I posted about it last post, my foreman and supervisor were both happy for me, the mill evidently is a really good place to work in this area. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Let the door augmentation begin! I built a 8 foot tall bookcase in college using this same notch joinery technique. That didn't use screws and was super strong and stable. This doesn't need to be near as bombproof, so I'm thinking the same technique will work well here for supporting the edges of the benchwork. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
I've taken a break from benchwork for few reasons. 1. Scale RC summer competition series started, and I wanted to compete in a class this year. Gave my truck its comp shakedown before the next reason... 2. I've been working 12s for the last two weeks straight, multiple plants are doing shutdowns one after the other. Some down time lately cause the mill personnel are having some technical issues, but have to be here in case they need us. 3. I need to do all that overhead wiring work in the ceiling before I join the doors together and they be a lot harder to move around. Before I do that, I need a weekend where my bud VJ and I can replace my weather head and upgrade my service/fuse box. Can't do that when I don't have weekends! I can't wait to get back at it though. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Sounds like you nee to buy one of my patented 25 hour day packages. Except they are out of stock right now.....
My new job promises 40 hours a week and flexible (read: determine my own), schedule. Once I get into the swing of things, I'm going to get VJ up here and get the electrical upgrades finished! Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Wow. I didn't realize it has been this long since I thought about tiny trains, other than organizing and storing them. I thought it was just last winter. My wonderful fiancée resparked me today by getting me a fairly rare piece of research literature I've been looking for years to find. Free at a yard sale no less. Also, in good news, we emptied all the original owners furniture from the lower garage, so now I'm not constrained to having my hobby work area crowded by the layout benchwork anymore. Therefore, it is in the garage and won't be a repository for miscellaneous stuff. I had to dismantle it to get it through the interior doorway, but since it was only the doors with no scenery on top, I only lost a few minutes worth of work. This winter I want to get back to tiny trains more instead of just tiny trucks, we'll see how it goes. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Yesterday's post in retrospect seems like I abandoned trains entirely. Not true. I have been doing some on the ground and in the books/on the web research. Last winter Kari and I took a hike over the hill behind the house and followed the right of way of the Kane & Elk. Originally built by the James Brother's to serve their lumber mill on East Branch of Tionesta Creek, it connected with the Pittsburg & Western and the Pennsylvania at East Kane. In 1906, when the first American Plate Glass factory burned down in James City, a larger plant was built that needed rail connection to the Pennsylvania, the P&W wasn't cutting it alone. In a joint venture, the glass factory owners and the James brothers extended their rail line up the hill via switch back to James City. It was eventually extended over into the next creek valley, passing through McKinley and up to LaMont, ending seemingly in the middle of a timber tract (I'm still researching this end). We found these pilings. I'm not certain if they're from the mill, or from the Crystal Mineral Springs Resort, which came after the James' lumber operation ceased. We also took a drive over the Heart's Content and hiked randgust's favorite W&D rights of way, where I found plenty of old ties in what is now a man-made creek. I'm seriously considering designing a proto-freelance Kane and Elk layout, including the glass factory. I need to find more information on it though. I can guess loads in would be sand at least. Boxcars of plate glass loads out. I could also include some oil/gas derricks/tanks as that too was found in this area at the turn of the 20th century. Lots to think about and research. And build. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Wow. So I guess what one gleans from the internet and what one finds in books that they had previously only flipped through and not got around to reading potentially aren't the same information. Ha. According to Taber, the P&W never had a connection to James City. It came after it was standard gauged and bought by the B&O. It was the beginning of the end for the Kane and Elk as the James Brothers lumber and chemical facilities closed soon after. Not the other way around as I posted above. The mill was in East Kane, not at the bottom of the hill behind my house. Those pilings have to be from the resort. Station or changing areas or both. The first section of railroad was actually from McKinley to Lamont, as the chemical plant predated the lumber mill. A spur from McKinley connected with the Tionesta Valley downstream. Ouch. I was way off. Still, now I have a solid idea of what all I could faithfully model if I wanted to go full prototype modelling. I sent randgust an email as well, seeing if we can still modify an Atlas Shay to an older, lighter model. I'm a little excited. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Last week I ventured down to the Kane depot, where the local historic preservation group is headquartered. Everyone there is incredibly helpful and opened up their entire collection to my perusal. Jon and Wendy helped me find all sorts of maps, prints, and artifacts. I went back this week with a tripod so my phone could take better angle pictures, especially of Sanborns and track blue prints. We also found the "James City Box", where even more pertinent artifacts were than we found the first visit. Check out my new avatar!!!! Today I photo-stitched the Sanborns into one image as best I could, since all this is in the most preliminary steps of brainstorming. Look at those dimensions. Yeesh. I think even if I did some selective compression, it's still going to be a huge complex. Next modelling time session, on to AnyRail to see what this really could begin looking like.
All this research is a great part of the fun! Now you are stuck with the grueling part of selectively compressing what you can fit into your space. I am looking forward to seeing what you cpme up with.
The scary part is, I have the space. But then I couldn't do the rest of the railroad much justice, for lack of space, lol. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Version 1 of a Unitrack track plan, with 4x8 foot plywood sheets for size reference. I don't forsee using 4x8s for the actual construction, I think a more flowing edge cookie cutter method will be more esthetically pleasing and construction material economical. It will also result in more room to work industries in other towns that will be along the walls of the room such as Lamont, East Kane, McKinley and perhaps Nansen/ Coon Junction.
Sitting here with the work computer compiling I of course start letting my mind drift to hobby stuff. That of course meant thinking about how last night's track plan was kind of clunky and hard to compress due to the rigid track geometry of Kato Unitrack, unless I want to start hacking away at individual pieces to make custom ones. Second, it is code 80 with built in roadbed, when my prototype is a light weight turn of the last century woods road. Two-faced ties, spiked without plates, ballasted with dirt and glass slag. Certainly a far departure from uniform ballasted bright gray roadbed, elevated a few scale feet. I'm thinking sell the Kato, most of my modern equipment, and a bunch of RC stuff to finance Peco code 55 track acquisition. Electro-frog I think? I need to do a lot more research on it, but by the sounds of it, Insul-frog isn't going to be the best choice for diminutive Shays and 2-8-0s. Either way, flex track will look better, and the off-set three-way switch they have is going to work so much better on the west (left) side of the plant. A lot easier to integrate Atlas crossings, with their various angle diamonds, as well.
So much for that theory. It certainly isn't smaller. It however does seem to flow better because it more closely resembles the prototype.
Just discovered my Anyrail is set to a 14.75 curve radius minimum for flex track. Going to tinker with it again with a 9.8 min.
The other evening I tried making a track plan for the James' Bros. East Kane Chemical facility where they made charcoal until they went under, railroad included. It was stupifying to me how many tracks they needed to run a charcoal plant. I went back to the depot this evening and a guy I had met before but hadn't seen at the depot alerted me to the fact that not all the Sanborns are in the map drawer, some are digitized. i found this gem from 1898, look how simple that track plan is, lol. Don't mind Huff and Campbell, I'm only concerned with James' properties.
