I’ve thought about it. I live in central Arkansas, and we have some large fish farms just 20 minutes away. It would seem fun to model fish farm operations using a make-believe narrow gauge (On30) railroad.
Basically, I’m just being curious…
i don’t see how it would involve rail traffic but it would make an interesting project for background scenery.
how about a land fill operation? maybe walthers will come out with a kit for it. they could call it the Cornerstone Maggot Ranch.
grizlump
I use to, but the little buggers jumped off my layout and into my aquarium. You won’t believe what I’ve got swimming around in there now. One of them showed off her caboose and my male Zebra got railroaded into some monkey business.[:D]
Brent[:-^]
Actually on Vancouver Island they used to stock Elk Lake with Bass they brought in by rail from back east. I could see if it was done today the fish could have come from a fish farm.
So what all do you want to know about a fish farm? First off it will depend on where you are modelling to determine what the size of ponds would be, but it really wouldnt matter. Ponds are going to be clay lined, so there will be a stark contrast to the natural dirt in the area as clay is going to be a red/orange.
One part to never overlook is the power lines running to each pond for the aerators in each pond. They are all 90% powered by a 3 phase electrical system, so model the power lines accordingly.
The water at a fish farm is loaded with nutrients, so it is either going to be taking a brownish appearance from all the feed that has sank and the waste from fish, or they will take a greenish tint from all of the excessive phytoplankton feeding from the nutrients in these ponds. No one pond will look the same!
Another point, water has to have a way to get into the ponds to fill them up, like wells, streams, etc. Wells are the norm because there is less chances of pollution coming from a well then there is with runoff. Also, each pond must have a overflow system. That part is easily modeled, just add a simulated pipe between the ponds underneath the road.
At a nice road/dam way between the ponds, there is about 20-25 feet of earth above the water. Where the roads hasnt been added on to in a while there can be as little as 15 feet.
Hope this helps!
Fish farms in my area are in open water offshore, large floating netted cages that keep the salmon in. Not much need for rail transport though!
How about a cranberry bog at harvest time? The cranberry bushes are grown in a sunken field which is flooded at harvest time. The berrys are separated from the bushes with a paddlewheel device, float to the surface, gathered with floating booms and then are sucked up into a truck for transport.
I saw this in New England, it is one colorful event!
Jim
nope
Arkansa, eh? Probably CATFISH farms. If so, you’ll need aerators, like this:
Inactive
Active
I addition to fish farms there are fish hatcheries. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have them as well as some states. At one thime there was one near where I live. Being a hatchery is much more simple and basic compared to a farm .
As has been stated it would make a nice diorama but no train traffic…
Bob
I tried, too, but they’re fins couldn’t hold the plow handles, or steer the tractor… [:D]
If memory serves me right, there is around 11 State hatcheries here in Alabama alone. A hatchery is really that much different from a farm, because there is still a good number of ponds around it for the hatched fish. Some fish that the U.S. and State hatcheries hatch out are so small at birth that there is no man-made feed small enough to fit in the fishes mouth, and so when its reaches the right age (measured in days usually), it is transported outside to live on natural feeds, aka zooplankton and phytoplankton in ponds. Now a hatchery would have more assortments of building for the fish to be hatched from, offices too, and or the entire operation could be in a building depending on its size.
Best bet to include a Fish farm on a layout is to have a spur and the fish are moved from the farm to waterways by rail. I cant recall which musuem recently restored a fish car but it that is exactly what it was used for. In modern times, its a lot simplier to just load the fish onto a truck.
Now a interesting way to incorporate a fish farm into your layout is to have it as part of the scenery. Catfish farms are big! Bait farms are smaller, so im sure you dont want to include the entire farm. You could include a feed truck on them farm (usually a larger truck, ranging from a ex-uhaul size truck to just a old duley pickup), but always with a flatbed on the back and a larger hopper, and a blower to shoo
If memory serves me right, there is around 11 State hatcheries here in Alabama alone. A hatchery is really that much different from a farm, because there is still a good number of ponds around it for the hatched fish. Some fish that the U.S. and State hatcheries hatch out are so small at birth that there is no man-made feed small enough to fit in the fishes mouth, and so when its reaches the right age (measured in days usually), it is transported outside to live on natural feeds, aka zooplankton and phytoplankton in ponds. Now a hatchery would have more assortments of building for the fish to be hatched from, offices too, and or the entire operation could be in a building depending on its size.
Best bet to include a Fish farm on a layout is to have a spur and the fish are moved from the farm to waterways by rail. I cant recall which musuem recently restored a fish car but it that is exactly what it was used for. In modern times, its a lot simplier to just load the fish onto a truck.
Now a interesting way to incorporate a fish farm into your layout is to have it as part of the scenery. Catfish farms are big! Bait farms are smaller, so im sure you dont want to include the entire farm. You could include a feed truck on them farm (usually a larger truck, ranging from a ex-uhaul size truck to just a old duley pickup), but always with a flatbed on the back and a larger hopper, and a blower to shoo