II am looking to construct A login railroad that is approximately 20 feet by 2 feet possibly 3 feet would like to have the engine facilities at one end and be logging operation at the other end. I am using HO scale. Not narrow gauge.[8-|] if you have any information about where I might find such a contract plan I would appreciate it. This will be a stand-alone railroad. I am also going to add logging railroad to my mainline of Norfolk and Western.I can use all the help I can get. Thank you for your kind participation in this endeavor.[bow]
Craig,
I would get in touch with Byron, He is a Forum member and designs great layouts. See if He can help You out:
He is usually very busy though.
When You get to the site, click on Layout Design Gallery and look for ‘‘The Little Logger’’ can be expanded.
Frank
I’m no expert, but here’s what I’ve read. Like mining, most logging operations were point to point, with locos running backwards in many cases. In the woods, a siding would be used to unload and move the loco from front to back. Some would have wyes and loops at the home base. If there are mountains, some would have switchbacks (google the term if this is new to you). Of course, you don’t need to follow the prototype - you can have a loop and cheat like I do, have a loading area on one side and have a mill at the other. One great source is the 101 plans from Westcott. It might help to know what era, region and type of industry you are considering. Simon
I would suggest looking at some prototype logging lines and cooking up a plan based on the aspects of the prototype. Some lines to consider: Westside Lumber (this was a narrow gauge line that you could do standard gauge – very well documented), Pickering lumber, McCloud lumber, Willamette Lumber, Cass Railway, Sugar Pine Lumber Co. etc. Last of the three foot loggers and Rails into the Woods are two good books that have logging info in them.
You might consider using small TTs at each end to turn locos or running backwards from the woods. Makers of HO scale logging equipment and structures include; BTS, Banta, Rio Grande Models among others.
Sounds like a fun project,
Guy
Are you logging mountains (Pacific coast, West Virginia…) or relatively flat country (Florida, Louisiana, upper Middle West…)? The location makes a HUGE difference in choices of motive power and fuel (oil on Federal lands, coal or scrap wood on private lands.) Most people automatically think Shays - but geared locos aren’t the only choice and may not even be the best choice. OTOH, there have been some really strange rod locos on logging roads in the South Atlantic and Gulf coast states. The Dewey Brothers of Goldsboro, NC, built rocking-cylinder locos (piston rod direct to main crank - no crosshead, no valve gear.) Another had what appeared to be sun-and-planet gears between the cranks and the drivers.
In all cases, the company laid whatever tracks it felt it needed, using as little rail and as few ties as possible. A single spar tree, located next to a single loading site, could accept logs highlined from several cutting faces. That was done to avoid building into difficult country. Loggers always preferred the least expensive alternative. Specific track patterns could only be determined by researching the companies that built and operated them. There are no universal rules.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with a 762mm gauge logger)
My logging railroad is more of a Mountain railroad to be located in West Virginia. I’m not seeking to follow any particular prototype. By that I mean I am NOT going to faithfully follow a particular railroad. However I feel inclined to pirate few ideas railroads that already existed. I have already decided to use a Shay locomotive for my motive power.[:D]
Guy,
II was looking at the West Side lumber company and Cass railroad as possible prototypes to emulate.[tup]
The Shay is definitely a big hit out there (I have four: PFM, Bachmann, MDC, Keystone). All run well but can be finicky. So from a design perspective, I would follow the KISS principle, like the real logging RRs did. Depending on your model, you might want to minimize grades and use few switches. Trying out your equipment at a Club will give you a sense of its limitations. Simon
My HO standard gauge Winneshiek & Western Railroad is a shelf layout around three walls of a spare bedroom. The shelf is 2’ deep, and down to 18" deep where the shelf is built into what was formerly a closet (I took off the double doors). It is thus similar in space to what you propose, although my WWRR hauls not only lumber but also coal out of the mountains in deep Southwest Virginia in the era just prior to the US entering World War One.
As you enter the room the closet appears first, and this is where the sawmill is located. There is a backdrop just behind the sawmill to hide the “connection” with the outside railroad, which is the Clinchfield in my case. In this photo, taken before I had completed the sawmill tramway between the sawmill and the planing mill, one can see the edge of that backdrop hiding the Clinchfield. The Clinchfield local, with four cars and a caboose, can come into town periodically to swap out cars.
Next, the “center” part of the layout is a main town with locomotive servicing facilities, including a 65’ turntable and a four stall roundhouse. The main line then passes into a tunnel which is only about 4" long and is there as a view block before the next town where the coal mine is located. The two tracks of the coal mine go back toward the main town where they reappear at a powerhouse, allowing constant “loads out, empties in” at the coal mine.
Curving past the coal mine town onto the final side of the room, the tracks pass through a deep cut which also serves as another view block and gives the impression of entering the mountains. Beyond that cut is the log loading area, which is simply three stub tracks. Here’s a shot of the log loading area before much debris or detail scenery was added:
Regarding my last post, NO, I can’t explain why some of the text turned to blue underlined… curious.
Bill
Consider following the patterns set by Middle Fork RR (WV); Twin Seams Mining (AL); Meadow River Lumber (WV); Cherry River Boom & Lumber Co.(WV); Graham County (NC); Elk River Coal & Lumber (WV); and Brimstone (TN). Several of these served coal mines, or coal mines plus lumber operations. All of them ran geared steam engines into the 1950’s, and a few lasted into the 1960’s. Some started as loggers and eventually became principally coal haulers as the mountains were logged over. As mentioned, the locomotives were rarely turned. If there were steep grades, the steam engines usually faced uphill so the crown sheet (above the firebox) would remain covered with water.
I like this one. Ha! You could simplify and unrap it. I would recommend putting a loop or wye at the far end, bulging the benchwork a bit beyond 3’ if you need to …
http://www.oakhurstrailroad.com/Track%20Plan.htm
Good luck! Let us know what you do …
Marty
amen!
And that’s how modelers miss the mark when it comes to modeling Eastern logging railroads…
These logging lines was wasn’t meant to be nothing more then a temporary slap the track down log mover.Some times the logging locos would wade a shallow creek since a bridge would be to costly and time consuming to build.
Here’s the most important thing about modeling a Eastern logger…Once the area has been worked out they remove the track and relay at the next location-some times the track was left to rust along with the engine,log cars,sawmill and other like things…