If this is the right place, I will post some pics of my little in-progress layout in HO scale. It loosely copies the Ozora, Missouri marble quarry. I decided to make the railway that passes across the layout part of the Frisco, a fictitious, non existing cutoff for which I will make up the story and history.
Please post photos of your layout Ken!!! We love layout photos no matter how small or large. Go to this link before you install track. http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/modeling-scenery-elevation-with-insulation-foam.7771/ Spend as much time designing the water flow as you spent on track design. Joe
OK. After a couple of false starts, the little layout grew to this. The cardboard mockup of the quarry confirmed that it would be a fun project. A lot of foam chopping and paint and playing produced this. I didn't like the track layout at all though. As you can see, I am not a fine scale modeler, just an old coot having fun. I do like the quarry. The Ozora quarry mined marble that was tilted severely, making quite a spectacle while it was operating. There will be a large derrick on top of the cliff. The track 'plan' has been simplified.
The inspiration for the quarry is this photo of the original quarry. Pics are scarce. I did find out that the derrick (you can see the base of it in this picture) still exists! Snooping Google Earth confirms it too. I was very surprised by that, the quarry closed in the late '40s I think. In my alternate 'history' the quarry lasted much longer. My layout is placed in 1958.
In this shot, taken before 'marblizing', a couple of guys are working on preparation for splitting out another block of marble. After 'marblizing'.
The only building on the layout that is in it's 'permanent' position is the gas station in the upper left. The rest are just sitting there because... The layout is designed to fit in a small amount of space. Each of the six 'modules' is removable and will sit on shelves in the corner or elsewhere. The baseboard is about 3" deep overall and will hang on the wall eventually. Playing trains will require getting the layout down, putting it on the bed and installing the modules. There will also be 'off layout' modules to play with. A farm and a small siding area for rolling stock are planned.
The gas station is a much modified paper model from the Papermau website. It is shown here, note that grandma has taken the dozer for a ride and the bull is challenging the Bull Dozer.
May I recommend searching this site for the quarry at Phenix, MO. It may give you some additional ideas. The Phenix quarry had its own internal railroad, and used a "Dinky", a Heisler, to haul limestone blocks from quarry to stone-saw mill, rock crusher, kiln, etc. As can be seen in the photos, the limestone beds are dipping in the area of the quarry. The quarry was located in the Ste Genevieve fault zone, which is one of the more interesting areas when it comes to Missouri geology. The red countours are mapped to the base of the Roubidoux Formation
Thanks Karl! I have some pictures of that quarry, but I will go look for more info for sure. This picture is of an early version of the layout, it started on a serving tray. Note the little dock locos. One of them will belong to the quarry operator.
Thanks! That is a much better pic than I was able to capture. Notice the derrick is there. Neat! Keith, your signature says KC north. I grew up in Riverside. Small world for sure.
Small world? Why, my family used to go to the stock car races at Riverside Stadium back in the early 1960's. Living in North KC at the time.
Good grief! We must have crossed paths. I practically grew up at the race track. My Dad and Ed Young were friends and we always had season passes for the races. I miss those times.
Not necessarily... In a quarry, where rock debris might lie adjacent to the track, it was possible that these rocks might interfere with the Shays’ drive shaft and gears. Heislers and Climaxes did not have this issue, and as a general rule were preferred for “quarry work”. BTW, the Phenix Quarry Heisler is still extant; please see The little locomotive was perfect for internal quarry work.
