Logging Empire

[Anonymous]

I have been looking through many pictures or what log empires looked like long ago. I started a layout many year back with the full intent of finishing it. The layout as it is my first layout is on the smaller side 3x4 (n scale). The mountains are not the largest as I entended on logging the more North east or midwest area. I am not sure if these questions will be known, but I thought this sight might be the best chance to get some answers. First, which types of trains engines would be accessable in kit form or RTR that would be similar to that which would have been used in the logging era. I plan to do the earlier steam era back when horses pulled the logs from the woods. I purchased a few microtrain cars to start my ideas moving. What size trees would have been chopped down back then? Did they pillage everything in the path to the next best trees, or just weave in and out of the smaller trees? How were the logs placed on the trains? I noticed on many pictures a big contraption that hoisted up trees it seemed (wires going every which way). What types of trees were harvested in the east logging industries? How tall would these trees be in estimation? More questions will follow. Also if you think it would be easier to suggest me on what to do to my layout by viewing it I can take picture on my dig. camera and put them on here of what i have done thus far. Thanks in advance to anyone that could possibly be of help.

[Anonymous]

Take a look on the web for work by Paul Templar. He has created several logging empires, mostly with a west coast flavour, but probably still useful to you. The other thing to try is a bit of prototype research - you never know what google will turn up.

One piece of info I can tell you is that logging with horses is a lot less intrusive than methods used today. Also, with all the power being manual labour, you can be sure that they only cut the trees they wanted (the best trees) and left everything else. Remaining trees might be damaged, but only in the process of getting the timber out. They did not have enough resources to just "clear cut" everything.

Good luck, and let us know what you find out!

Andrew

[DSchmitt]

I don't know about logging in the northeast, but photos of the west from the 1880/90's show a lot of clear cutting. This is true in particular near mining areas (for instance Lake Tahoe where the forest were cut to supply timbers for the mines in Nevada) but I've seen pictures of the forest in Oregon and Washington near the Columbia river which were clear cut too.

There are not many suitable steam locos available in N scale. Suitable loco types would be geared (Shay, Climax, Heisler) almost anywhere in the US or small (usually second hand) rod engines.

There have been geared locos offered as kits ( the Father Nature web site is one source
http://www.fathernaturetrees.com/logging.html ) The new Atlas Shay is a large late model prototype.

[Anonymous]

For your loco's you'll be wanting Shay's Heisler's or Climax's

Atlas Offers the Shay(RTR) in N scale, Unfortunatly I can't see anyone offering the exact model you need for the horse+wagon timeframe. Fortunatly, you can buy the atlas one, and then but parts to make it look earlier (IE the smokestake looks to be one of the big problems, as well as the tender area.)

If you hit MDC-Roundhouse's site (http://www.mdcroundhouse.com/) and look in the HO section, you'll see what an earlier era Shay should look like (BTW MDC Kits have multiple parts in them to customize to any era shay).

As for the climax and heisler, I'm only finding them in hon3 and larger. so it looks as if you're stucjk with the atlas Shay until more come out.

I've started a Logging operation on mine as well (HO scale though), but my forest is more of a flat land forest, so I'm using 2 and 3 truck shays for it, although a few heisler's may make their way on it in the future.

Good luck in your N-Scale search, it'll be hard since N-Scale typically focus's on more modern stuff.

Jay