Hello all you N scalers, As the title suggests I have been looking into ways to simulate coal operations, first a little background I will be using the New river mining tipple kit with tracks that are connected to switches on both sides of the tipple, with Mty storage on one side and loaded cars on the other side so I'll be doing smallish loads of different sized coal, which means I will be looking into some custom loads to reflect the different sizes of the coal loads, so that leads me to some of the most popular concepts Ive found so far. One of the more popular concepts is to pre-stage for a session, that is to have loaded cars on the outbound tracks, then drop off empties and pick up the loads and deliver them to their destination. Another one of the popular concepts is similar to the above, only you would swap empties and loads through a scenic devider( my layout would not work for that) A less popular concept is using live loads, and I don't even want to go down that track, all I see is a big mess. Then there is the idea of removing and replacing the "load" insert, which I kind of like and I will be looking at some custom loads anyway, but it seems like those loads fit rather snuggly and would be difficult to pull in and out. So I realize that prototypicle operation would be for the mine workers to ride the cars through the tipple and load them manually, what I am thinking about is pulling them through the tipple with a switcher or some older loco, and then dropping the loads in after they are on the loads side of the tipple. Have I covered all of the popular concepts on this kind of operation or have I missed one that would better suit my ideas, what have any of you ever tried, and do those custom loads fit tightly in the cars? Thanks
I am also modeling a coal loading facility, and using the New River Mine kit.. I have set mine up where I push my empties through the facility, and then pull the full cars back out the opposite way with a switcher (It was a good excuse to have to buy a Bachmann 44 Tonner.. lol) If you didnt want to use a switcher for moving the cars, you could put the track on a slight incline (grade), and use gravity to run them back through.. (I have seen a small 1:1 coal unloading facility work this way, so there is no reason why it would for a coal loading facility).. I am using the Atlas 90T coal wagons, and I am looking at removing the coal loads and sanding the sides a little so they can be removed and replaced much easier, and then gluing a small magnet under each load, and another to a piece of 1/4' dowel (or pencil) to use as a tool to remove and replace the loads.. Cheers
What era do you plan on modleing, because I live across the street from a line to a cloal mine a few miles down the road that's served by NS mostly.
Backlash: The magnets sound like a good idea, I have some of those little rare earth magnets from radio shack that shouls work. Virginian Railway: I am modeling mid 60's and earlier.
If that's the timeframe your modeling I would say go with the pre-staged way. If you're modeling the operations of the railroad, the only thing they would be concerned with is how many loaded cars are ready to go! They(the RR) probably didn't care HOW the cars were loaded, just that they were and are ready to be picked up! Sure, they might have had to wait a few times for a customer to finish loading some cars, but the majority of the time they would pick up the loads that are ready and waiting. If you want to model the operations of the loader, then go with the removeable loads. Most of the old tipples either used gravity or winches to move their cars. Having a switcher was usually a luxury for the bigger volume tipples/prep plants. That's not to say that the customers of your railroad couldn't find a switcher usefull.:tb-biggrin: Trevor D.
For operations of a model railroad. You would spot full cars at the tipple before a session and swap them during the mine run for empties. Very few places were served twice in one day. There were some but they were few and far between. If you wanted to do a second run to the mine in one operating session I would say some light sanding of the edges of the coal loads would make them easier to get in and out and the magnet idea is pretty neat.
Another possibility is to not model a working coal mine. Have it and the customers it serves off the layout. Then all you need to do is what the RR's do best, move cars. Empties one way loads the other way. Have a hidden staging yard and you are all set. Now if you already have a coal mine on the layout, you could close it down as abandoned. Moving coal underground is expensive. It is not unusual for a coal company to relocate tipples [now called 'load out points'] closer to the working face of a mine in order to make the mining process more efficient.
Coke ovens? Related, but off- topic:Can anyone point me to resource material for early (1800s) coke oven operations? I bought some precast "beehive" coke ovens for my tabletop layout as an industry, but I'm unsure how they were used.Thanks
Don't forget some mines were 'loads in loads out' operations, ie. big prep plants like Moss 1 on the Clinchfield, so no need to remove loads from cars. I expoxy an iron nail under each load and use one of those magnetic retrieval pens to lift the loads out of a train very quickly.
I use, #1, Pre-stage for a session, that is to have loaded cars on the outbound tracks, then drop off empties and pick up the loads and deliver them to their destination. This is accomplished through a double track helix. My layout will not accomodate delivery locations/destinations so the full loads simply re-enter the double track helix to stage as a loaded train. I have a companion train with empties that can also stage on the same double track helix. It can be called out to the main until it arrives at and now enters the coal district, disappearing into the helix while the train with the coal loads pulls up and out of the helix as it slowly pulls forward, giving the appearance it is being loaded. It's not what I want particularly but it works until such a time as we N scalers can figure out a particular way and means to load and unload realistic coal loads. Loads of fun. Pun intended. Did I beat the editing clock? Who said you had to be a good writer composing perfect train literature the first time out? Yep, still grumpy...grin!
Where to find information about coke ovens-- Library of Congress online. www.loc.gov then click "American Memory" Then select Architecture/Landscape... opens 9 collections. Then select "Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey, 1933-Present" 1933 refers to when they started measuring, drawing scale drawings and photographic buildinbgs and works of engineering. Once in collection, enter your search. I tried "coke oven" and got 109 items. The onces labelled "Built in America" usually include scale drawings, multiple photographs from different angles and explanatory text for each identified building or complex.
