Hello,
I’m about to begin construction on my first real layout. After researching all kinds of trackplans, I found the track plan for our layout on late 1800s state maps of my area. It will be a point to point. It will be set in the 1880s-1910s. It will be a long single track line with two main spurs. The south end of the line will have part of a yard and a roundhouse. This is where the L&N mainline goes through. From the yard our branchline heads north through several small comunities some of wich are long gone now. The first spur leads to a coal mine and coke oven. The second leads to a limestone quarry and iron ore mine. The entrance to the second spur is the end of the line and has a wye. Eventually the line will continue north and loop around back to the yard. I plan to show the line under construction and after the first part is completed our trains will be involved with bringing supplies to the rail head in real life, toting as much stuff as an ho train can handle. In the late 1880s this line started out as the Birmingham to Huntsville Alabama Line L&NRR but by 1890 iron ore was discovered to the east and the line turned from north to east. By 1904 the line left Birmingham heading north turned east then south and west and back into Birmingham.
How was limestone loaded into hoppers,by steamshovels along the spur? It looks like the trains on this line ran backwards for miles with the caboose at the head the engine in the middle with the gondolas on the end until the train could be straightened back out on an additional spur or the wye. Was this common for this era? My rolling stock will include 40’ and 36’ boxcars some flat cars, gondolas, 36’ reefers, some coaches and short early style hoppers. Some of these cars will not be right for the era but at this time I cant afford to spend 20.00 plus for 1890s cars. This is OK because my son’s Thomas the Tank will reside in the roundhouse with my daughter’s bright but hopefully not pink 4-4-0 and my L&N steamers. What would be a good source for pre
in 1890 they might have used gondolas, hopper bottom gondolas or wooden hoppers. They would most likely not have used any of the hoppers made by Athearn, Atlas, MDC or any of the other kit makers. The old Life Like/Varney twin hopper is the right size for a 1900 era steel hopper. The Athearn or Life Like P2K “wooden” hopper is a WW2 era car. Limestone was probably loaded by dumping wagon loads into a bumnker and then gravity loading it into the cars or else having a raised ramp that the wagons or wheelbarrow drove up and they dumped directly into the cars. In the 1890’s there would be verrrryyy few 40’ cars. About half would be 34’ and the rest 36’. There is really no 1890 era hopper made for less than $25 a pop. Also in 1890 half of the cars would have air brakes (air brakes and knuckle couplers became required in 1906). The grab irons were also completely different. Modern grab iron arrangements date from 1911.
Dave H.
Hi LunN, and welcome to the wonderful world of proto-based modeling!
It all depends on the size of the quarry. Remember, a steam shovel would be a HUGE outlay of capital in 1900, so the company really had to have enough output to be able to afford it. Generally, for small or midsized quarries, you’d be looking at manual labor (which was CHEAP). The aggregate would either be hand shoveled into the gondolas (NOT hoppers!), dumped by hand via a small ramp, or dumped into a small tipple (Grandt Line makes a great one), which would unload into the gons.
Probably, but it again depends on the size of the quarry, as well as the terrain. If the operation was large, there would probably be a runaround track at the pit, to allow the engine to run first. Likewise, if the train has to run downhill away from the quarry, you’d want the engine in front, so it’s weight would aid in braking the train
I’d suggest NOT buying any 40’ cars. They really weren’t that common until WWI, with the widespread acceptance of USRA cars. IHC, Roundhouse and several resin manufacturers make cars that are 32’-36’ long, which is about right for your era. And I wouldn’t buy many hoppers, unless you’re moving a lot of Eastern coal. Before WWI, most coal moved via gondolas, NOT hoppers. Notable exceptions were the PRR and N&W, and you’re not modeling either of those roads. Two things to keep in mind when modeling this early era: NO
THANK YOU
Travis,
You might want to look at Red Ball’s styrene and etched brass kits for Mann’s Creek Railway hoppers at 2 for $ 27.95:
http://www.mrrwarehouse.com/
They are from the 1883 and on era. Don’t know how wide spread the use of this design was.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543