How do you make cheap log loads?

[Anonymous]

The only thing I saw wrong with the loads on the first page is they were to thin. Two scale feet diameter would be a minimum for the logs headed to a sawmill. Most saw logs would be in the 3 to 4 foot diameter range. You don't want any sizable "branches" coming off the logs, they mean knots in the wood. The bark can be split, scraped, covered in mud. The logs are heavy and difficult to get to the railroad and get loaded.

Lived next door to the Specialty Pallet Company, Felicity Ohio for about a decade.

[Anonymous]

I got a couple of loads out of a bundle of twigs some one had set out at the curb for recycling. I think they are mostly forsythia. I culled out straight-ish sections with pruning shears, then set up a jig on the ol' apartment-sized bandsaw. - 4', 8', 20' and 40' - Got enough pulp for three bulkhead cars and logs for fleet of various log cars in a couple of evenings. Suburbia should yield a sorts of suitable shrubbery. I am currently looking for some one with lilac bushes...

[Anonymous]

Try lilac bushes or trees. works well for either logs or cuts easy for pulp. they are plentyful in this area (southern Wisconsin)

[Anonymous]

Thre's a decorative bush around here (central Arkansas) that I found growing amidst my azaleas. Don't know the neame, but boy, it sure grows. Nice tight grain on its bark, and "straight enough" pieces for log loads. I trim with pruning shears, let dry a few days, then dip--several times--into Thompson's Water Seal. Logs seem to last well, look sufficiently natural.

As for smaller (or N-scale) logs and poles, I suggest the reeds from "matchstick" blinds. I spray these with grey primer, then overmist with flat brown. When I cut them into desired lengths, the lighter inside is revealed. These may not be foreground quality, but they'll do for mass loads.

[dmikee]

Try using clippings from grape vines, preferrably in mid-winter when they go dormant. Excellent bark characteristics, and almost any reasonable scale diameter.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of good ideas here but mostly for pulp wood. I am working on sugar pines we used to cut and haul in the 1940's. Off-road trucks and skeleton rail cars could carry only one with perhaps a small bunk log on each side.

The October 2005 MR calendar has a great picture with the rough broken bark just like the real thing. The picture is credited to Paul Dolkos. If he or anyone knows how to make these realistic large logs I would like to hear about it.

[alzcmf]

The logs in the original post are licorice root. They are available in health food stores & some super markets. I know the people that had them advertised on ebay as part of a "lot", of items for sale. They make good pulpwood/log loads.

[Paul W. Beverung]

Hi Dragonrider: I use grape vine cuttings. They are plentiful here and make pretty good pine logs. The color is about right too. I've also made molds and cast logs out of resin. Since I work with casting resin at work I keep some molds handy and use the excess to cast the logs.

[bogp40]

I don't know if it is true with all deciduous trees, but I found that the bark is the most stable when the tree is dormant. I tend to use privet, maple, both red and white birch mostly. A few times I had the bark peel off the twigs on a couple of loads. Since then I harvest when the sap is not running. Has anyone ever had this happen, or maybe it was just the species I was using. Some of my loads have been glued together and on the layout for over 10 years, removed, replaced and even dropped on the floor, and still look good.
Bob K.

[rrgrassi]

I save the fake plastic "logs" for a diameter and length template. I have to use what is in my yard, so I use Elm, Willow, Oak, Mesquite, and Bois d'arc. I have a little 2 acre creek side lot, so I have lots of trees and dirt to use.

RRGrassi

[bogp40]

QUOTE: Originally posted by David Foster

How patient are you? If you want oak... find an acorn....
This works! I had an exhibition layout but couldn't get there on the day... my stand-ins were inundated with questions about how I made the logs... they didn't like the answer when I got there...

Living trees... it occured to me that when you stand in (broadleaf) woodland a lot of what you see isn't tree but the light coming through the leaves... I tried lambs wool to get the fine effect... but the natural fibres tend to clog together when colouring... then I stumbled on acoustic wadding... the stuff they put in the speakers of PA systems... this is synthetic... you can spray paint it... it doesn't clog without having to be too careful. It sticks to branches of tree skeletons with spray glue. It stays "fluffed out". Don't recall specific makes but they're probably different names her anyway.. have fun...experiment.

Don't know how flamable some mixes may be... try a test run and warn us what flares up PLEASE!

Furnace filters, not the typical cheapo ones, like the hepa type have the same kind of material that can work if you can't find acoustical wading.
Bob K.

[K4s_PRR]

Real wood is fine, but don't forget to soak it in glycerine. It helps preserve the wood.

Charles

[tatans]

It would seem from the above replies that using real tree or bush branches is the answer, that would change the question from "cheap" to "Authentic" --great responses.

[Anonymous]

The logs in the picture appear to be licorice root. I remember learning years ago that it made
excellent logs, but it was darned hard to find. As I recall, Alexander Models used it for the loads
on its log buggies. And the only place that I ever saw it for sale was at Knott's Berry Farm in
California.
Sometiimes you can cut around the branches and forks and get some decent looking logs.
I also recall that some resin logs were sold years ago, but those are not longer made. Perhaps
there is a new market for this.
Bob Hainstock

[dragenrider]

QUOTE: Originally posted by loathar

Congrats Dragenrider!!! This post made the MR Mag E-mail newsletter! [8D]

Wow! It's great to see all the contributions to the discussion. I'm seeing some excellent suggestions.

[robert sylvester]

[:-^]All of the above are great suggestions. I like natural stuff. On Bill Henderson's Coal Belt Railroad he uses all natural stuff[;)]. Scotch scouring pads for bushes and brambles, buffing pads for pine trees and hedges. Natural twigs out of the back yard for logs and trees.
Hobby Lobby, in the flower arrangement department, or artifical flower dept, they have bags of stuff for a couple of bucks, a lot cheaper the Woodland Scenics. You can make all kinds of trees and ground cover, as well as cut trees with the bag of dried twigs.
Save all of your sawdust when you cut your wood for your bench work. [:D] You take a one or two inch piece of foam rubber cut to fit you gondola's, spray paint the foam rubber with a saw dust matching color, bevel the sides to round the top then press some sawdust on the fresh painted surface of the foam rubber and place it in the car. You can do all kinds of loads this way, coal, gravel, rocks, etc.
You want a corn field, find one of these door mats, with the green plastic surface, look at it closely it looks like HO corn stalks. [dinner]Cut it to fit, voila a corn field. Sprinkle the dirt over it and there you have it.
[bow] That's enough for now.
Robert
WTRR
Hub City Division

[SilverSpike]

Hey guys. I just realized that I have a huge Crepe Myrtle tree in the yard on the north side of my house, and three other saplings in 5-gallon planters ready for planting. I will have to cut a few branches this weekend to play with on the logging portion of my soon-to-be-layout.

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock

The next time I am up in Humboldt County I plan on grabbing a few fallen redwood twigs to use as redwood logs for my mini logging layout project--maybe get some chunks of fallen branch around 1-1.5" in diameter to represent big redwoods with 8-12' wide trunks, and a few smaller sticks.

I might have to look into the crepe myrtle as a landscaping solution...I can see how a presentation on them would be embarassing if one neglected to pronounce the "e" at the end!

My brother just sent me a bunch. Haven't got them yet.

[Jetrock]

The next time I am up in Humboldt County I plan on grabbing a few fallen redwood twigs to use as redwood logs for my mini logging layout project--maybe get some chunks of fallen branch around 1-1.5" in diameter to represent big redwoods with 8-12' wide trunks, and a few smaller sticks.

I might have to look into the crepe myrtle as a landscaping solution...I can see how a presentation on them would be embarassing if one neglected to pronounce the "e" at the end!

[SilverSpike]

My grandfather used to model pulpwood in HO back in the 1950's, here are two photos of the only remaining piece of his original layout:

Angle View - Pulpwood Car


Front View - Pulpwood Car


I remember asking him how he made the pulpwood loads and he told me they were made from matchsticks, he just cut the ends off and glued them into place.

He operated the Pioneer Timber Company in Pineville, LA and actually sold pulpwood to the local paper mills. So he had hands on experience with creating the model loads.

I remember hearing the stories about when they would drive through the paper mill towns that the process of making paper would create a distinct smell…it really stunk. Everyone would complain about how bad the smell was, and then he would tell everyone not to complain because that smell meant that here was bread on the table.

Cheers,

Ryan

[logging]

I have been cutting Mountain Laurel, which has a smooth bark, looking for straight pieces. They are right in the woods around our house so they don't cost anything. If you are doing an early era, you might try cutting the ends with a champher and a little roughness on the cut adds to the look. Also cutting some of the bark off the sides will make it look as if it had been pulled on the ground. I am working in HO
Russ
[e-mail]

[Anonymous]

in MR December 1993 you'll find the article "Christmas trees make great pulpwood loads "; wait until a few days after Christmas...and you'll have all the "pulpwood" you'll ever need ."The tree variety with good bark detail that's suitable for HO scale is the noble fir. ....Collect as many limbs as you can - you'll need more than you think! ....
. I suggest letting the pulpwood dry out before cutting the loads as the logs shrink as they dry."

[Anonymous]

I'm using liquorice sticks I can find at supermarket.
They are about 10 cm long and about 1 cm diameter. They have to be selcted, because not all of them are straight. In any case bark texture is really great
Romano

[Anonymous]

I have "Red Tips" in my yard that worked out well. The bark is thin/flakey and debarks easily. Ceder can also look good. I also cut branches close to trunk where it flares out to make stumps. Gotta have stumps in the forest. [2c]

[Anonymous]

Howdy.

What has always worked for me is using real trees. I have also heard of saving Sprue from plastic kits, and painting it brown for straight logs. I havent tried this though. I model the Cass Scenic in Mower days, Im on the Leatherbark Railroad " the Old and rusty."

As far as pulp wood loads go, At the Elk Valley Railroad Club We use saw dust for pulp loads, hoiwever I highly reccommend what I do. That is to get fome stick out of your yard ( these are best when harvested after a wind storm.) and a Knife and wittle off the bark. This is realistic, and creates as much as you want depending on the size of the log.

I was at the Clarion Jamboree back in April ( this is an event presented by the I-80 group of the NMRA) and they used a foam block, and pasted the pulpwood as siding.

What is it about you guys tonight. this isnt an art gallery. And thats what most of these photos are, art.

Many thanks.
G.W.R

[leighant]

I thought log loads grew on trees. I wandered around the yard and found a whole batch of candidates, then culled down to ones not too bent outta shape.


For pulpwood, I used some reed/broomstraw from the floral shop.

[Anonymous]

Use the real thing, of course. I have a 7 car log train tha uses small (N) size twigs cut to car length. When trees are cut they are not all car length. So, you cut some tht look like the bottom of the tree and some that look like the top-with the limbs trimmed off. My log cars were made from tank car frames trimmed and with wooden floors on each end. The logs are glued together and glued to the cars, the scale chain is glued on each end and to the car frames. Can't get any more realistic tha that. BTW, logging operations used any type of car that would haul logs. Very few of them had ta string of identical cars.

[ShaunCN]

yep real tree bracnhes, very samll of course work very well.

[reklein]

If you live in an area where filberts(hazelnuts)grow, the suckers make beautiful logs. They are straight ,have a very fine grained bark, no knots with a light taper and come in all scales. I built a little flat car size rack and loaded it with logs, hot gluing them together as i went. Being careful not to let the glue show. Then I removed them from the little rack,which when you make one will be the appropriate size for your scale, and glue a chain around each end, Making a nice little load that can be added or removed as your operations require.