as i’ve stated in a previous post, i’m going to add a copper mine to my next railroad. the watlthers catalog lists dozens of them. can i use a coal or silver mine to represent a copper mine, or do different types of mines have different charecteristics? thanks for the help.
The copper mines here in Arizona are nearly always large open pit operations. There were a few shaft mines, such as the original Copper Queen Mine in Bisbee, Arizona, which is now a tourist operation.
For a layout, you could probably get by with something like the Black Bart Mine shown on page 523 of the 2006 Walthers HO scale catalog, since you’re obviously never going to have enough room to model a mile long, mile deep open pit operation.
actually i was thinking about using the Martinsburg Coal Mine #1 on page 521 of the 06’ catalog. thanks for the help.
P.S. since we’re on the subject of “THE CATALOG” why did Walthers retire so much of it’s Cornerstone series this year?
Remember that many, many mines have mills (concentrators) close by. This is because it is cheaper to ship concentrate than it is ore. You can control the percentage of revenue-yielding metals in a concentrate, but you get all sorts of “other” stuff in ore that does not yield a profit…and can even result in a net loss per load. So, if you want to have an open pit, which the vast majority of copper mines are globally, use the kit to represent a concentrator. Also, all concentrators have crushers nearby, and storage bins for fine ore, so you can really go to town if you wish.
I wasn’t aware that Walthers retired parts of the Cornerstone series, but I’m not surprised. Most of these structures have been in production for dozens of years, from several different manufacturers.
Someone like Arnold or Pola probably came up with the original design and molds. They ‘retired’ the kit by selling the molds to someone like Faller or HelJan. They ‘retired’ the kits by re-selling the molds to someone like Walthers. So now Walthers is ‘retiring’ the kits. At some point, I imagine that ALL the manufacturers have sold molds back and forth.
Have no fears. Someone else will probably acquire the molds and put the kits back into production. Of course, the price will be higher!
The history of some (or MOST) of these kits helps to expalin why they have distinctive ‘European’ styling.
Darrell, quiet…for now