Show us your coal mines!

[West Virginia Midland Man]

OK...show me your coal mines. I like coal mines, and whatever goes with 'em..company houses, outbuildings, etc etc. They serve as inspiration, so let's see whatcha got, eh?

 

[IronBeltKen]

Here's a hybrid, using pieces from the WKW New River mine kit and their Flood Loader:

 

[West Virginia Midland Man]

Interesting. What did you do with the rest of the NRM tipple (the picking and sorting area that overhangs the track)?

 

[GrampysTrains]

Blackwood Coal Co. DJ.

 

[West Virginia Midland Man]

You have a trackplan for that area Grampy? I like the way it's laid out. I'm guessing the large building to the left is the powerhouse for the mine?

 

[IronBeltKen]

Its all sitting in a scrapbox under my work bench...

Interesting. What did you do with the rest of the NRM tipple (the picking and sorting area that overhangs the track)?

 

[GrampysTrains]

WVman, I don't have a track plan, but I have lots of photos. The power house is behind the breaker.

I'm calling this building the general purpose building. Locker room, supplies, etc.

This is the weld/machine shop.

This is the open storage shed.

This is the dynomite shed and small storage yard.

This is the truck dump and acid swamp, which is how Blackwood got it's name.

DJ.

 

[Trucula]

Grampy, Please stop posting pictures!!! You have me drooling everytime!! Your layout, modeling, and even your camera work amazes me!! GREAT JOB!!! Wished I learned 1/2 of what you may have forgot!!

 

[GrampysTrains]

Thanks, Bob. BTW, we were visiting Denny S. about a week ago, and he asked about you. DJ.

 

[West Virginia Midland Man]

Ahh, Grampy models Anthracite Country. If he were in Bituminous Country, that would be a 'tipple', not a breaker.

Nice work with simple kits Gramps. What's the shower building, I know it's a Walthers building, just not sure which one.

 

[Larry]

I don't have any up to date photo's of my coal mine area. These were from May 2009.

 

[Gary B]

Beautiful work guys. I'm afraid my mine doesn't have the space and other buildings you all seem to have but it is one of the nicest structures on the layout. But I can't take credit for it. It came from the pike of one Ira Katz. I picked it up when his kids were selling off their late fathers layout. It's wood with a metal roof and I built my mountain around it. I have no idea if it was a kit, it maybe scratch built. Anyway, for $5 I couldn't beat it. I did name it after the gentlemen, seemed only proper.

 

[West Virginia Midland Man]

It appears to be a scratchbuilt version of the late Art Curren's Frenda Mine from RMC some 35 years ago. Art kitbashed his mine from a Bachmann coaling tower and an AHM wooden freight station. It was a VERY popular series of articles in RMC and there are many varied copies of it.

 

[Irongrave]

nice mines guys

 

[GrampysTrains]

Nice work, Larry and Gary.
WV, thanks. That building is from the Vulcan Mfg. kit, and, this is "hard" coal country. DJ.

 

[Rico]

Wow some great stuff everyone, a real nice variety!
My contribution was a modified New River Mine with an added conveyor and a scratch built crusher house. It had another conveyor going over the tracks to a picture of the mine cut from the box.
Alas it is long gone now with the old layout.

I did salvage this section and sold it at a train show just last year, after all... "a mine is a terrible thing to waste"!

 

[Trucula]

Thanks, Bob. BTW, we were visiting Denny S. about a week ago, and he asked about you. DJ.

Tell him I said "Hello and we're still kickin in Shirleysburg" next time you see him.

Larry, Love the aerial shot of your layout. It's nice to see an over all shot of the size of some layouts. Might be a great thread starter, we see many real life-like shots but an over all shot would be cool to see where each close-up shot came from...just a thought!

 

[Gary B]

[QUOTE=West Virginia Midland Man It appears to be a scratchbuilt version of the late Art Curren's Frenda Mine from RMC some 35 years ago. Art kitbashed his mine from a Bachmann coaling tower and an AHM wooden freight station.

Thanks for the info. I knew I recognized the Bachmann kit's lines in there. Anyway Mr. Katz did a great job and I'm proud to have it on my layout.
I also have a few other builds of his that my son picked up and they range from fair to very good, but the mine is the gem of the bunch.

 

[Larry]

here's some newer photo's of the mine.

 

[kjd]

Coal mines, one of my favorite! I think this photo has been around a bit but it fits here too:

Check out the coming April 2010 Railroad Model Craftsman for more photos and a detailed construction article. The loadout automatically loads the cars as the train passes slowly underneath it. With BEMF decoders for steady slow speed, I can set it up, get it started then put the train and loadout controllers down and watch it do its thing.