I have an ore mine on my layout. ( Back of photo above) I was thinking about Operations when I realized the the ORE cars have no place to go.
Any suggestions for a SMALL trackside place for these cars to go. NOT a concrete company.
Maximum area 10" x 4".
Can’t be tall as it would block a scene behind it.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions
Harold
An Interchange track would work. Your train drops off the cars on the interchange track. Then a train from another RR (pretend RR) picks up the loaded cars and drops off empty cars. The new train takes them to some industry on the other RR. Your train comes back, picks up the empties and takes them to the mine.
And before you drop them on the interchange track, you can have a scale track so you will need to weigh each car before turning them over to another road.
Interchange or staging track.
Basically that is what I have. The photo only shows half the space. There is a lead track coming off the main that then splits into two spurs.
The area for a structure would be to the left. As I mentioned I would only have 10" x 4"
Harold
Stamp mill or smelter. Don’t quite fit the ore cars, but works with the mine you show. Could model it as just a track and loading/unloading building with the rest imagineered in the aisle somewhere.
Think about an ore dock, with a “virtual ore barge” in the aisle. Instead of plain fascia at that point, replace it with a wood or steel bulkhead and wood piers, and add cleats, bollards and ropes to suggest a boat that’s “far away at sea.” You could raise the level of the track on a trestle as you approach the dock, implying a dumping operation, or even keep the track level while dropping the base to accomplish the same thing. Since you’ve only got a few cars, you can have a fairly steep ramp without too much trouble.
Here’s how I replaced fascia with a bulkhead on my layout. The carfloat apron is around to the right, and this scratchbuilt bulkhead matches the side walls of the apron, giving some continuity to the scene.
I have an actual carfloat on my layout, but you don’t need that to imply that there is one. This model (Racquette Lake Navigation Company by Bar Mills) is a standalone model. It would fit nicely in your space, and provide a form of interchange track that could be used for ore cars or any other non-modeled industry.
Also, “ore” doesn’t have to be iron. I don’t have a mine, but I’ve added cannisters from this odd material, Upsidasium, the anti-gravity element only found on old episodes of Rocky and Bullwinkle.
The layout is northern New Mexico. Not to much water. I am thinging of buiding an unloading ramp and putting a front end loader in the scene with a conveyor. The two tracks are side by side so I think it might work.
Harold