Add scratch built realism to your high rail layout - 'A smoking chimney'

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

Hi all,

I thought I’d share with you my latest project that is quite easy to construct. It is a smoking chimney!

Instructions and picture to follow:

First you will need to purchase this item which is available at Micro Mark: It is the actual smoke unit that runs on dc power (5-14 volts)

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82602

Using balsa wood, construct the chimney as pictured: The main piece of the chimney is a ‘block’ of balsa wood that has been drilled out. The smoke stack has been inserted into the block and then balsa sheet wood has been used to finish the framing. Small rocks have then been glued onto the balsa wood framing with white glue to look like chimney rocks from a century ago The ‘other’ piece of the smoke unit has been mounted on the house deck.

Here is look straight down at the chimney and you can see the hole is drilled all the way from the base of the block through the top, which is where the smoke will rise out of.

Here is another view of the assembled unit on the house deck. The part of the smoke unit still exposed in this picture will be ‘inside the house and not visible’

Here is the unit being powerd by a dc transformer and smoking nicely.

2

sweet!

3

this is a nice structure you have put together here man you are a great carpenter or should i say you have skills to scratch build something to this magnitude. it looks simple but it really isnt. hopefully one day i will get to the point of building small structures like that, but anyway nice work.

4

Perry - I really enjoyed your layout in CTT, hopefully one of these days I can hope to be that skilled[:)]. I think it shows us that we don’t have to have a huge layout to see and hear all the action that you have incorporated into. Nice work!

Thanks,

Dan

5

The potential uses for this application are only limited by your imagination, or the power feed to your train room. [:)]

6

Very impressive. I love the chimney and the scratch built house.

Mitch

7

So do I !! Very nice !!

Thanks, John

8

wow! thats grand perry! thanks for the tip!

9

I have found the Micro-Mark smoke unit and to be a reasonably rugged and versatile unit, capable of generating smoke in everything from wisps to a steady stream, depending on voltage. Two caveats, however. In mounting the smoke generator one must take care not to “pinch” its plastic sides, as just a little pressure will jam and stall the fan. Also, there seems to be a good deal of “engineering” in the design of the stack itself (much as in a home fireplace) in order to achieve the proper amount of “draw.”

I made some extenders out of plain brass tubing. My early designs virtually killed the ability of the device to produce smoke out the top of a tall chimney. Perry seems to have avoided the problem with his design. I mention it only to caution that proper smoke output out the top of a tall chimney may require some experimentation, which should be done prior to the final finish work on the enclosure (smoke stack) so as not to put a lot of fine work into it only to have the output be disappointing. [:)]

10

Thanks for the idea. I didn’t know who sold or made smoke units like this.

11

A grouping of scratch-built homes, or if this could be adapted to ready made, would be way cool on a Christmas layout. Especially with some of the different scents available from sources like JT’s. [8D]