modeling ash/inspection pits

[Anonymous]

hey gang, been a while since i was here, but ive got a problem i hope you can help me with. my layout is 2" estruded foam and i want to include ash and inspection pits with my service facility center piece, the problem is .... i have no idea how they look or how to go about building them. does anyone have any ideas how i could make these or what i need to make them? any help is greatly appreciated.
thanks![:)]

[jrbarney]

Steve,
If you use the Index of Magazines at this site to do a Keyword search, you'll find 17 citations listed when using "ashpit" as the search term and 2 citations when you use "ash pit" as the search term.
You may want to see if your LHS has a copy of Marty McGuirk's The Model Railroader's Guide to Locomotive Servicing Terminals. Marty has one brief chapter devoted to ash pits and shows how to build Diamond Scale Product's ash pit kit:
http://www.diamond-scale.com
In the past Durango Press had an ash pit, their item DP-40, and Model Masterpieces had a stone ash pit, their item 117. I'm not sure of either of these kits are available from the firms that took those companies over. There are also kits available for inspection pits and, again, you may want to resort to the Index of Magazines to learn what has been published.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[Anonymous]

HO Scale Models
Walthers
Durango Press
Scale Structures
Diamond Scale
Inspection Pit
Reference books:
Steam Locomotive Coaling Stations and Diesel Locomotive Fueling Facilities
The Model Railroader's Guide to Locomotive Servicing Terminals
Carstens Publications Loco Terminals & Buildings
What era are you modeling? In the beginning of steam locomotives, ash was just dumped on the right of way. When the railroads aquired more locomotives, pits were used to transfer the a***o a gondola, or whatever, by hand. Locomotives grew larger and so did the amount of ash. Different types of conveyors were devised to automate ash handling. The most modern ash handeling facility was the United Conveyor system.
I built two of the Scale Structures Robertson ash conveyors but then I changed my plans and kit bashed / scratch built this ultra moden facility. It's not installed on the layout yet. I just set it up as an illustration.

The prototype for this model was made by United Conveyor Corporation. They had been supplying cinder disposal systems for industrial power plants and decided to make a modern system for the railroads. However this was about the time railroads were scrambling to change to diesel locomotives. In the United system, the ashes were droped into an underground trench, then washed into a sluice trough by high pressure water jets. The muck emptied into a sump and pumped into an overhead drying bin. The water was reused and the dried cinders dumped vertically into hoppers.
Norfolk & Western had these facilities installed at their Williamson, W.VA. and Portsmouth, Ohio terminals.