Walthers - Pulp Mill

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I am certainly surprised to see Walthers is about to release a Pulp Mill complex for the HO market.

Having been working in a Pulp Mill and later inspecting them I am surprised, few modelers would have the room on their layout for such a hugh structure.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3901

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3903

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3900

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3904

2

I was looking at the paper mill structure. It almost looks like it could be used as a printing facility.

3

I agree it is a huge complex for most layouts but maybe people will find other uses for the individual buildings. I also find it interesting that they are re-releasing the Rotary Dumper. Too bad they didn’t upgrade it to be motorized or even DCC controlled.

The other interesting thing I saw was that the basically re-painted and repurposed the Tri-State Power Authority to be the new Recovery Boiler House.

Tri-State

Recovery Boiler House

4

I’m 98% certain this whole series is a re-release. In other words, it was popular enough the first time for them to justify a second run.

Modeling even a selectively compressed pulp mill can certainly take up a lot of layout space, but the tradeoff is heavy and varied traffic. MR has run a couple track plans in the past for layouts based around a pulp/paper mill, usually represented by a lot of flats against the wall of a shelf layout. One example is MR’s Wisconsin & Southern project layout (that is an extension of their MR&T and a frequent setting for their video reviews of new locomotives), which has a pulp/paper mill against the backdrop, I believe. Also, the first run of the Walthers pulp mill, with the rotary dumper, formed the centerpiece of half of Lionel Strang’s Northwest Timber Co. project layout back in 1996, IIRC.

If I were planning to build a generic layout set anytime over the last 30 years, I would be getting in line for all these kits right about now.

Tom

5

Re-released/ repainted or not… it is nice to see some more modern buildings.

6

I certainly don’t have a problem with the re-release just making an observation. I too am glad to see a modern building release and can see lots of uses for the buildings individually be it paper mills or other industries.

7

Yes, this is a re-release. They originally produce these kits in the mid-1990s, if I remember correctly. Also, I think they made the what is now called the Recovery Boiler House (I do not remember what it was called then) before the Tri-State Power Authority.

8

Finally, the rotary dumper comes back. Walthers bring back also the bascule bridge.

9

I’m confused, are these the same structures that are in the Superior Paper Company Kit?

10

I’m also interested in the rotary dumper. I sent a suggestion/request on the Walthers web site a while back, maybe they here’d me? LOL

I sure didn’t want to pay $300 on ebay for one.

Thanks Walthers!

11

I have the Superior Paper Company in N Scale and it covers a large area however,I use the Kraft mill for a small municipal power plant and the main mill as a printer.