what it could produce in a day.

I realize not everyone is as concerned about prototype fidelity, or even a simulation of the idea. This is fine too, and we can each model however we want. That said, I still believe there is something inherantly 'right' about setting up a scene to really reflect the size and capacity of the structure. Think about Dr. Wayne's GERN industries. That complex really looks like it can handle alot of traffic!

So...how this relates to your layout, Steve. When I was thinking of a mine scene way back during the design phase, just dreaming mind you, I was really thinking of something smaller than the Walthers beheamoth, more like the Coeur D'Alene from BIS or another such wooden structure. However, a metal version would work. The idea was not to overwhelm the layout with such a large structure.

The real trouble is the space. For as many empty cars as you shove past the loader, you need that much room to store them on the turnout side of the tipple after they've been loaded. That's how the mine run shifter would find them when he arrived bringing up empties.

So with that in mind, do the math for your space, or go back to the original sketch and see what I was thinking. You can fit 3 or 4 two-bay hoppers at the end of the track with one hopper beneath the loader and about that many between the loader and the switch.

Now as you start adding tracks for additional loaders, you need turnouts and that means you begin losing space for loaded cars and empties. Eventually you reach a point where in actuality more tracks beneath the tipple gives you less capacity for cars because they have no where to 'roll' once loaded. Sure, you can put a few more cars under the tipple, but you're back to only representing the mine, not really operating the mine.

Well, just some thoughts to keep the wheels turning upstairs. Don't get analysis paralysis, but consider the operations angles before you re-lay any track or start cutting down that structure.
 
Galen,
Very well put!, and worthy of long consideration.
There are a few who model a specific industry, and it is their whole layout! Most of us practice some form of selective compression, because we just do not have the real estate.
Every industry has its own "space requirements", and they should be taken into consideration, when planning to model that industry. You have fairly accurately described the requirements of a mine. A sawmill, for example, needs: 1. a log delivery system. 2. a mill, capable of handling the logs, and the rough cut lumber. 3. A means to send out the cut lumber, to a finishing mill, or distributor. All of this takes space. You usually do not see a stock loading ramp, and a siding for a stock car, at a pen just big enough for six head of cattle! (unless the rest of the "pen" is a painted backdrop). Did I just imply that the "rest" of the industry could be a painted backdrop? With enough advanced planning.....yeah, that could work.
 
My modeling spirit comes and goes. Some months, I'm so obsessed with it, that's all I can think about to other months when I wish that I would have used that square footage for something else. I find that when I take a break every now and then, I usually come back to it with fresh ideas and more interest.
 
There was an article a few years ago in either MR or RMC about modeing a small coal loader for a small layout. What they showed was a small loading dock (similar to a pier a ship would tie up to) that was over a siding in a cut. Dump trucks loaded with coal would back out onto the pier, and dump their load into a waiting hopper underneath. I think the prototype would be more appropriate to West Virginia where I understand they either had or perhaps still have small family owned mines. In the Northwest, I think any coal mine would be very large, and I suspect more likely to be an open pit than an underground mine.
 
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