The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[John]

Something to think about.   The new siding becomes your pulpwood load out area. It is about enough room for the track, some stacks of wood, and maybe a wheel loader.  The other area, you could then add some appropriate structures.   Rule 1 applies

[davefoxx]

Definitely something to consider, @John.  My initial thought was that the new siding could be longer, which would not only hold three or four woodchip hoppers, but also have the length to represent the extra track needed for loaded cars to be pulled through the loader by cable.

Food for thought, though, and something I didn’t even consider.  And, since there’s nothing locking the old siding into being pulpwood, I do have the option to swap the industries.  I’ll examine this further.

Thanks,
DFF

[davefoxx]

So, here is my initial plan: a siding long enough to hold three cars that are spotted and can be winched* through the loader.  Imagine the loader where the ACL hopper is sitting.  There’s room on the other side for the other two cars to fit under the loader before the last car runs out of track.



*And by “winched,” I mean the 0-5-0. 

DFF

[packers#1]

Looks like a setup I remember from childhood trips from Aiken down to Hilton Head Island on the CSX line. Looks good! With what all you need for a wood chip loader to make sense, I’d definitely have it on the side with the pulpwood yard where you have it.

[davefoxx]

Thanks for the response, Sawyer!  My concern is that the current pulpwood track is too short to allow moving multiple hoppers through the loader.  Maybe good for just two cars.  As for the pulpwood facilities, I’m okay with some of that being off-layout, and a good design implying they’re over there.  I have research to do.

Thanks,
DFF

[John]

https://www.southern-chips.com/ --- this could fill up half of your basement

[davefoxx]

That’s fantastic!  Wow!

Thanks,
DFF

[davefoxx]

Well, the worst part is over- cutting the curved turnout into the ballasted track.  Nothing here is glued down yet, but multiple trains have run through in each direction without issue.



I have to remember to drill a hole for the throwbar wire to an under-the-table switch machine, in case I ever decide to install one.  Fortunately, this turnout has an overthrow spring to hold the points.  That’s a blessing, because I’m out of Bullfrog Switch Machines, and it wouldn’t be practical to order just one switch machine from FastTracks, considering the freight from Canada.

DFF

[wm3798]

Spent the weekend in Southern Pines.
Kudos on how you've nailed the vicinity.
Lee

[davefoxx]

Roadbed and track are installed.  I used the very last bits of N scale cork roadbed that I own under the track.  The cork installed alongside the track is HO scale roadbed, to slightly recess the track.  I plan to bury this track in the dirt.  If you can make out the black rectangular outline halfway down the siding, that’s where the loader will go, allowing three 40’ wood chip hoppers to be spotted and pulled through the loader.



Oh, and you can see that the fascia has been cut down.  I got a nice clean cut with a fine jig saw blade and didn’t damage the painted fascia by cutting through masking tape.

DFF

[davefoxx]

I picked up a quart of lightweight spackling this afternoon to do some terraforming:



DFF

[davefoxx]

And the scratchbuild begins.  This time, it’s a wood chip loader.  Using whatever styrene strips and pieces I have leftover from prior scratchbuilding projects, I roughed out the basic frame tonight.  Shown here with tape holding the corners, because it’ll be easier to build the bracing with the sides flat on the bench.  I did install gussets to accept the bracing, but I’m still digging through the parts to see if I can come up with appropriate strip styrene for the x-bracing. It would be cool to build this project without having spend any cash.



The inspiration, although using only mainly what I can scrounge up, this won’t be a direct copy of this proto loader.



DFF

[davefoxx]

Well, I’ll be damned.  That actually worked!  I noticed that trains made a good bit of racket and the wheels were really hopping through the frog of the new curved turnout.  Typical wheel drop.  While watching a Danny Harmon video today, I realized that I could try to make a flange bearing frog, not unlike the flange bearing crossing that he described in his video.  I tried 0.010” styrene as a test piece, and it wasn’t thick enough.  I then tried 0.020”, which worked much better.

You may notice a faint line on the white styrene where the flanges are riding it.  I did go back with a needle file and ease the entry/exit points of that styrene piece.  I also noticed that the closure rails did not meet up well with the frog, so I filed those areas, too.  Much better, and wheels are not hopping through the frog anything like they used to.



DFF

[Philip H]

Danny’s videos are good for so many things. That’s a cool solution.

[davefoxx]

Danny’s videos are good for so many things. That’s a cool solution.

Agreed.  Perhaps now that Danny has retired, we’ll get more videos. 

DFF