On30 river dump - new version

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Yet another version of of my tiny logging diorama/switching layout.

I started with the “River camp” trackplan and picked up a few ideas from the “Sawmill scene”. I removed the run-around, to free more track for loading or storing equipment. The run-around does not make much sense since the engine cannot run around its train in the fiddle yard anyway, so I assume this is done off scene, and trains back into this part of the camp. The engine service area was moved to the right, which freed up space along the rear track to group repair shops and warehouse together.The only drawback is that engines will be stored with their rear end facing the door. Since trains will work upphill from the river bank it is prudent to turn them this way, so the crown sheet of the boiler stays covered with water on a hill. Also, I want my Shay to show off its drive-train..

The front track was turned into a log dump track on a trestle, with an A frame unloader. Shipping and unloading logs is of course the raison d’etre for any logging railroad, and the log dump is an iconic feature. The flip side is that there is no realistic way to actually dump logs, or exchange loaded cars for empties..

Finally, looking at a lot of photos of sternwheelers in action, I did not see any elaborate dock arrangements or cranes. So I settled for a small floating dock, staying level with the steamer deck so supplies can be hand-carted off the steamer.

Overall, I think this version includes many of the features I would like to model, with separate areas for maintenance/repair, engine service, log dump and steamer dock.

On30" sawmill scene

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Another logging variation in On30”. This time with a sawmill, large enough to warrant a railroad to feed it (or course, only the front end of the sawmill is actually modeled..). Again, the visible part of the layout is 22” x 68”. There is not room enough to let the jackslip pass over the tracks, so I had to place the sawmill at the end of the yard tracks.

In order to get more siding capacity, I decided to move the run-around off stage, so trains arrive with the engine pushing its consist. This was of course inspired by the “Simplicity Sidings” switching game, although I have not adhered to the game´s rules when it comes to siding capacities etc. .

The small company town serving the mill is off scene, and another aspect I found no room for is how finished lumber is transported from the mill to market.

A small signature feature of all my On30” plans is a little 18 ft boxcar, converted to a yard shed. The prototype for this is the only surviving piece of equipment from the mythical 30” gauge Yosemite Short Line. When I saw this back in 1984, it was being used as a tool shed in the Sierra Ry yard at Oakdale, CA. It has later been moved to Railtown 1897 in Jamestown, where hopefully it will one day be restored.

 

Boxcar /shed, Oakdale 1984

 

 

My model version, built abt 1985

On30 River camp - version 2

 

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A new version of my On30 logging camp. I managed to add an extra siding, without squeezing things too much (?). It made sense to use the middle track as the tail end for the run-around, as the location would be less accessible for loading or offloading cars.

 

Trading places between the engine house and the blacksmith shop put the blacksmith and carpenter at the ends of each siding, while I could eliminate the awkward switchback to the blacksmith shop.

 

Previous version: http://trackplans.blogspot.se/2017/05/sloat-lumber-co-river-camp-on30.html 

 



Sloat Lumber Co. River Camp – an On30 switching layout

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 The visible part of this small layout is 55 cm x 174 cm (22" x 68") with a two track sector plate hidden behind a door. Think of it as a photo stage with a bit of animation.

The key to making a reasonably credible layout in a small space is to focus on a specific part of a rail operation. If I try to represent too many aspects of a logging operation, each part will be shrunk to a Disneyland caricature. Inspired by Tom Beaton´s “Broak & Kantifordit” I have focused on the maintenance yard of a small logging camp. This gives me a reason to display a variety of funky logging equipment, which is my main modeling interest. Housing, mess hall etc, along with the log dump, are located off scene, east of the boat landing.

I love the primitive equipment used by early loggers, along with the sternwheel steamboats used to develop the Pacific northwest, so my logging camp is located on a river bank somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, around 1880-1900.  The loggers have exhausted the lumber within easy reach of the shore, and built a small narrow gauge railroad to reach farther. Regular railroad service is still in the future, so the logging operation's only connection with the outside world is by water.

Supplies for the logging operation and its crew are brought to the landing by steamboat. Logs are dumped into the river, and bundled into log rafts which are towed to  a sawmill on the Pacific coast, Finished lumber will be loaded on ocean-going lumber schooners for the booming economy of California.

I am considering to use a simplified form of link-and-pin couplers described by Harold Minky. Rolling stock is equipped with L&P coupler sockets, but for normal operations, I would couple equipment with a simple U-shaped wire staple. Proper links and pins can be added for display and photos.