Lookin' good Jeff Hang in there - bit by bit is the way. There is some really nice work in this piece, you are to be congratulated with your project and perserverence!! Looking forward to more Cheers [ 31. October 2004, 13:07: Message edited by: racedirector ]
Absolutely.... I can understand you switching jobs back and forth, but man, your patience level makes me look positively twitchy (and my wife thinks I'm patient enough to watch paint dry!)..... Incredible Jeff!
Just found this thread. Jeff, beautiful work. I think it is being done exactly right as the slow and easy, step by step. That is the hardest thing I have to do: be patient! I am always rushing and will do it over again, for sure.
Well, I know I said I was going to wait until I had the coke ovens and the tipple built before I built the coke tram and the coke pusher, but I needed to build them so I knew how high to set the overhead wires and their post. So this week I built the coke tram and I have a good start on the two coke pushers (one per side o the oven battery). I built the coke tram from plans in an old MR, it is not exactly like the one at the prototype Pine Branch ovens but I had the plans for this one so I went with it. I did add the details that would help make it look close to the prototype.
Jeff some more excellent work,your attention to details is superb, I guess the coke pusher will also ride on a set of rails to move it back and forth?? How will the coke tram deliver its load,is it operated manually?If so what are the overhead wires for? Thanks for educating me as I don't know anything about this type of operation,Pat
The coke tram is powered by an overhead wire. There is an electric motor on one of the axles. On the front of the tram there is a place for an operator to stand where there is a forward and reverse control stand and a brake wheel. Once the tram is stopped nest to an oven opening in the roof of the coke battery the tram operator lowers a shute on the tram and the load of slack coal is poured into the oven. At the Pine Branch coke ovens they recharged each oven right after the coke is pulled (pushed out) so they can take atvantage of the heat in the oven. I read that the ovens are so hot that the slack coal would ignite right when it was poured into the oven. the coke pusher is also powered by an overhead wire, it has an electric motor that drives a hydralic pump to push out th coke. there is also and electric motor on one of the wheel to position it in front of an oven, and yes the pushers will ride on rails. I had to start building these items so I could set the overhead wires at the correct level. As I built them, the overhead wire supports are a little on the high side and I will have to lower them.
Jef thanks alot for the explination. I guess humans could not get next to something that was so hot that it would ignite coal as it entered. Pat
Jeff, I guess this is where you hang out at. I pretty much keep to the N scale forums Nice to see the coke ovens coming together and thanks again for the tip on the Interstate RR book, lots of great photos in there.
Are you guys getting tired of seeing coke ovens yet? I am. I am almost ready to move on to the next phase of this project, the coal tipple. I almost have the ovens finished, all that is left is to add the gravel / sand to the top of the coke battery and some coal spillage around the filling openings and add the rail to the top for the tram, in the photos the rails are just sitting on their foundations until I glue down the sand. This week I painted the tram and added coke to the hopper. I also painted the coke pushers. I still have to add the device to pick up the electricity from the overhead wires to both the coke pushers and the tram and I have to add the door trollys above every door and then I am done. Next I will add the scenery around the coke batter and then move on to the tipple. On the right end of the coke battery will be a tall hopper where the coke tram will get it's charge of coal from. I will build that next and the conveyor that will attach to the tipple. I am going to have an operating session this weekend and I will have to clean up the layout for that this week so I don't know how much more I will be able to build on this project. Thanks for hanging in there, I know I have been on the coke ovens part for a while but there was way more scratch building needed than I first thought there would be.
BELG: there are still people that operate both the tram and the coal pushers. the ovens were very hot on the inside but the walls were very thick and on the top of the battery they added a thick base of sand / gravel to help insulate the ovens. From what I have read, working around the ovens was not a very fun job. Chris333: I have been so involved with this project I have not had much time to spend looking at all of the post. I glance down the list to see if anything catches my eye, if not I don't go any farther into them. NP on the book info, the amount of coal mine photos in those books are fantastic.
Well, it has been a while that have posted anything about this project. I did not forget about it, nor did I stop building, I just had to work on another part of the layout for a while. I had an operating session and from that I found a change to my yard that I had to make and it set me back about four weeks. But I'm back in the coalmine making business and here is where I am at. I am almost done with the coke ovens. All I have left to do is add a short section of chain from the door trolleys to the doors themselves and the ovens will be done. I added the sand and spilled slack coal to the top of the oven and I glued the tram rails in place. I started to build the slack coal bin that will feed the tram with slack coal to deliver to the ovens. I had a hard time trying to figure out how to make the cone bottom bin for the slack bin. I tried to roll one out of brass but I did not have a piece big enough at the time to do it. Then while I was out in the garage looking for something I saw a funnel that I had to pour oil in the lawn mower. My first thought was to use the funnel but the plastic that it was made from was too slippery to glue to it. Then I had an idea, I plugged the spout with a piece of clay and I poured sand into a cup. Then I set the funnel in the cup of sand so the funnel would stand upright. I leveled the funnel and I poured casting resin in the funnel and I let is set overnight. The next day the hardened resin popped right out of the funnel and I had the perfect start to my slack bin. The rest of the bin, the structure on top, and the supports are all made from styrene. The slack bin is not shown in its exact location in the photo. I am building an elevated platform for the bin to sit on and the rails from the tram will continue under the bin at the same elevation as the top of the coke ovens. I will also be starting to build the conveyor that will go from the tipple to the top of the slack bin. I added the second floor to the tipple and I started to cover the tipple with metal siding. My first thought was to use the same weathering method that I used on my smaller coal loader but I changed my mind. I don't want this tipple to look that old and run down. Instead I will paint and weather the siding after I glue it all in place on the tipple. It will still look well used but it won't look like it is going to fall over, this tipple is still a major producer on the railroad and the tipple should show that. Another thing that has taken some time is that I decided to hand paint my backdrops. I have not tried this before so I have had a slow time at it. I like what it is looking like so far. I still want to add some more clouds, one to cover up the green spot where I slipped with the brush.
So, if you pour the resin down into the funnel with the sand in he bottom, does the resin percolate down into the sand or does if just "float" on top so you get a solid resin piece for the slack bin? Why doesn't the resin go on down into the sand while it is fluid?
I used a piece of clay to plug the bottom of the funnel so the resin won't run out. The sand is not in the funnel, it is in a cup that the funnel plugged with clay in pushed down into so the funnel will stand up while the resin in the funnel is setting up.
Got it. Actually, I was interested because that funnel shape is probably good for coal chutes, water towers, some kind of steel mill thingy, and a lot of other shapes. It is a great technique to file away. Thanks!
Once again Jeff you have excelled yourself - brilliant work. I really like your hand painted backdrop - works very well and looks awesome. The mine and ovens are looking great too, you certainly have been busy! Cheers Bruce
I have been following this project and am becoming more and more impressed with your perseverance and your modelling skills.
Thanks everyone. I have 11 days of from work and I plan on get the coke side of this project done, the ovens, bin, the conveyor that will come from the tipple, and the coke crusher (yet to be built) I would like to have done so I can get the ground cover on the back half of the mine done. Merry Christmas and happy new year to everyone.
Real nice depth in your backdrop! Also I have used funnels to make a few grain loadout bins. The plastic is a little softer but with super glue they held just fine. I never thought of useing one for a mold!
