New coal mine complex

This is going to be a multi building complex before we're finished, so bear with me.
 
The first building is a remake of the old mine tipple. I made a new base to allow it to serve 2 tracks. -- If it looks sort of like a Piko house on stilts, it is.

 
I painted it dark ultra flat brown. The roof is a satin ivy green... It looked OK, but not quite what I wanted

 
Out came the coffee stirrers.... MUCH better - or it will be after I build the bony trestle and give it another coat of paint.


 
The tipple will connect to the next building on a lower level via a long covered incline. Unfortunately, I sheared off the drive in my B&D rotary tool, so I'll have to buy a new one first....

Thats looking really good.

John Webb
Silver Springs Garden Railroad
"Build it and they will come"
BHF Night Bike Ride 26/05/12 www.justgiving.com/john-webb1

Building #2, the mine car dumper--


OK, so the building is empty. It's where the dumper would be if I actually built one... This shack will connect to the other end of the above mentioned covered incline. It will have two 32mm tracks entering the front (loaded cars in, empties out) -- Except the live track will actually exit the rear and into another building. It was too wet today to paint, but this building will also be the same brown/green combo as the tipple just as soon as it quits raining.

now that looks great

NSLR Ireland
http://nslrailroad.webs.com

Mik


This is going to be a multi building complex before we're finished, so bear with me.

The first building is a remake of the old mine tipple. I made a new base to allow it to serve 2 tracks. -- If it looks sort of like a Piko house on stilts, it is.


I painted it dark ultra flat brown. The roof is a satin ivy green... It looked OK, but not quite what I wanted


Out came the coffee stirrers.... MUCH better - or it will be after I build the bony trestle and give it another coat of paint.



The tipple will connect to the next building on a lower level via a long covered incline. Unfortunately, I sheared off the drive in my B&D rotary tool, so I'll have to buy a new one first....

it tht piko saloon?......

It was the church/school... they're the cheapest

Really looking forward to seeing how this turns out- not enough grotty industry modelled in G scale in my opinion!

Matt not in Plymouth any more. Still Brian after all these years...

Moving right along... today's project was the machinery shed. The back half houses the steam engines that drive the ventilator for the mine, and the conveyor to the tipple. The front half is a maintenance building... In reality all it will actually do is hide part of the tram loop.I need to install a railing and 2 bay doors, but I haven't yet decided what color the doors should be.




Our complex so far...


One more major structure to make. A boiler house. Plus a few sheds and, of course, the mine entrances...

A great looking model Mik- I'll be filing pics away for a future project of mine.
 
Probably not relevent to your model, but here's a link to a project that builds a working loader.
Very ingenious.
http://www.gn15.info/a-working-wagon-loader-the-movie/

Greg from Downunder
See the Sandstone & Termite GR at:  http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/satr/satr.htm

Well done Mik, they look great

Bram
GSS GSC

In Leafy Warwickshire

Time rich, cash poor but enjoying life 'cos nobody leaves this world alive

Thank you for the kind words.

The auto loader is tempting, except it violates my KISS principle or modeling. The simpler things are mechanically, the less there is to go wrong.

I admit, 'operations' just aren't my thing. Turns playtime into too much like work. I like building stuff, then putting on some big band music and watching them run.

That looks really impressive - great addition.

I started to lay out the boiler house today.... Geez, but it's going to have to be HUGE to fit an entire half circle of the e-train track inside! (I forgot that the diameter was 77cm! (almost 30") ) We're talking about a single structure 35" long x 17" deep x 12" tall (less smokestacks) - for a scale 70 feet long!.... Just about twice as large as anything I've attempted to build from acrylic so far!

Here is the pic of the boiler house at Iselin, Pa. again, to give you an idea.

I'll add pics of my efforts later this evening....

Pix, as promised...
 
The boiler house at Florence, Pa., Jefferson Co. ca 1905



 
 First was the floor. This took 4 pieces just to make it big enough!....



 
back corner...

 
2 pieces aren't quite long enough, I'll need to splice another bit on... I'm attaching the scale house to the side of the boiler house to help hide the loop.


 
Never try to paint with an almost empty rattle can.... Good thing this is just the base coat!


 
The paint and glue needs to harden a bit more (and outgas!) before I start on the next phase of construction

Hi Mik, been watching this thread with interest - all looks great by the way! Quite a large complex (even in G scale). What glue do you use for fixing the wood to the plastic?
Mick

Mick - always learning something new (then forgetting it).

Today I made 2 of the adits. One is actually a drain pipe to prevent rainwater from flooding the mine area. The other is just for looks... I may add another adit, and I may frame them all with timber.... I'm not sure yet.


Another view...


I just couldn't resist roughing out the tram trackage, just to make sure everything would fit. There will be a couple more turnouts and a crossover in the final version. But I have to pour a bit of concrete first.


 

The arrival of more 32mm track yesterday, and a break in the rain today allowed me to make some progress. I had to relocate one of the adits to allow for the sectional track. I think it all looks fairly proper and functional.







Rockwork or jigsaw puzzle?

Wellllllll, I guess I've been away from this project longer than I thought.

Today I FINALLY set the tipple and made the conveyor (a section of square plastic downspout - fast n' easy).






Still need to make a boney pile. under the chute

Mik,

OUTSTANDING! way to go! what a great series of pix, and the final product is really something to be proud of.  this not only gives you a sense of individual accomplishment, it really inspires the rest of us to get out there and make some big, soot-covered G scale industry!

Five Star model; great stuff!!!  Will the mine tramway work, too?  What sort of stock will it have?

The 32mm tramway is semi-operable. - It can go roundy-round (scale house to dump house, then hidden through the machine shop and powerhouse) or you can do some basic switching on the return track. I needed three more turnouts to make it fully operable... and am simply too cheap to buy them.

Steam Loco is here;
http://www.gscalecentral.co.uk/f/m50312.aspx

Plus a cute lil diseasel here to spell it as the mood suits;
http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/8/aft/115590/afv/topic/Default.aspx

The mine cars are those oxide red things scattered about in the last few pix. - I really need to finish them up one of these days....


They're based upon vintage 6 ton cars used at a mine near Carbondale, Pa.

Mik,

To make it easier to see an overview of the project, I brought everything together (build pix, vintage pix, and text) all on one page: http://www.the-ashpit.com/mik/coalmine.html

Mik,

Really like the mining equipment - it's amazing what a silk purse can be made out of the basic Faller e-train steam loco; just adding the front footplate and extending the cab has stopped it looking so German and the new domes add the finishing touch. Those Atlas diesels are the biz, too; very heavy and reliable.

Mik


The 32mm tramway is semi-operable. - It can go roundy-round (scale house to dump house, then hidden through the machine shop and powerhouse) or you can do some basic switching on the return track. I needed three more turnouts to make it fully operable... and am simply too cheap to buy them.

Hi Mik

The turn outs seem to crop up quite often on German e-bay there is a pair up buy it now
Not sure what the p&p would be to you thought.

About £16 for the pair, how does that compare to the cost of buying over there,
I have been watching this thread and would love to do something similar

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fal...mp;hash=item5888a0abd3

Rob s

I made a little more progress on this over the last week or so.  The most noticeable is a 'boney' or tailings pile. 3 parts real boney (slate/inferior coal/rock, 1 part cement.  In the real world, the piles can be a eighth mile or so long and over 70 feet high... so the rest is off layout.... You can also see the new blower house upper center part of the pic


The blower house was made the same way as my beginner's boilerhouse



I also started putting together the 8 NoS Delton wooden hoppers -- only to find a bunch of truck sides have gone missing.... So I only have 3 completed cars at the moment. (yes, this one needs couplers)


Under the tipple. I'm considering single tracking it and adding a 32mm track to serve some coke ovens instead.

Mik,