Steel wire fishing leaders found in your favorite fishing department.
I got some 1/16" dia twisted nylon string from my local hardware store. might be a bit large but is a very passable scale 1-1/4" rope or cable. it can be stained or painted
Winnegance and Quebec Railway
Eric Schade Gen'l Manager
Rene Schweitzer
Classic Toy Trains/Garden Railways/Model Railroader
You night go by your local fishing supply store. Have a look at "SpiderWire" 60 or 80 pound line. It is a woven thread, is colored a dark green, very flexible, could easily pass for wire rope.
Tom Trigg
To find the "wire rope" try Jo-ann's Fabrics or some other fabric store they usually carry thread/string of a size that will work. Don't look in the thread rack it is usually kept seperate from the sewing thread. You can dye it with black leather dye or ink.
As for rigging the Dolbeer it depends some on the era of your operation. Early on (1800's) they used heavy Manilla rope instead of wire rope and the line was hauled back into the woods by horse or mule. The advent of the haulback drum put the horse out of work unless they needed him for water.
"where was the rope for the capstan stored? Inside of the drum? Thanks."
No. The drum that I think your refering to was just a sheet metal cover over the bull gear that drove the capstan. The rope weather manilla or wire was carfully coiled on the ground (usually in a figure eight pattern) beside the sled as it was brought by the capstan.
The haul back line ran from the haulback drum to a block (called a block never a pully) attached to a tree or stump and then was hooked to the last log on the turn. As the turn was pulled in by the load line (around the capstan) the haulback drum fee wheeled to play out the line so it could follow the logs in.
When the logs arrived at the landing and were rolled from the chute the haulback line was attached to the load line and pulled the load line back into the woods.
you could try guitar or mandolin strings - the heavier looking coiled ones used for lower notes.
They should appear to be braided cable unless inspected very closely.
Barry
1. Anybody know where to get material that looks like scale 1" wire rope, as used on logging highlines? 2. I just finished building Ozark Miniatures' winch engine with haulback, but I don't know how to rig it with wire rope(if I can ever get the stuff). Obviously, the haulback rope ran off into the woods to some pulley on a tree; but where was the rope for the capstan stored? Inside of the drum? Thanks.
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