Does anyone know who of the "On30 manufacturers" are meant? Xeodon, afterall, is more or less out of business.

Many thanks for the very fruitful information so far.

Question:
- were siphons already in use around 1880?
- is a siphon a "visible" appliance on a steam locomotive?
- does anyone have a photograph of a siphon in use?

Richard

well, at least that requires some kind of structure.....

I was already contemplating a treadmill with a donkey or so....

thanks! Richard

well guys, if that's how it was done back then, there's another structure to be omitted from my layout.......

many thanks for your help

merry xmas to all

richard - austria (yes, we already went skiing...)

I'm modelling Louisiana in the 1880's in On30- I do realise that my question, however, is not limited to this scale.

Does anyone know how water tanks were filled in this era and in a country as flat as LA? Electricity for powering a water pump, although known, was still future so the only way I can think of is a steam powered pump. This, however, must have been very cumbersome to operate so maybe someone must have been assigned to operate it? How was the water purified in those years?

Your help is appreciated, Richard, Austria

maybe I can motivate you to try (and then elaborately explain it on your website) a stub turnout. Want to make then for my own 1880's layout but am desparately awaiting a simple to understand article like yours....

richard

I also agree that it looks much better now. I would suggest to replace the "dwarf" drivers with larger ones. This would also eliminate the need to lower the boiler.

My aftertought, however, is that modifying this little engine and (for me) backdating it to the 1880's and finally repainting it, might cost more than buying the MMI american. And I'm not vene mentioning the risk of ruining it....

Cheers, Richard

Hi Big Bear!

When I wrote my entry, there was nothing. Now there are two 4-4-0's announced! Due to the common carier character of my rr, the management of my RR will prefer the MMI Rio Grande 4-4-0 in a Russia Iron livery. I asked them for the minimum radius and hope that they will make it thrhough my 24" curves....

When I started to plan my layout I also thought about tank cars. Then I read that the first oil wells around the LA-TX border were erected not earlier than 1893 or so. That will require quite some modellers' license.

I guess I will stick with the salt mine (compressing the Avery Island structure) and a sulphur mine. With a sugar mill, maybe a cotton gin (although not particularly characteristic for the Atchafalya basin area) as the larger industries, this will suffice to keep the RR profitable.

I read a nice article in the German MIBA, where they built a stock car cleaning site. Takes up only little space, but adds tremendously to the operational fun.

Greetings from Austria,
Richard

I must admit that the engine looks better than the first photos. It would be nice to have a photo of the pre-production sample with a Bachmann coach behind it in order to see if the proportions are ok.

So far I still have the feeling that the 4-4-0 is ways too small to put in front of the passenger cars.

Bachmann??

modelling the 1880's, I have been waiting desperately for a 4-4-0. When I saw the photos I asked myself "are the drivers too small, or the locomtive too big"?

I'm very grateful that Bachmann listens to us, as we have asked for a 4-4-0 for quite a wile. I'm a little bit disappointed about the choice of the prototype. The engine, particularly the drivers, are disproportionate at best.  It just doesn't have the typical "stretched" look of the classical "american".

I noticed that the Boulder Valley Models web page was not update as of december 2006.
When I checked it today, the website was completely gone.
Does anyone know what happened with BVM?

(sorry to ask something about a different model railroad company. I don't see them as a competitor of Bachmann, however.)

Richard

1. What is your On30 display? Louisiana common carier. Point-to-point from port (landing) to major city and normal gauge mainline (with transfer).

2 What do you have for Buildings on your layout? Scratch built. Most industries in LA and in this era are not commercially available. However, they can be easily built "board by board" from coffee stirrers and stripwood: salt mine, sugar mill, rice mill, etc.

3. What era does your layout represent? 1880 - 1890's. That's the reason I'm still hoping for a 4-4-0......

4. What size and type is your layout? Shelf type, appr. 20 x 13.

Richard, Austria

Being a modeller of the south - Louisiana in particular - it might be interesting to know that many common cariers in the south have (partly) started as narrow gauge cariers. Some were converted to standard gauge as late as 1910.
Among these: a large portion of the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio in Mississippi and Tennessee, as well as Missouri Pacific (the Iron Mountain predecessor) in Louisiana.
Actually, the more you dig into the history of well-known common cariers in this region, the more you find about such interesting topics.
Richard