If you have not seen the announcement for the new coal mine kit from Walthers, here is the page:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-4046
Question: In the May 2012 Model Railroader, pages 38-39, Jim Hediger showed how to kitbash a smaller mine from the Walthers New River Mine Kit for the Virginian project. Looking at Jim's pictures and the pictures of Walthers newest coal mine offering, do they not look the same? Or are my eyes deceiving me? It would seem Walthers new kit is a pretty close copy of Jim's kit bash. What do you think?
That was my first thought when I saw it in the new Sale Flyer !
That will be a nice addition to any layout!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
At $50, seems like a reasonable price too. Put both the New River and this kit on an appalchian coal mining layout. Two different mines but still similar enough to look like sisters.
- Douglas
In his Kalmbach book "How to Kitbash Structures," Tony Koester writes: "Those who model coal tipples from the late steam era through the 1960s or later in N or HO should send a thank-you note to Walthers for producing the New River Mining Co. coal preparation plant kit. As the basis for kitbashing coal preparation plants and tipples, it is a crown jewel. Despite the kit's Appalachian name, the model is based on a prototype found along the former Denver & Rio Grande Western's branch to Craig, Colorado ...."
Dave Nelson
There are plenty of differences in this kit as compared to the old New River Mine. First of all, it only spans two tracks as opposed to three, making it easier for people to fit in a smaller space. I like the circular slack bin. I do wish they'd have made a truck dump attachment to allow for local truck tipples.
The two tipples would go well together on an Appalachian layout indeed, and the newer one on a narrow gauge layout wouldn't be all that out of place. I have a photo of a tipple from the Western Maryland's Back Fork of Elk branch which looks very similar to the Diamond tipple.
Diamond Coal would do well on a 4 x 8 rather than NRM. It also looks kitbashable so you can expect modelers to start turning out various versions in due time. (I can only imagine what Art Curren might've done with this.)
Kits based off construction and kitbash articles are nothing new. If you go back and look, many of the well known kit structures are based off of construction articles that appeared in the hobby press.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Has anyboady here ever built this HO Walther's Diamond Coal Corpoaration kit?
Is the space between the building and first loading track sufficiently wide for another track?
I'm thinking a using this for a shelf layout that is very limited in width. This structure would be taking most of the width of the shelf leaving pretty much so space for the track to bring the empties to the back of the tipple. I was so wondeing if the track for the empties could pass between the building anf the first loading track of the tipple.
Yes, the space is (barely) wide enough for a track, depending on what equipment you're rolling through there. I measured mine at 45mm (1.77"). Personally, all of my 1950s era stuff fits through a 1.5" wide gap on straight track. Your track center would be about 59mm inside from the first loading track center, unlike the 2.5" centers of the two tipple tracks.
But regarding the height, there's only 53mm of vertical clearance... not quite enough for your typical locomotive. You'd just have to cut out the plastic base that the building sits on and have the track descend about 6mm (1/4") for your average locomotive to squeeze under the building.
Incidentally, the footprint that Walthers provides on its website includes a bunch of stuff outside the main building that could be repositioned if need be. The core building itself fits in a 10.25" square.
FatherWilliam57If you have not seen the announcement for the new coal mine kit from Walthers,
The Diamond coal company has been around for years as a small version of Three Rivers coal.
This is not a new kit.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190This is not a new kit.
Nor is it a new thread
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
This is a great structure.
Why dredge up an old thread with an OP having only had one post?