My ash pit will be located on the turntable lead.
For those that have modelled ash pits on their layouts... do these add a difficult chore for cleaning? It looks to me like they would collect dust and be hard to clean out.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I gave up on engine terminals 30 years ago. They take up a disproportinate amount of space for what they deliver. I plan an engine ready track.it will allow several more industries in what was the engine facilities.
rrebell Need an ash pit for a smallish yard (three stall roundhouse and 4 yard tracks and some service tracks). Was thinking of Debens one and trucking out the ashes instead of a track for a gondola to remove the waste as track work is getting a little tight in this area.
Need an ash pit for a smallish yard (three stall roundhouse and 4 yard tracks and some service tracks). Was thinking of Debens one and trucking out the ashes instead of a track for a gondola to remove the waste as track work is getting a little tight in this area.
I hear you about tight space and the adjustments we all need to make for it but the whole physical set-up of ash pit plus depressed track next to it for the gondola(s) is so interesting and railroady, and creates a surprisingly busy "industry" for switching and operating session purposes out of relatively little space, that I'd do what I could to include it.
Dave Nelson
RR_Mel I was kicking around getting this one for my layout. https://www.debenllc.com/Ashpit-Details-Kit-for-EnginehouseRoundhouse-Scale-Model-Masterpieces-HOHOn3HOn30_p_701.html I have a 5 stall roundhouse and a small 5 track yard. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Hello All,
OvermodThere are advantages in using concrete rather than stone for any modern pit...
As I queried, "...What era?"
Yes, I realize that mortar, cement, and concrete- -cement with aggregates- -have been around since Roman times.
If the OP is modeling a service facility in a logging camp in the 1890s, concrete might not have been an option.
The abundance of rock might have been employed in the construction for this scenario.
An innercity, post-WWII, service facility probably would have employed concrete.
But that's not what the OPs link referenced. If you look at the image of the kit the walls are stone.
By the late '50s steam facilities would have been on the decline for major railroads so a smaller ash pit would be more prototypical.
Overmod...used longitudinal beams under the rails supported periodically on individual columns, rather than using periodic cross-piers as illustrated.
OK, then use styrene I-beams under the rails between the "K" rails.
Remember, this is a model or representation of the prototypical. Unless you are going to crawl under the modeled structure the "appearance" is what matters.
Why do you think real water is seldomly, if ever, used on indoor model pikes?
Yes, it's prototypical but not practical.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
jjdamnitA water column could also add to the scene without adding to the footprint.
In many cases the ash would only be dumped when the engine was going to the house or to be serviced, in which case a standpipe might be superfluous. However, if some NYC/N&W-style rapid-turnaround maintenance scheme were being followed (for example, the ash and most of the fire is dumped, some poor guy in a silvered asbestos suit climbs in for a quick inspection and plug of leaking flues, and a new fire quickly built, heeled, etc for turnaround), a standpipe to refill the cistern while the magic was transpiring would be useful. Likewise if this is a run-through track at a division point, where power is quickly turned for reassignment and only the ash needs to be addressed...
jjdamnitFor the sidewalls of the pit you could carve them as foam pieces and fit them into place or use Cooch brand Cut Stone Walls
Likewise at least some of the pits I've seen used longitudinal beams under the rails supported periodically on individual columns, rather than using periodic cross-piers as illustrated. You would want to avoid ties wherever possible! If you were concerned with any shock or vibration in run-through you could use a continuous strip under the base of the rail, where it would be reasonably protected and highly heat-sinked.
Note the gauge maintenance required via many bolted gauge rods. In a concrete design this would probably be handled with crossmembers between the supporting beams, not in the rails, but I think inspection pits (which were reasonably similar in general structure) were made both ways.
I'm planning to scratchbuild the one in my service area.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
What is the base of your layout?
Foam?
The "kit" you reference could be easily scratch built to fit your space.
For the track supports you could use "Jersey" barriers or "K" rail.
The track could be fabricated by just removing every other tie.
For the sidewalls of the pit you could carve them as foam pieces and fit them into place or use Cooch brand Cut Stone Walls (Chooch is going out of business so their products are becoming scarce).
Unloading the pit could be done by hand; shovels and wheelbarrows- -depending on your era, or a portable conveyor could be used (as pictured in the last of Wayne's photos).
A water column could also add to the scene without adding to the footprint.
The ones I designed for 'multiple tracks' were wet, for prompt quench and a little 'frit-like' thermal-shock breakup of clinker as the ashpans are dumped. This also exchanges steam for continued smoke or burning in the pit. Some of the work done concerning smoke ordinance compliance or EPA compatibility might be relevant to some modelers or their 'virtual world's' concerns...
I used a kind of Lidgerwood skip with hinged blade to move the ash from the pits over to a single unloading point. A Red Devil-style loader made 'proof' against corrosion or abrasion from ash would work nicely as an 'elevator' to a waiting truck BUT keep in mind that the wet ash is heavy, and corrosive, and it may remain better to have somewhere to dump the ash where it can drain or dry 'cheaply' and then be removed in bulk; for this a gondola or hopper remains perhaps the best solution for a facility large enough to warrant a 'three-holer' even if it has to be spotted periodically for loading.
You could then use Top Gon methods either on gons or hoppers to move the stored ash over to trucks for disposal when that is convenient... again spotting the holding car(s) as appropriate.
I'm hoping to do a mechanised one (non-operating) for this location...
...that will service all three tracks.
I'd like to squeeze one in here, too.....
...but space is really at a premium. It would have to be similar to the one in Mel's link, perhaps utilising one of those portable material-elevators, like the one shown to the right in the photo below...
Wayne