Colorado Midland Railway Engineering Report

[Dave V]

I looked on the Gazette DVD for "smelter" and didn't find much except a ton of interior stuff.

Looked up "Colorado Midland" while at it and found:
Ivanhoe depot plans
Cascade Canon Station plans
loco #15 plans
short caboose plans
boxcar plans
flatcar plans

If any of that helps the layout?

The depot and loco plans would be very interesting!  I do have plans for the other rolling stock already.

[Dave V]

Spent the week skiing at Crested Butte and came home to an eBay score of more varnish for the Colorado Midland:





I'll have to replace the truck-mounted couplers with body-mounts if these cars are to negotiate the 10" radius curves of the Aspen Branch.  But, they run on the mainline loop for now:

You can tell I've been messing around with mocking up a smelter on the one spur.

[Chris333]

Dr. Hottballs does nice work 

On one of my 2x4 layouts I have 10" curves and swore those cars made it around them. Think they had those old MDC T-shank fake knuckle coupler thingies.

[Dave V]

Dr. Hottballs does nice work 

On one of my 2x4 layouts I have 10" curves and swore those cars made it around them. Think they had those old MDC T-shank fake knuckle coupler thingies.

Yeah, these are the Athearn releases with Accumates...  I think the coupler pocket is different.  It doesn't take much swivel to cause the coupler pocket to strike the vestibule steps.

[Chris333]

Are the trucks different? This is what I have:


I probably have some more of these couplers if they will fit in the trucks.

[Dave V]

Nah, the Athearn ones extend past the steps...   

No worries, I'll figure something out.  I don't like the coupling distance with the Athearn coaches anyway.

[Dave V]

Made a push this weekend on tracklaying and wiring on the Colorado Midland.  I also installed some of the turnout SPDTs.  Along the way I realized I had to move the incline outward.  Unfortunately when I built the trestle with the girder section, the ME bridge flex didn't hold on to the 10" radius curve and it threw everything off.  But, everything now seems to work and the coaches do in fact negotiate the 10" radius curve (and a spot that I think might be even a hair tighter than that just between the trestles on the branch).

[Lemosteam]

Looking great Dave, it amazing how fast you guys that know what you are doing can build a layout!  I hadn't knoticed the wood berm wall before, will that continue around the entire curve, or Is that simulating a back-fill retainer wall with mountain continuing to the right on the rest of the curve?

[Dave V]

Looking great Dave, it amazing how fast you guys that know what you are doing can build a layout!  I hadn't knoticed the wood berm wall before, will that continue around the entire curve, or Is that simulating a back-fill retainer wall with mountain continuing to the right on the rest of the curve?

The second thing you said.

Funny you call this fast!  This is by far the slowest rate of construction I've ever experienced.

[Lemosteam]

The second thing you said.

Funny you call this fast!  This is by far the slowest rate of construction I've ever experienced.

Well, compared to mine anyway!

[Dave V]

Aspen now has a smelter thanks to a repurposed Tomytec Japanese warehouse and a Walthers smokestack. I also plan an interior wall, ore bins, and a boiler house.

[Chris333]

Hey that looks like it fits. Shouldn't  a smelter have a lot of vents along the roof?

[Dave V]

Hey that looks like it fits. Shouldn't  a smelter have a lot of vents along the roof?

Um...  Yes?   

Yeah, I plan to add more stacks and vents and stuff.  I also think I want to change the roof color....it's supposed to be corrugated metal, so it should be a rusty gray.

[sirenwerks]

Not in reach bit I have a book that shows the BC smelters on the GN and most of them were wood structures, FWIW.  That would be 1880s and 90s, when GN was still headed for the Pacific.  But yours looks great, and it definitely seems plausible Colorado would have more brick available than the backwaters of Canada.   

[Chris333]

This guy is working on a smelter in HO
messingwithhon30.blogspot.com