Rico, Colorado on the Rio Grande Southern had a fairly simple truck dump for bringing ore from the more remote mines down to be loaded into railcars. It was simply a dirt ramp with timber cribbing on either side that raised trucks to a level where they could directly unload into gondola cars. Here it is in a typical RGS mishap scene:
https://ngtrainpics.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/RD140-RGS-Burns-Canyon-to-Rico-2/G0000_JI2BlAWziA/I0000ds3Go5WoskE/C0000Vd2qoA2MbNUWhile it would be a very simple scratchbuild, it's kinda boring. To be honest if you pay attention as you drive around Colorado even today, the number of old wooden ore tipples and bins just sitting by the side of the road is pretty staggering. On a trip to ski at Copper Mountain last weekend I noted well over a dozen (not including the big preserved ones around Idaho Springs) along I-70. To that end I will represent this operation on my RGS layout using the Grandt Line Silverton Ore Chute:
This structure was built roughly around 1946 or so near the Silverton depot on the D&RGW narrow gauge. It survived into the 1990s (I remember seeing it from the train in 1988). It was finally burned down by the Silverton Fire Department for training in the 90s:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/53177163@N00/sets/72157600008430890/The kit is also offered by Bill Banta in wood:
And while nothing looks as much like wood as real wood (go figure) I love the ease of working in styrene. The challenge, then, is in making the styrene look like real wood. I enjoy weathering so that's going to be the most fun part of this project.
I started last night:
