Lead concentrate itself is not dangerous. We regularly grabbed handfuls of it to examine. Contact with lead is dangerous if the lead is in oxide form and absorbed into an open wound, or inhaled as fume or dust. Even then, one has to have enough exposure to accumulate enough lead in the bloodstream to exceed a certain concentration threshold before suffering health effects. Not widely publicized is that the body can filter lead, thereby reducing blood lead concentration. Lead industry workers are blood tested monthly and if they exceed a threshold, moved to a non-exposure job until they test under the threshold. The story of BNSF vs. Doe Run, BNSF workers suing for lead exposure, and the relative hazards of the contaminated Lead Line are complex and full of politics, fear, emotion, and a little bit of science. I do not want to hijack your thread.....if enough listmembers are interested in this subject, send me private messages and I will post separately on this. I will note that your assumption being based upon Doe Run's record was accurate, they have not been a good corporate citizen. Ted Ferkenhoff Flagstaff, AZ
You have definatly peaked some interest, I don't know any rail workers with lead issues, but its great to have you post here. I worked the area quite a few years, on both on and off track equipment. I cleaned ditches and ditches with the Gradall and a three way dump truck. Both had hirail wheels. Rolla Hill.
Bill that is a great photo...do you know the approximate date? I photographed that cut several times, unfortunately during the BN era and not the Frisco.
I am thinking thats about 77, I spent about a month cleaning that cut and then moved oner on to the Salem line. 1 is by Washington op after the brush was pushed. 2 maybe following too close with the hyrail toward Republic 3 toward tho Willow sub
Well, I suppose it's time for a final update on this little layout. It's gone. I ripped up the track yesterday and threw away the benchwork. All the rolling stock and other materials have been carefully packed away and stored in the back corner of a closet. So what happened? Well, several things. Let me do a little post-mortem on a layout that died early. 1)Fun. Put simply, it wasn't fun to operate. There are people who are fans of Inglenooks, Timesavers, and other switching puzzles. I've realized that I'm not one of them. The set length limitations lead to layout operations that are contrived and ultimately unrealistic. No matter how many different ways I tried to setup and switch this Inglenook, it never resembled the way a real railroad crew would switch a spur. Was it mentally challenging? Sure! But was it interesting? Not really. After getting all the track laid and operating it for a while, the lack of realistic fun just killed it for me. It made me not want to invest more into a layout I wasn't enjoying. 2) Time. It takes time to build a layout, even a fairly small one. I'm (relatively) young and time is a precious commodity right now. I'm still in the early stages of what I hope will be a long and profitable career, but as in many professions I have to put in a lot of hours and grind hard to get established. Hopefully there's a payoff for that in the future that will include more leisure time, but that time is not now. Additionally, as with many of us, trains are not my sole hobby. I also run a small "hobby" farm. When it comes down to whether I'm going to spend a spare thirty minutes with my trains or my cows, the living beings will almost always win. That is as it should be, but it leaves little time to get much done on a layout. 3) Space. It seems ridiculous that there's not enough space in a 3/2 house to fit in a 9 inch by 5 foot shelf layout. In fact I did find a spot and my wife approved it. I installed it there and the more I looked at it the less I liked it. It was just in the way. It was not hard to envision I or my wife carrying our infant son along this narrowed aisle and accidentally bonking his head on it. Nor was it hard to envision the consequences of such an incident for all parties involved! It just wasn't worth the risk. Someday it might be a fine spot for a shelf layout. After all, we won't be carrying around infants forever! 4) Children. It was the birth of my first son that got me out of the armchair and starting a layout and it was the birth of my second son that resulted in the immediate demise of the same layout. I love trains. I caught that from my father, who got it from his father, who got it from his uncle. I hope to pass that love on to my sons. That's part of what inspired me to build a layout. But I'm not sure a N-scale shelf layout is quite the ticket for involving my children in model railroading. So far my toddler is nuts about Thomas the Tank Engine and loves going trackside to watch trains. Before long it will be time to be invaded by wooden tracks and hand-powered trains. Then on to an On30 Bachmann Christmas train and maybe someday a HO layout full of my old Athearn Blue Box rolling stock. The kind of trains that work well in little hands and can survive a few trips to the floor or even total destruction without giving me a coronary. But it's probably at least a decade before I'll be able to share N-scale with my sons. It's just too delicate for little hands. So it was time to be put away. Here's the thing: In fifteen years my sons won't want me to read Thomas to them every night and they might roll their eyes at me when I ask if they want to run out and take pictures of trains. Those moments will be gone forever. But in fifteen years I can pull out my Frisco N-scale, clean it up, apply a little lube, and it will be ready to run as good as new. So for right now, I'll enjoy the hobby by learning more about the prototype, picking up relevant cars and locos when they come out, and garnering inspiration for a future layout from others. I appreciate all those who have commented on this thread for both your encouragement and information. Hopefully we will run into each other again on these forums as we pursue our appreciation for the Frisco.
David, I'm sorry to hear the layout went, but I understand concerns and demands of small children. My current layout space is in an unfinished workshop on the back of our carport, and the children (a 3 year old and an 18 month old) basically aren't allowed out there. If there's a club nearby, you might consider joining, so you can at least run the trains you have. Paul
Sorry to hear that the layout did not work out as you had hoped. I understand, and applaud, your devotion to your family. Hopefully you'll find a way to enjoy model railroading. I was interested in it as a child, went through several years where I could care less, and now am back to where I have a great desire to spend time working on a model railroad (and don't have the time available to do it). For the day when you decide to get that stuff back out, you might want to consider continuing to purchase N Scale Frisco items as they become available. You would be glad you did some day. I have quite a collection, but so far, no layout. Charlie
David, you situation virtually mirrored mine. Now at 60, the time, money, desire and space are all available. Just don't let the spark die.
Dave, I can completely understand. Between work and raising a family most everyone can agree that takes a large percentage of time and then throw a farm in the mix it's like having two jobs. Well there is no like about it, it is two job, unless you've worked on a farm it's hard to explain how much work and time it takes. Like you if it comes down to time checking the cows or time with the trains, the cows will win every time, there's really no choice. The best time I have found to work on trains is late evenings when the son is in bed. I can usually fit in an hour to half hour to work on projects. Brad
