Extreme Modeling

[FJ and G]

On the history channel yesterday evening was a 2 hour special segment; (actually they're all called "special"). The first hour was about gold mining and the second silver mining.

They showed some really neat clips of Virginia City and some railroad stuff. It was somewhat disappointing because when they got to the modern era, there were only monster trucks in the open pits; nary a train or track in sight.

The weirdest thing they showed that would make a pretty cool model, was that of a railroad five miles below the earth in a S. African gold mine, where temps are higher than 120F and where each worker receives 65 pounds of ice a day just to stay cool (well, not cool but less hot, I should say).

Such extreme mining would make for an extreme model for the extreme RR enthusiast.

THere are discussions about going 12 miles down and using remote trains and machinery, so big is our appetite for gold.

Dave Vergun

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by FJ and G

..was that of a railroad five miles below the earth in a S. African gold mine, where temps are higher than 120F

...Such extreme mining would make for an extreme model for the extreme RR enthusiast.

Even in N Scale, sounds like some selective compression might be in order.

Also, some heat-resistant adhesives. And lots of Floquil Earth tones paint.

Wayne

[jjbmish]

I was in Virginia City this spring and had the good fortune to ride on the Virginia and Truckee R.R. Its a small portion of the original line that is still run as a scenic railway. The town of Virginia City is a lot of fun to walk thru and there are a lot of remnants of the silver mining era. They said that at one time the V&T was one of the busiest lines in the world.

John

[Anonymous]

There was a similar line in Chicago - designed to haul freight between warehouses below ground level and thus reduce traffic congestion on the surface - modern efforts are not a new idea! There's a website about the system at www.ameritech.net/users/chicagotunnel/tunnel1.html - would make an interesting model if you used HO track (idea being that you could use "SPUD" motor units for simple power).

[philnrunt]

Pentrex also has a video of the Chicago system,called (i think) "40 feet below" I have it, but it's at home and I'm at work.
It was the underground RR that flooded when construction knocked a hole in the wall between the RR and the Chicago River. For awhile, no one knew where all of the water was going, until someone remembered the RR ran by the river also.. It caused huge problems because other sections had been used for phone, cable and fiber optics.
Dave- I cannot pass up one of your posts, they always cater to my tastes.