loggin' on the rails...

N

NCMRailroad

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Jul 29, 2006
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Hi all,
Just thought I would post an thread describing what I have decided on with my theme for a railroad.
I was out talkin' to a model railroader friend of mine this evening and showing him my idea of a layout he suggested that if I amd going to run a shay (Bachman Spec.) Then perhaps it might be a good idea to do the entire layout in a logging theme... Hmm... Sure why not and hence a loggin' on the rails shall be my theme.
Got some homework to do now as I am not too keen on what it takes to be a logger back in the early 1900's. :oops: (Besides trees!)
Hopefully I will beable to post a few pictures of my progress if the Gauge will allow!
rgd's,
NCMRailroad:thumb:
 
This is one of my favorite model railroads. It's an N-Scale 1930's logging layout built by a gentleman in France. Very compact, but very busy and detailed. I'm always amazed when people across the pond build a North American style layout, given the difficulty or expense of acquiring NA equipment.

http://simonet.club.fr/Poss_us.htm
 
You think as I do ...

Just got my Bachmann On30 Shay today, along with the Bachmann logging spine cars. It's puurrrdddyy. It's going to take me some getting used to the speed of a Shay, but I suppose that's the territory. I was pleased to discover that the engine and cars are all significantly heavier than my HO stuff ... even to the point of being to scale! Amazing!

Speaking of scale, have you decided what yours will be?
 
The first thing you will need to decide is what area you want to put your railroad in, as that will have a major influence in vegetation types and many other things.

As a place to start...I'd suggest seeing if you can get your hands on at least two or more books. The primary two would be Railroads in the Woods by John Labbe and Vernon Goe and Logging Railroads of the West by Kramer Adams. Logging Railroads of the West is long out of print but is widely available at cheap prices on the internet...Railroads in the Woods was long out of print until Oso Publishing re-printed it a while back. I think they have finally run out of their re-prints, but like Logging Railroads of the West you should not have a hard time finding copies.

I would also recommend that you find the January, February, March, and April 1984 issues of Railroad Model Craftsman. These four issues carried a four part series on Pacific Coast Logging Railroads...January's article carried basic background information on forest types and how they influenced the timber industry development in the region, with a heavy emphasis on logging railroads. The February and March issues covered the steam era of logging railroads, especially locomotives, equipment, and some operational practices. The April issue covered the diesel era.

There are two quaterely magazines out there that cover nothing but timber industry subjects, with a primary focus on logging railroads. Tall Timber Short Lines is one, published by Oso Publishing Company (http://www.osorail.com). The other is Timber Times (http://www.timbertimes.com). Both of these publishing firms also produce and distribute books about logging railroads, some of which you may find interesting.

There are a number of prototype websites out there...one of the best in Marc Reusser's Steam in the Woods website (http://www.steaminthewoods.com). I also will put in a shameless plug for my two websites, both of which contain a good amount of dry-side pine logger information- McCloud Rails at http://www.trainweb.org/mccloudrails and High Desert Rails at http://www.trainweb.org/highdesertrails

There have been a large number of books published, usually about a specific operation or about a number of operations in a specific region.

Lastly, I recommend joining the 4L e-mail list on Yahoo groups. This is a collection of logging fans from all over the world...many of them have extensive experience in the timber industry. There is rarely a question over there that does not get answered.

I hope this gives you at least a place to start doing some homework. Please keep us posted on your progress.

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV
 
I will also recommend Timber Times and Tall Timber Short Lines magazines. Another good source is Fine Scale Railroader's " Logging, Mining and Industrial Annual". Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette is great also. I've mentioned the following two books before on other threads but will repeat them. Railroads in the Woods and Logging Railroads of the West.
As for what it took to be a logger back then---Lots of ingenuity, hard work, long days and just plain cussedness. I remember my mother telling me that " my grandfather used to make just enough money to pay the bill at the company store".
 
Here are some additional sources that I find informative. Just type into your browser any or all of the following. Shay Locomotives, Heisler Locomotives or Climax Locomotives. You will get several thousad websites related to logging railroads.
 
I'm always amazed when people across the pond build a North American style layout, given the difficulty or expense of acquiring NA equipment.
Click to expand...
In Europe, models of European equipment are more expensive than models of American equipment are in America. It's easier for a European to model NA than the reverse.
 
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