Okay, here is the thing. How do you “Hide” full log cars in “N” scale going back up the mountain, and “Hide” the empties coming down? What is to be seen prototypical is Empties up, and Loaded down. Do I run a “Hidden Train” inside the mountain,or behind it? What has been the best for you?
hi Mike,
a hidden train behind a mountain would be an option. John Armstrong liked those solutions.
An other one is staging, done before an operation session; like baking before a birthday party. In an ante session you bring the logs up to the hill and the empties down. During your “formal” op-session the empties go up, then the logs go down.
Paul
I’m moving coal, as well as logs, using two methods:
- Empties in/loads out - the loads get back to the top of the mountain out of sight in the netherworld, on a route that includes a train elevator.
- Live load at the top, quietly unload at the bottom.
If you rig log loads that will be a secure fit on, but not attached to, the cars, you can run empties upgrade, have the Great Hand of God fit them with loads, run the loads downgrade, then reverse the procedure at the bottom. Putting some ferrous metal in a load makes it easy to lift it off with a magnet.
In my case, the logs are loaded at the transload (narrow gauge logger to standard gauge, dry-yarded in between) and unloaded after the cars are switched to a dedicated unloading cassette in down staging. The loads are keyed to waybills and get used when the waybills dictate. My narrow-gauge logger is, for the present, non-operating scenery.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)