Making a New Start
- Thread starter C&S
- Start date
Well, Zeke Howard, our master mechanic down in the Cattewater shops finally decided he'd never be able to make anything out of the old Baldwin, so she was towed down to Bonneyville yesterday and sent off on a standard gauge flatcar, bound for another line further north, but before she went they posed her on the Hogwood trestle.
With traffic levels as they are there didn't seem much need for a bigger locomotive than the little Porters we've been using all these years. Pity; she sure would have looked pretty if she'd been put back into use.
With traffic levels as they are there didn't seem much need for a bigger locomotive than the little Porters we've been using all these years. Pity; she sure would have looked pretty if she'd been put back into use.
Made a start on the engine house at Cattewater.............
The uneven tops of the coffee-stirrer internal cladding will be invisible once the roof goes on. I've had those large windows for years; this is the first structure on the line that they are not too big for.
[attachment deleted by admin]
The uneven tops of the coffee-stirrer internal cladding will be invisible once the roof goes on. I've had those large windows for years; this is the first structure on the line that they are not too big for.
[attachment deleted by admin]
Been thinking about the floor inside the new engine house. What would it have been - brick, cement, planks, earth?? Anyone got a suggestion. I'm inclined towards brick, only because I have a couple of slightly oversized sheets that would look OK on the floor - I'm assuming a surface that could be washed down and be unaffected by spilled oil. Also I could put a cover-plate between the rails to look as if there's an inspection pit.
I have a small workbench and tool-rack to put against the internal wall, just inside the door, and a clay figure (from a friend) of a bald-headed old guy tinkering with something. Probably Zeke working on a minor repair for one of the Porters.
I have a small workbench and tool-rack to put against the internal wall, just inside the door, and a clay figure (from a friend) of a bald-headed old guy tinkering with something. Probably Zeke working on a minor repair for one of the Porters.
vsmith
G Scale indoors, O Tinplate, Micro Layouts
Brick or stone on the floor if its 19th century, concrete if its 20th century, you could use wood, but historically wood engine houses, albiet wood floored, walled, etc. tended not to last long around steam locomotives, thats why most that still survive today were steel, brick or concrete.
IMHO use whatever material you have on hand that your most comfortable working with.
IMHO use whatever material you have on hand that your most comfortable working with.
Home alone tonight and rubbish TV, so the engine house has moved on quite a bit. Walls clad with lapped planks, internal floor done and dirty - can't really tell what it is, after all my worrying. In fact it's planks along the rear wall that can be seen through the door, and plain card (concrete or just filth) between the rails and on the nearside, which is all but invisible. Had some fun adding detail parts - gas cylinders, a compressor, cans and a jack, and made two tool cabinets out of a cardboard outer box from a glue tube.
Should be able to do a little more tomorrow, and so perhaps pictures by tomorrow evening.
Should be able to do a little more tomorrow, and so perhaps pictures by tomorrow evening.
Painted and weathered the engine house yesterday, and topped out the basic roof today. Tiles and detailed louvres tomorrow, with luck. Then the water tank needs a small repair and settting upright.
Interesting how this group of structures really balances the industrial buildings at the other end of the yard; it seems to have made the picture more complete than before with the previous card mock-up.
Looking again at this picture, I really like it. The way the main line curves around behind the gondola and the building on the right seems to invite one to look round the corner to see where the line goes next. I've recently acquired a miniature camera tripod, which I should have used for this shot. Must try it out as pictures from this low angle are much more realistic.
Interesting how this group of structures really balances the industrial buildings at the other end of the yard; it seems to have made the picture more complete than before with the previous card mock-up.
Looking again at this picture, I really like it. The way the main line curves around behind the gondola and the building on the right seems to invite one to look round the corner to see where the line goes next. I've recently acquired a miniature camera tripod, which I should have used for this shot. Must try it out as pictures from this low angle are much more realistic.
Dylanlewis2000
Registered
Nice layout. I have Casey from Lake George set 
Dylanlewis2000 said:I have Casey from Lake George set
Yes they're good little locos - perfect for a minimum space American-style layout. I only wish I had the length in the fiddle yards to be able to make at least one of mine a tender loco. Alas, no room unless I drop a car or the caboose from the standard train formation. Meanwhile I must work out what to do with Rusty who is at present in original condition - I'm thinking perhaps a variation for the cab panelling and perhaps a green paint scheme.
Having acquired six locomotives (now reduced to five) I found that I'd not numbered them consecutively. To make sense of the numbering as it exisits I came up with a potted history of the line's motive power. Something like this (locomotives used on the layout shown in heavy type)
1 0-4-0ST Porter 1892
2 0-4-0ST " 1892 - scrapped after accident 1915
3 0-4-0ST " 1899 - re-numbered 8 following rebuild in 1929
4 0-4-0ST " 1899 - rebuilt 1929 using parts from first #5
5 20t diesel Plymouth 1940 (original Porter loco of 1899 laid aside 1928)
6 2-4-2T Baldwin 1910 - laid aside 1928, sold 1940
7 0-4-0T Porter 1920
8 0-4-0ST " 1929 formerly #3, rebuilt as coal burning locomotive
From this we see that the line opened with two locomotives, and that three more were acquired to handle the mining and timber trains when the extension to Clydes Creek opened. The hoped-for extra traffic on the extension to Bonneyville caused the acquisition of a larger Baldwin but the traffic never really warranted the purchase, as the loco was expensive to run and tended to damage the track. It was therefore laid aside in 1928, along with one of the later Porters, as the financial climate worsened at the end of this decade. To replace them, one of the 1899 machines was rebuilt locally to burn coal as the bunker could hold enough fuel to reach Bonneyville without refuelling en-route - something the wood-burners often needed. As the financial climate improved at the end of the 1930s the Baldwin was sold, allowing the purchase of a new Plymouth diesel - needed to help the now rather elderly collection of steam locomotives keep the traffic moving (the layout is set in 1941).
Perhaps not entirely convincing, but it does try and explain why the locomotive are numbered the way they are.
1 0-4-0ST Porter 1892
2 0-4-0ST " 1892 - scrapped after accident 1915
3 0-4-0ST " 1899 - re-numbered 8 following rebuild in 1929
4 0-4-0ST " 1899 - rebuilt 1929 using parts from first #5
5 20t diesel Plymouth 1940 (original Porter loco of 1899 laid aside 1928)
6 2-4-2T Baldwin 1910 - laid aside 1928, sold 1940
7 0-4-0T Porter 1920
8 0-4-0ST " 1929 formerly #3, rebuilt as coal burning locomotive
From this we see that the line opened with two locomotives, and that three more were acquired to handle the mining and timber trains when the extension to Clydes Creek opened. The hoped-for extra traffic on the extension to Bonneyville caused the acquisition of a larger Baldwin but the traffic never really warranted the purchase, as the loco was expensive to run and tended to damage the track. It was therefore laid aside in 1928, along with one of the later Porters, as the financial climate worsened at the end of this decade. To replace them, one of the 1899 machines was rebuilt locally to burn coal as the bunker could hold enough fuel to reach Bonneyville without refuelling en-route - something the wood-burners often needed. As the financial climate improved at the end of the 1930s the Baldwin was sold, allowing the purchase of a new Plymouth diesel - needed to help the now rather elderly collection of steam locomotives keep the traffic moving (the layout is set in 1941).
Perhaps not entirely convincing, but it does try and explain why the locomotive are numbered the way they are.
Got the tiles onto the engine house roof over the week-end, but then had trouble matching the paintwork on the smoke vents to the walls - first two attempts came out too yellow, then to lemony. Third time lucky. I also put a cap on the chimney which is supposedly for a forge inside the building. Since these photos were taken I've also put down some fine ballast and grass/shrubs along the foundataion line, preparatory to re-installing the water tank, after the spout has been repaired.
Struck by the Law of Unintended Consequences!.....Having added the engine house roof, with overhang, there was not enough room to stand the water tank upright without the spout fouling the track. So - the fuel platform had to be reduced in size, so as to move the tank sideways. All done now, and a ladder made to reach the hatch on the tank's roof. Having posted the final picture, I can see two more small jobs that need doing to complete the scene.
