I’m looking for a decent looking mine kit. Does anyone no of one. I’ve been looking at all the popular websites but cant seem to find a nice one. HO scale
My wife bought me the New River mine from Walthers for Xmas. You can check it out on their webpage at: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3017
About all it’s good for to check their site is to see what it looks like. They’re out of stock. The last 7 digits in the web addres is the Walthers part number. You can copy and paste it into a search at onlinetrains.com or 1stplacehobbies.com
I was in the same boat for a long time. There are quite a few older looking small mine operation like gold mines and such but not much if you want a more contemporary looking shaft mine to represent the Midwest. I also have used the New River Mine from Walthers, but this only forms a part of the structure. A 50’s and earlier mine will ususally have a mine head structure, which I ended up scratch building from sectional styrene strip. Most mines also had large power generation buildings and several other machine shops, so there is a lot to add to the New River to get a more comprehensive mine layout. There are quite a few “company house” structures available, so at least it is fairly easy to make a village for the workers to line in.
Thanks guys, I really do like the new River Mine. I ordered a kit today.
A tip on costruction for the New River Mine.
The windows have the frame molded on in clear plastic. I tried to paint these and found it virtually impossible to do without messing up the Windows. I ended up using a sharpie permanent marker to color the frames. It is a quick and easy solution that really improves the look of the structure.
I had seen this kit used (I think it was this kit anyways) in a recent MRR layout, This kit didn’t come up in my search for coal mine tho’ Thanks for the link. I’m thinking about getting this one also.
ST