PLR Copper Mine revamp

[ge_rik]

When I renewed the baseboard at Beeston Market, I also replaced the boards at the Copper Mine. For a while, I've been living with the original arrangement of the buildings at the Copper Mine ....

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..... but I've never been happy with the way the 15" and later the 2' gauge feeder lines were configured.

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Rik

[ge_rik]

So, I did a bit of head scratching and decided it would be easier if the feeder line actually came in at the other end of the buildings. This required some careful excisions with a circular saw and various handsaws to reorganise the layout of the buildings, .....

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.... and an extension to the baseboard for the new feeder line.

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I might even have a go at making some dual gauge track .....

Rik

[ge_rik]

It's taken about three weeks, on and off, but I think I've very nearly finished revamping the Copper Mine.

Freelance (HGLW) 2' gauge loco propels three loaded skips up the incline from the mines to the crushing shed and loading chutes.

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3' gauge Ruston 44/48HP (ish) shunts tipplers to be loaded with spoil from the mines

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The Ruston loading more tipplers with crushed ore from the hopper.

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[ge_rik]

Fowler 0-4-0DM arrives with a train of empty tipplers to be exchanged for a train of now filled tipplers for transportation Up the line to Beeston Market.

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Fortunately, the Copper Mine is under the shade of trees in the afternoons and so I've been able to continue working without getting scorched.

Rik

[LNR]

working without getting scorched.

"Know that feeling" bit surprised hearing it from someone in the UK though
The Copper mine sure looks a hive of activity again Rik, nice job. I imagine you could spend an hour or so just shunting various rakes of wagons and tippers around.
Grant.
P.S. I spend a fair bit of time watching the Ffestiniog Webcams in the evening, find it funny seeing people walking around in the rain wearing shorts and summer clothes.

[philipy]

I'd forgotten what a superb bit of modelling the copper mine buildings are Rik, and until I saw the 2nd picture of this last set, I don't think I had ever realised that the big building at the RH end is actually low relief! Fantastic job all round and I'm sure the revised trackwork will give you hours of pleasure.

[ge_rik]

Thanks chaps. It does give me a lot of pleasure - as you know, I enjoy the logistics of shunting.

The 32mm loco on the feeder line is programmed for auto-shuttle, so it happily chugs to and fro at intervals. If only I could find a way of loading and unloading the skips automatically........

Rik

[philipy]

If only I could find a way of loading and unloading the skips automatically........

For unloading, how about a variation of the old Triang automatic TPO bag snatching system to push the tippers up on one side? Once they are empty, loading with a conveyor system should be fairly simple? I know, easy for me to say!

[GTB]

If only I could find a way of loading and unloading the skips automatically........

For unloading, how about a variation of the old Triang automatic TPO bag snatching system to push the tippers up on one side? Once they are empty, loading with a conveyor system should be fairly simple? I know, easy for me to say!

Tri-ang had an operating accessory called a 'side tipping car set'. It was part of the Transcontinental range, so probably less well known in the UK. Copied from a Lionel US model I think. It should be possible to make something similar to dump mineral instead of logs.

tri-angrailways.org.uk/OONew/SideTipping.htm

Tri-ang also had an 'operating hopper car set' that could dump it's load from an elevated track into a bunker, or another wagon, on a lower track. The 'special' mineral supplied was just a bag of the black polystyrene pellets used to injection mould black parts like underframes.

tri-angrailways.org.uk/OONew/hopper.htm

The old Tri-ang TC hopper cars and the unloader are common enough that they could be used as Gn15 mine stock to give you a rtr solution.


You won't be the first modeller to do this in garden scale though....

Some years ago there was a sceniced LGB layout doing the rounds of the local model railway exhibitions. One of the working scenes was a mine tippler with a loaded train of skips that ran through a shed on an elevated track dropping the loads into a hopper. The train was then shunted into a lower track and refilled from the hopper. I don't have a clear memory of the mineral used, but I think it may have been kitty litter. That could get interesting in a suburban garden.........

Like Philip said, easy to describe, but getting it working reliably will keep you off the streets and out of the pubs for a while (or drive you to drink).

Graeme

[philipy]

Graeme,
I think that's what I was thinking of previously. I knew my TPO suggestion didn't sound quite right but couldn't think of further alternatives. I guess because my cousin actually had the TPO but the others I only saw in adverts!

[SimonWood]

Fabulous scenes, Rik, well done!

I don't have a clear memory of the mineral used, but I think it may have been kitty litter. That could get interesting in a suburban garden.........

Back in the '90s we had an O-16.5 layout at my club (Upper Creek - Brighton Model Railway Club) and the 'mineral' in our tippers was Growmore (representing clay). Unfortunately, it attracted moisture and rapidly rusted all of the metal parts of the wagons - particularly the springs in the kadee couplings. Garden railways being designed to be more rust-proof and moisture resistant, that should be less of a problem, but I'd think kitty litter would also attract moisture in the same way. Spilled Growmore on the other hand, would turbo-charge undergrowth creating a whole new kind of line side issue!

[GTB]

I think that's what I was thinking of previously. I knew my TPO suggestion didn't sound quite right but couldn't think of further alternatives.

My name is xxxxx and I'm a Tri-ang collector.........

There's some very clever engineering in the mechanisms of their working accessories.

Graeme