level are for mining or processing pre- cious metals such as gold or silver. I wanted something different, especially since the raw ore would be highly visi- ble in the high side gondolas used at the site. After checking with one of my mining engineer friends, Mike Conder, the decision was made to feature a lead and zinc operation. The mining com- plex also needed a name and since the Cimarron No. 1 Mine was located on the other side of the mountain, I decid- ed to call this one, “Cimarron Lead & Zinc Co. - Timberline Mine No. 1.” I used Cadrail to design a three-
The excess plaster has been removed (above) to make room for the ore bins. One of the spur tracks has been removed as well, plus a timber trestle that was located near the end of the hammer’s handle. A new centerline was drawn (below) on the Gatorfoam®
board.
Basswood ties were cut, glued in place and sanded to the same height as those on the spur leading to the bunker. The height was checked often with a steel straightedge.
chute ore bin and head or sorting house structure. After many hours of drawing, the plans were printed out to S scale on index card stock. The pieces were cut apart and taped together to create a mock-up that could be set in place to see how things fit. I quickly discovered that some plaster had to be removed to make room for the new structures.
I had to get nasty with a hammer
er, longer track that could hold at least six or eight cars.
Nothing ever became of the logging scene so the foreground PBL No. 8 WSLC Shay I had acquired along with the nine Swayne log cars and the Rio Grande Models No. 3 logging caboose, that I had built, were sold. The area sat idle for several years until I began ex- ploring the idea of changing to a larger scale or redoing parts of the layout. I thought I might try modeling the D&RG’s Monarch Branch that ran out of Salida, Colorado, to the limestone quarry at Monarch. The interesting feature of the branch was the switch- back trackage at Garfield. After many
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
hours of trying to fit that type of opera- tion into my layout space I decided to pass on the switchback feature,but keep the four percent grade to the up- per level of the layout as a reason to double-head trains heading upgrade to the mining district.
My new plans called for the area where the logging scene was to be con- structed to become the site for an impos- ing three-chute ore bin and a conveyor of some sort up that would lead up to a mine structure atop a mountain. Most of this scene would be at my eye level and above. The roof of the mine is about a foot away from the 8′-0″ high ceiling. Most of the structures on my upper
hardshell and plaster castings that had been installed earlier.
and chisel to remove some of the Hy- drocal®
I
cleared away enough material to pro- vide a few inches of space around the new structures. There was a gaping hole in the mountain side, but it would eventually be filled as construction progressed at the site.
The next order of business was to es- tablish a footprint for the ore bins that would allow me to make use of the two short spur tracks installed for the log- ging scene. When determining that footprint, I discovered that the track closest to the ore bins would have to be realigned. The original spur was laid
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