Tom, There has to be some coal around Montrose? Hay Gulch Coal in Hesperus for sure, but that is a little far. If nothing else, post a "beg" for a small chunk on the Silverton Community FB page ... I'm sure that someone would mail you a piece to break up. I had a whole box of large chunks that I used for rubber molds but left it in Albuquerque years back. If you can't find any -- maybe experiment with some crushed plaster - painted?
Your prolixly out ahead of me, but how about a blacksmith shop around GJ? Suspect that they still use coal?
Thanks guys for all the comments and suggestions. I may have found some at a landscaping outfit in Fruita CO. Coal used to be in several locations in about every town. We went thru 2-3 tons every winter at our house. Now it has all but disappeared. A lot of houses had Stokermatic coal heat, not not so much.
Lump coal makes the best rock molds dont they? I have a whole bag of them. Thats what all the rock molds on my outfit were made with.
Sand: Whatever the sand color, beware of the translucent quality of sand. That can definitely harm any "effect" one was aiming at through the use of actual sand. I highly suspect dyed black sand will exhibit said translucent quality. IF you use black sand (i.e. glued to a form), I highly suggest painting the finished product with gloss black (for coal that is reflective) or flat black (for bituminous type coal) to remove the translucent trait it can have. Tip: Do NOT use cornmeal glued to carved balsa wood blocks, then painted black. Looked great to my eyes. Looked fantastic to critters. Over the coming months my cornmeal coal began to disappear in itty bitty splotches as critters developed a taste for cornmeal sauteed in black enamel. You have been warned.
What kind of trucks are under that Bachmann tender? They look a lot like the ones under the tenders of the Cotton Belt 4-6-0’s and 2-8-0’s. If you ever change them out I’ll be glad to relieve you of them.
I doubt I will be getting rid of the trucks. The way b'man mounts them no other type trucks would fit, without major surgery.
I been working on my third and hopefully last Tichy crane, this the diesel (Detroit) or driptroit 6-71. A little more complete work train.
Visiting your layout... Once a visitor gets over the sheer immensity of it... then there would be all sorts of interesting "one off's" tucked away here and there to discover. You're modeling a very interesting take on proto/free lancing a more "modern" Frisco and doing a good job of it, to boot.
This should finish up my QA&P MW work train. It is a modified Concor 72' Pass/sleeper car. I covered some windows adding the kitchen, so now its a Diner/kitchen/sleeper the QA&P 039. Added some KD couplers too.
Thanks for asking, TOM! In spite of ALL my continuing medical problems, (I put out one fire and another pops up) I am still vertical! GOD is still on my side!
Thanks John, I did find some coal right out in the old train barn almost the right size got it glued in place getting a few images now maybe upload a little later.
Here is the last car I have made for a QA&P MW train; this is the tender for the steam derrick finally loaded with coal, real coal that I had on hand but forgot where it was. That ever happen to you? It does to me all the time.
