I’m about to get into the lumber business, trackwork will soon start up into the hills and the Shay is on order. But I’ve got this space problem for a sawmill down in the valley (don’t we all have space problems!) Walther’s has a nice Mountain Lumber Co. Sawmill
but the thing is HUGE, covering about 21x29 inches. I don’t have that kind of space so I’m looking for ideas, photos (from your layout or a catalog even), that will fit into a much smaller space on my 1950’s era layout.
Thanks Phil, that’s an idea and it certainly doesn’t take up a lot of room. I’ve never built a craftsmen kit but maybe I could handle this one, you sure did a good job on it.
Thanks for the pictures!
Jarrell
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Hi Jarrell,
I built the Keystone Danby Sawmill. It’s a fun craftsman kit and it occupies about 3 X 7 inches:
Thanks Phil, that’s an idea and it certainly doesn’t take up a lot of room. I’ve never built a craftsmen kit but maybe I could handle this one, you sure did a good job on it.
Thanks for the pictures!
Jarrell
[quote user=“shayfan84325”]
Hi Jarrell,
I built the Keystone Danby Sawmill. It’s a fun craftsman kit and it occupies about 3 X 7 inches:
Here is a view of my Walthers Mountain Lumber Co. Sawmill, (which is still in need of weathering) You can cut down the size of any of the parts. What is unique about my sawmill is that it is built on a shallow pull out kitchen drawer, to give me access to the space behind. The pond could be eliminated, and the sawmill buildings can be kitbashed to smaller size. The railroad dump runs next to the pull-out drawer, so that it does not interfere with the pull-out. The pond water is Magic Water. It has a tendency to “creep” up the pond wall and onto the sides of logs, but is hardly noticeable, Click on the photo to enlarge it. Then click on the photos to the left,to see a view of parts of ny layout. Bob Hahn
Another option is to have the mill off the layout edge, and just model the log dump, rail shops and lumber loading aspects, ie the rail part.
You do not say how much wood your Shay will be bringing in, but those small mills would not require much in the way of logs or produce much lumber and hence not much rail activity. If you want the mill to truly represent a 50’s mill, then I would suggest trying to fit in more of the rail side and worry less about the mill/planer/kilns buildings. Just pretend they are in the aisle. A neat idea may be to model a wall of the mill, against the aisle, as if you were in the mill.
A sawmill large enough to justify rail service IS huge. As such, it’s a good candidate for some creative adapting:
Log dump, sliver of pond, the rest painted on the backdrop.
Track goes behind a low ridge, smokestacks and the top of a slash burner suggest the sawmill that isn’t there.
Comparatively small sawmill produces cut lumber for local consumption. Other logs that come out of the woods on disconnects are transloaded to regular flatcars for transportation elsewhere. There might be a gauge change involved in the transload.
Log dump and a sliver of pond right at the aisleway. Operators switching the dump are standing in the ‘virtual’ sawmill, which occupies the aisle.
My prototype actually had that third variant, with 762mm gauge log carriers and 1067mm gauge mainline cars. For every log that was cut up locally, nine left for elsewhere. Now all I have to figure out is how to fake the loading cycle (loads in/empties out narrow gauge, empties in/loads out mainline.)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - narrow gauge logging route included)
The last two posts have stated my concerns. In your fantasy you’re gonna spend hundreds of thousands of $ punching a narrow gauge line into the woods and then have a backwoods Mill? I’m all for the mill on the backdrop idea and use most of your space for the rail side. Also those mills had to cold deck logs to keep the mill busy through the winter, unless you’re modeling the southeast.So theres more space or more paintings. Another way to do it would be to have some backwoods guys cutting hardwoods for furniture and moving their small production out to a furniture factory. Have these industries served by a mainline line railroad and switched by the shay. A tie plant might work here too but be careful of the pollution. You’d have logs in,and a tank car full of creosote once a week and ties out. Anyway just my [2c] BILL
The Danby sawmill was created from the prototype in Danby NY. What I do not know is the size of the railroad that delivered the logs, whether it was a dedicated logging line or a siding off of large railroad?
At any rate if you are limited in space, and you have the last word. I did build the Danby sawmill kit, and like what was mentioned earlier, I did make the roof removable so I can show this inside details (once they are added) My little sawmills lease on life is to produce timber for the mine, and lumber for the small town, and the occasional ties for the railroad, I see the mill size to be perfectly adequate, but again that is up to you.
BTW the Danby as far as I know isn’t in production, so you will have to search the net for a kit, or simply scratchbuild.
A main sawmill building of 40 by 120 feet would seem to be large enough to support a railroad siding. The one pictured below had a railroad to ship cut lumber (now it carries tourists). Logs were brought in by truck. Sorry, only an end-view picture is convenient to show.
There’s anMSTS DOnner Pass activity that is just that, a 2-8-0 is handleing logging on an SP jumpover (passing track in the center of a 2 track main) According to thew “briefing” it’s a seasonal job, and if you so chose, you could do one of two things, either put the whole mess into an off-layout and pose the scene in an already scenicked wooded mainline. Or, you can bump the lumbr itself off and bring bck the wood to awoodshed,orto a manufacturerr on a center sill flatcar. You’d also possibly have a tank car for the equipment fuel, a bunk car for them, and maybe eve a boxcar for emergency needed gear
That Walthers kit is very easily modified. My club has that very same building on our layout and we just kept cutting until everything fit in the space we had for it.
The log conveyor could be shortened and steepened, the log car dump could be represented by a back ground pic, the log pond could be just big enough to hold the end of the log conveyor, basically enough ‘water’ so someone can tell its there. If you know someone, get a straight on picture of the log dump and the sawdust burner and just integrate those pics into the background. The saw mill doesn’t neccesarily need it’s own power house. And of course as mentioned the buildings can be made smaller. A board loading area can also be modeled by a back ground pic of either a loading building or just piles of finished lumber, and a track next to the back ground wall. The part that jets out from the side of the saw mill where finished boards come out I don’t think needs to be that big. Assuming the sawmill would have workers working that area, finshed boards could be taken off right away and stacked. I would chop that thing down by half it’s size. Then maybe shorten it all by a 3 or 4 inches (nothings saying it has to be that big), and narrow it by an inch or two. The wood rack could also be moved from the side of the sawmill to end.
Just some thoughts. As far as I’ve come upon wood chip loaders and such weren’t really used untill the 60’s so I don’t see a need for them either unless you really want to have a variety of cars and use wood chip gondolas. You also don’t have to worry about modeling a wood chip loader for trucks and/or rail, or a blower house for it all and piping. That right there eliminates alot of access.
