Building the Pinnacle Creek Mining & Timber Co. RR


How about a logging set-up from the Northwest, with maybe a line or two up into the mountains, or a wet sort, and a main line to get the logs to the mill? All interesting stuff. The PGE, here in BC, was used for that. They brought the logs down with a Lidgerwood skidder, sorted them in lakes, and hauled them to mills, 40, 50 miles away.
 
Ian, Good ideas. Sadly I'm 'treed' out, as this photo below will show. My first three layouts where all logging. Or, was it my first four layouts. Jim:eek:

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HOexplorer said:
I'm thinking about some sort of red desert rock formations type of layout.
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That's kind of where my head went when you asked the question. The desert red rocks would be a completely different look, even with the same base. Make it into an old west ghost town complete with a rusted out engine sitting in a siding.
 
Bout the only thing that I have not seen from you, Jim, is a Port Scene?
Ships Loading bananna's and coffee bags, cotton bales, lumber?
 
Say, there's a thought! How about a part of the Panama Canal RR? Either the Colon or Balboa end would be doable. You could model it ca 1855, when it opened, or, even better, during the construction of the canal, which saw the RR move men, equipment, supplies, and hundreds of millions of cubic meters of earth and rocks from the canal to dump sites. The method of loading and unloading the earth is fascinating, and would make a great model. Most of the cars carrying the dirt spoils were wooden flat cars lined with steel floors that used the Lidgerwood system for unloading. (I'm a student of Lidgerwood, which is how I know about this.) The flatcars had one side, and steel aprons between them, so they were one long car. The rock and dirt were blasted loose. Two sets of tracks were moved to the site. Steam shovels, on one set of tracks, picked up the loosened dirt and piled it on the flat cars on a parallel set of tracks. The train moved forward until all cars were filled. When the train got to one of the dumping grounds, a car carrying a steel plow was attached at the end and a winch with a cable stretching the length of the train attached the plow to the engine. The winch, powered by the engine, pulled the plow the length of the train by winching up the cable, unloading the train in ten minutes. The plow and winch were detached for use on the next train. What a great model!
 
I like the post-apocalypse idea. Keep the exact scene, just apocalize it. Trees downed and burnt, Some rock disasters. Hairy mutants running around with giant ants and cockroaches. Other "Mysterious Island" fauna.
 
Good comments guys! Thanks. Ian, I only have 4'x6'! Walt, Great minds thinks alike. Sherrel, How about my port scene on the original PCM&T Co. HO layout? Toot, Not quite I'm thinking. Jim;)

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I remember that, Jim, but I am thinking a large ocean freighter with numerous tracks on the pier for switching cars around. Might even involve 2-3 locomotives.

Darn, I wish I would have tried to talk you out of that scene before you demolished it.
 
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How about a Martian layout, sure to be a train enthusiast among the first settlers. Plenty of red landscape there.
 
Toot, You are too far out of this world. Take all the suggestions; divide by 2.4 and that is what might be next! Jim:eek:
 
HOexplorer said:
Toot, You are too far out of this world. Take all the suggestions; divide by 2.4 and that is what might be next! Jim:eek:
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Yeah, I know. One thing about being down-under, don't need rockets for space travel, we're always loosing people that release their grip. All the trains have magnetic wheels.
 
Please quit using (and thinking) the term "last layout". Despite your limitations, you're still faster at anything than I am. My phrase that I've been using since I turned the big "4-0" is "You're only as old as you allow yourself to be.... Although the body may have different ideas." Point is, think young and capable and you can still accomplish much.
As fas as expansion, evolution of the existing layout would be an intersting idea. Conversely, abandonment or slowdown due to lack of resources is a bad idea. Perhaps an adaptation towards the previous water-oriented layout would be interesting. Or you could go in the opposite direction and load it up with thick grass and lots of trees, perhaps throwing in some streams and ponds.
Just a few thoughts.
 
How bout a desert ranch scene? A lone ranch house and barn, lots of longhorns and maybe a mountain at one end with a native village or some cliff dwellings. Could also have a small mine or ghost town. Anyway I am glad to see you are contemplating building another layout. In the meantime, if possible , I would love to see some more pictures of your other layouts as well. Really like the last one you posted. What scale is it?
 
HOexplorer said:
Maybe turn this layout into a post-apocalypse things . . .
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I like that idea! I've seen some excellent "car crash" scenes in the photos section here, and I'm sure many here could pull off quite a believable "disaster movie" scene. I was vaguely thinking of doing a post-apocalypse layout for myself, but I probably lack the skills to pull it off believably (plus, I'd need the requisite half-sunken 1:160 scale-model of the Statue of Liberty!). For now, I've set a line of BLMA K-rails across my city's main street, and plan to set a line of tanks in front of them due to some sort of "invasion."
 
RR, I hear you.

Chevron, Glad you found the site. Tell your friends. Stick around because one of the prizes in the 600,000 views contest will be a big bunch of N-Scale trees.

Rlundy, The one with all the trees was Z or N scale. The ore tipple was HO. Next time I will post a couple of old layout photos. This time you get this photo.

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Thanks all, Jim:eek:
 
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