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Ready to place Campbell coaling tower, distance to track

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  • Member since
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  • From: west coast
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Ready to place Campbell coaling tower, distance to track
Posted by rrebell on Thursday, June 11, 2020 1:19 PM

I have a built Campbell coaling tower to install. Problem is I get one shot as the back of the building has a  large bin that goes into the deck so foam decking must be cut out. Need distance from building to first rail. Also how close can the water tower be and the sand house.  On approch it will be water tower, coaling, then sand bin for sand tower. Running older stuff so don't need clearance for double stacks etc. LOL.

  • Member since
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Posted by Pruitt on Thursday, June 11, 2020 1:37 PM

The distance from building to center of track would probably be around 13-15 feet. 

The best way to figure it out would probably be to set a section of track on a table, then position the tower so that the chute will be in the center of the track when in the loading position. Then just measure from the rail to the building and - poof! - there's your answer!

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Posted by BATMAN on Thursday, June 11, 2020 1:43 PM

rrebell
Also how close can the water tower be and the sand house.

To each other or the track? Here is a photo that shows placement in relation to each other, though there are no hard and fast rules about that.

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by Doughless on Thursday, June 11, 2020 2:18 PM

rrebell

 the back of the building has a  large bin that goes into the deck so foam decking must be cut out. 

Just thinking out loud for another solution.  If the final result is that the tower will abutt the second tier decking with the bin concealed by the surrounding decking so that its unseen, could you just leave off the bucket and simply abutt the unbucketed tower against the uninvaded decking?  Might be simpler with the same basic result.

- Douglas

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  • From: Shenandoah Valley
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Posted by BigDaddy on Thursday, June 11, 2020 3:32 PM

The PO does not mention a second tier. 

There are some pictures of the backside of the structure here

At Chama the sand house is right next to the coal tower, the water tower is 100 yards down the line.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Thursday, June 11, 2020 4:33 PM

I would cut out more of the foam than necessary, and then fill in the gaps with scrap foam once you've settled on the position.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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  • From: Collinwood, Ohio, USA
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Posted by gmpullman on Thursday, June 11, 2020 4:46 PM

This could be a guide:

 coal_wood by Edmund, on Flickr

However, there are always compromises when it comes to scaling dimensions to the model. Use an NMRA gauge.

Good Luck, Ed

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Posted by rrebell on Thursday, June 11, 2020 4:57 PM

I am thinking 9 1/2' from  first rail to building.  18' from building to sand bin and 21' or so on other side to water tank (ladder sticks out that side).

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Posted by wrench567 on Thursday, June 11, 2020 5:02 PM

Water tower? Stand pipes could be placed on both sides of the coaling chute if non directional. One way lines the water stand would be on the end opposite of the coal chute or first in line. The sand house can also be placed in another spot and piping system would feed sand boxes.

 Just keep the ash pit far enough away from the coaling station. That coal dust was explosive if ignited.

    Pete

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Posted by rrebell on Thursday, June 11, 2020 5:03 PM

The real problem is the coal chute being fixed except for the extention.

 

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Posted by selector on Thursday, June 11, 2020 7:11 PM

I had the same questions with my Kanamodel water tower.  I had my yard tracks, where the tower was goint to be, partially sunken into dirt/muck.  If I had placed the tower out on the mains, I would have had to elevate it substantially due to the elevation imparted to the ties and rails by the raised roadbed and ballast depth.  So, I initially thought that I would just have to figure out how close to the rails and plunk it.  Not so, Grasshopper.  I still had to fashion long sills for the support posts to get the whole tower and spout high enough to look like it would dip at a sufficient grade to allow water to flow quickly during a fill of a tender's cistern. 

Once I got the height right, the rest was simply eyeballing how close to the tracks the spout pivot and chain/cable counterweight assembly ought to be to look reasonably accurate. It ended up a lot closer than I had guessed.  The diagramme provided above says 8' from lower slide pivot to the center of track.

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Posted by rrebell on Thursday, June 11, 2020 10:17 PM

Luckily the Campbell water tank I built high enough that that isn't a problem and I also have the Campbell sanding tower, some of the first kits I ever built but I could not do any better today. 

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