Has anybody thought of, or looked into, building small 2 foot narrow gauge industrials. They are all over Europe and there are large numbers of micro layouts that feature them. Lots of action and lots to see on them as well. HAs anybody done a US version of those industrial narrow gauge lines? They were extensive in the early 1900's here. Not reffering to the Maine two footers either.
Shane
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An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
I always thought that most of the "really narrow" (less than 36" wide) gauge in the US was either for passenger, lumber/sawmill, mining or quarry operations. When you say there were many "here", where is that?
Simon
snjroy I always thought that most of the "really narrow" (less than 36" wide) gauge in the US was either for passenger, lumber/sawmill, mining or quarry operations. When you say there were many "here", where is that? Simon
water works had them. Sewage plants, gas works. Also large construction projects. The contractors would use them in the days before dump trucks and other heavy equipment. A very small two truck 12 ton Shay was a popular loco for that. For the same reason logging and mining used them.
shane
Some large industries had them too as in plant operations.
You've got my curiousity up.
I do hope someone who does such a thing will post.
Ed
Years ago when I would page throuth the ads inM-R or RMC I would come across the pages with the AHM ads and see their MinitrainS narrow gauge stuff for HO. That always intrigued me since I do recall seeing industrial trackage at a local power plant and waste treatment plant here in Cleveland and I remember being at the big CN shops in Stratford where there was a narrow gauge track for hauling materials around the shop.
Below is your author pushing said cart around:
Stratford_shop by Edmund, on Flickr
Then we wised up and recruited some larger horsepower:
Stratford_shop2 by Edmund, on Flickr
There were neat, flangeless turntables where routes could be changed or cars turned. Fun stuff for an eight-year-old!
https://tycotrain.tripod.com/ahmminitrainsresource/
I never got one for my little layout at the time but I saw AHM had a coal mine kit where you could run narrow gauge trains in to and out of the mine. I seem to recall the "brewery" kit also had provisions for small gauge track, too.
Walthers has recently offered plastic track and non-functioning locomotives and I'm in the process of working some in to my roundhouse/shop scene:
IMG_9418_fix_web by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_9416_fix_web by Edmund, on Flickr
Walthers marketed this stuff made by Auhagen Models:
Engine_Shed-HO by Edmund, on Flickr
https://www.eurotrainhobby.com/narrow-gauge-ho/c409
Artitec is another source for some HO narrow gauge mining and industrial track, again more for scenery than actual operation:
https://www.reynaulds.com/catalog/dept_2172.aspx
https://www.artitecshop.com/en/narrow-gauge-locomotive.html
Good Luck, Ed
7j43k You've got my curiousity up. I do hope someone who does such a thing will post. Ed
I have been contemplating doing just that. something in the 1 x 2 range or so
A lot of manufacturing facilities had narrow gauge tracks within their buildings and often connecting to other buildings within the complex.I recall seeing some at a facility in Negley, Ohio, which included a shop for cars and locos and a number of other outbuildings, some of which were connected with narrow gauge (perhaps 18") track. The buggies which ran on the tracks would have been manually pushed to wherever they were next needed.While I have found most of my photos of that area, I cannot find the ones showing the narrow gauge tracks.A the time I was there, all of the work (painting of a couple of diesels) was being done outdoors, as the structures were in pretty rough condition.
Wayne
doctorwayneA lot of manufacturing facilities had narrow gauge tracks within their buildings and often connecting to other buildings within the complex.
Probably very similar to these cars at B&O's Martinsburg, WV shops. Looks like the blacksmith/welding shop.
BandO_pushcar by Edmund, on Flickr
Even in the relatively small (37 acre) plant where I worked, the former coal boilers used narrow gauge cars to haul away the ashes and they were taken to a lift to be dumped into a recieving hopper.
Regards, Ed
Here in the UK Peco make items to 009 scale/gauge
https://www.modelrailwaysdirect.co.uk/peco-oo9/
and has a large following.
David
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NorthBrit Here in the UK Peco make items to 009 scale/gauge https://www.modelrailwaysdirect.co.uk/peco-oo9/ and has a large following. David
That would be HOn30, here.
I don't recall anyone making HOn2 track. For an industrial layout, handlaid would seem pretty easy to do. You could even use stub switches. And I guess Code 40 rail, which would represent rail that was 3 1/2" high.
Track gauge would be .277", a bit over a quarter of an inch. Yikes, that's little.
Might consider working in O scale.
Busch offered HOf gauge locos, rolling stock and track. They pop up on Ebay regularly. I believe it is the same gauge Ed refers to.
In our region, some sawmills had tram systems in the 1940s. BTS offers a super cool tramway and lumber yard kit:
http://www.btsrr.com/bts8250.htm
Something I would love to do if I had the space. I have a sawmill operation on my layout with HOn30 track, with some track that is intended for manual pushing into a mill.
20210513_114504b on Flickr
I have a sweatshirt from the local railroad museum where I used to live. There was a line on the shirt that proclaims itself as America's First Two-Footer. This was the Billerica and Bedford Railroad, running between those two towns. It only ran for a couple of years in the 1880s, I believe. At some point the right of way was used for standard gauge. The track is all gone now and the last I saw it was a dirt walking and biking trail, mostly.
The railway was mostly for passenger use.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I am surprised it isnt gaining a following here considering the space and operation abilities and flexability. I have to build a hon30 micro layout now. But generic. In nature
Ideas anyone?
A few thoughts come to mind:
1) Check out, if you haven't yet, this site: http://www.hon30.org/
2) Most HOn30 stuff manufactured in the 70's do not run well, that includes Minitrains and a lot of the brass stuff. Flying zoo brass can run well, but it requires a lot of tinkering on tiny stuff.
3) Before making decisions, check out the offerings. There is European stuff in HOe and OO9 (same as HOn30) made by Minitrains, Roco and others. Ebay also expands choices with vintage stuff made by Peco, etc. Most is European prototype stuff, but a few are made for the US market. Most of it refers to Maine 2 footers as you say, but there are a few generic diesels. Again, avoid the old Minitrains stuff (e.g., the infamous Porter and yellow-green Plymouth diesel). The Japanese do REALLY nice things in steam and mechanisms (Tsugawa and Tomytec).
4) If you like kitbashing, there are also shells and rolling stock available on Shapeways. Keep in mind that these are tiny and require some sanding/patching to look nice. That's been my experience anyway. You can combine with a good mechanism, like I did using a Thomas Train mechanism from Bachmann.
20201231_114957 on Flickr
5) Track: you can use N scale, but it's not really the right size (gauge is OK, but the ties are not at scale). Peco makes nice track in HOn30 (or OO9 as pointed out earlier)
6) Once you've considered these parameters, then you can think about all the cool things that can be done in a tight space. If you are flexible, there are no limits really. You can do passenger, industry, logging, mining, whatever. I kept mine in DC, but DCC is totally doable. Adding sound might be a challenge!
I have been doing much digging. I found an entire association similar to NMRA for HOe. I found my way to Gaugemaster (walthers European counter part more or less) I found ebay to be way over priced, but did find a couple pieces that are kits. But most of the wagons on ebay are way over priced even after considering what shipping out of europe would cost. Just have to make big orders to offset that. People selling two wagons on ebay for whatI can go to gaugemaster and get a set of four for the same price (after converting currency).
Yeah, narrow gauge modelling is not cheap, unfortunately. You need patience or deep pockets. Probably both. There are a few hobby shops in the US and Canada that offer HOn30 stuff. I agree that most of the offerings on Ebay are way overpriced. I suspect a strong demand in Europe.
Outside of Maine I'm not sure how many actual 2' gauge railroads there were? I think most 2' gauge outside of Maine was (as has been mentioned) small in-plant industrial operations. I seem to recall GN had a tie plant that used 2' gauge track to move the ties around during their treatment process.
BTW "US style and not Maine style"...pretty sure Maine is part of the US?
Hello All,
A few examples come to mind:
The Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad in Cripple Creek, Colorado.
Originally the line ran between...You guessed it...the towns of Cripple Creek and Victor. It was one of many trolly lines in the mining district.
The line reopened in 1967 as a tourist attraction and runs to this day in the summer season.
I mentioned this railroad in the thread Pere Marquette "Spring Switches"
Another example is in the July 2020 Model Railroader Magazine.
On pg. 42 of the article titled Pulling Together at the Coshocton Model RR Club there is a photo of the lumber mill that uses an elevated narrow gauge tramway that was incorporated into this pike.
In the October 2020 NMRA magazine; pg. 18, there is the second of two articles regarding building a diorama of an Armor Meat Packing Plant.
This diorama incorporates yet another elevated tramway.
Both of these examples were scratch-built by the modelers.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
It surprising how searching for 2 foot gauge nothing US comes up. Not Maine not Colorado, not cripple creek, Or the Florida palmetto brickworks operation that only shut down a few years ago. To much European either
Maine and Gilpin pop up with Google, but you are right, there is not much on 2 foot rail in manufacturing plants or heavy industry.