I spent some time this week figuring out just where the track was going using flex track instead of ready track. Not much new to see so I won't post any photos of that end of the railroad. I did, however, do some work on the log-loading area in the corner next to the garage door. This area is just beyond the high trestle.
The above photo shows the area I have been working in. The track that comes in from the left and continues off to the right is the main high line. The train in the foreground has just crossed the trestle and is headed towards the mine. At that point the railroad becomes a twin-level railroad and the track on the upper level crosses over the yard area that is on the lower level and proceeds to the mine which is also on an upper level. The track behind the main holds some skeleton log cars and that is to be the log loading area. The rear track with the gas mechanical engine is the track that will hold the log loader. More about that below. The area directly behind the third track is where the steam powered yarder will sit and will be dragging logs into the site. There will be trees along the back so you cannot see exactly where the logs are coming from but hopefully will give the illusion that they are being dragged from a point where they well felled, deeper in the forest.
This is a photo of Backwoods Miniatures self-propelled log loader kit. It uses a Bachmann gas mechanical engine as the donor for the drive mechanism. That explains the gas mechanical in the first photo. Hopefully when I build mine it will look like the one in the photo. Well, close anyway. The space that I have available in the loading area is not large enough to support a haystack loader or any kind of high line rigging so this is my compromise. The idea is for the loader to pick up a log, rotate 180 degrees and then run along its track to load the log on an empty car. This way the log cars do not have to be moved once they are spotted until it is time to head for the log dump at the dock.
Here is an overall shot of the area showing the main line below the log-loading area. This line will pass through a tunnel and exit behind the yard on a little higher level and be traveling through a wooded area.
That's it for this week. Hope to do a little land forming in the area of the high trestle in the coming week.
2 comments:
Hi Larry,
Good progress. Somehow I didn't realize there would be a double deck section. Will be very interesting!
Bill
It was not my first choice but its the only way I can work in the area I need for a mine. The shelf across the garage door will only be about a foot deep. It should be interesting if I can pull it off. It is shown of the track plan I published.
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