Mining equipment

[sailormatlac]

Hi, As a few of you have seen, I built a large cement plant for the club layout. It is loosely inspired by a real life plant that once existed near my grandmother's place.

When I was a kid, I remember tthe cement plant own a large limestone quarry were they used large mining equiment. The kind of off-road trucks like Terex / Euclid, name it. But that was in the early 80's.

My question: What was the typical equipment for this kind of industry back in the late 50s and 60s? Is there something available in HO? Most models I see in catalogs are for very modern industries or old time layouts.

Thank you.

[e-paw]

I am on a similar quest sailor. I am trying a compressed version of the Hercules cement plant in Stockertown PA. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.gingerb.com/Hercules%2520Cement%2520View%25201.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.gingerb.com/stockertown_station.htm&h=457&w=700&sz=41&tbnid=ckPWS7_wkZeLbM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=132&zoom=1&usg=__j8ge2YYOVUlX-zt0a_U2S0fkW-s=&docid=t8L_JXBP3CLliM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qjwgUMn4MYye6QG1g4HABQ&ved=0CEAQ9QEwAA&dur=287">http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... AA&dur=287</a><!-- m -->

I am searching for the same kinds of pics but,from the mid 40's, so they shouldn't be all that different from what you are after. when I find some I will be glad to share them with you. Don't know if it helps but this is what I was able to find on the Hercules plant.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hercules+cement+pics&hl=en&sa=X&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS368US369&biw=1280&bih=577&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=uMVWNeBerzmglM:&imgrefurl=http://www.odysseygreenenergy.com/HerculesCementStockertownPAOnsite/slides/26_herculesCement.html&docid=BGrazHcpWvPyfM&itg=1&imgurl=http://www.odysseygreenenergy.com/HerculesCementStockertownPAOnsite/slides/26_herculesCement.jpg&w=432&h=324&ei=hz4gUPHDKrSM6QHVrIDYCg&zoom=1">http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hercules ... YCg&zoom=1</a><!-- m -->


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.odysseygreenenergy.com/HerculesCementStockertownPAOnsite/slides/20_herculesCement.html">http://www.odysseygreenenergy.com/Hercu ... ement.html</a><!-- m -->



<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.siahq.org/tours/lehighvalley/hercphotos.html">http://www.siahq.org/tours/lehighvalley/hercphotos.html</a><!-- m -->


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://gwsgrouptest.princeton.edu/courses/cee-364-materials-in-civil/visit-to-hercules-cement.html">http://gwsgrouptest.princeton.edu/cours ... ement.html</a><!-- m -->


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.marsh-africa.com/sector/environment/documents/HK_Section_2.pdf">http://www.marsh-africa.com/sector/envi ... tion_2.pdf</a><!-- m -->

[tomustang]

This should help with some answers:

Skip cars and inclines got phased out later in the 1940's for dump trucks

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=NnX33SJCy1QC&pg=PA26&lpg=PA15&ots=LuJQUDcrTE&dq=1940s+cement+industry&output=html_text">http://books.google.com/books?id=NnX33S ... =html_text</a><!-- m -->

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=NnX33SJCy1QC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA15&ots=LuJQUDcrTE&dq=1940s+cement+industry&output=html_text">http://books.google.com/books?id=NnX33S ... =html_text</a><!-- m -->

Dig though the rest of the pages for more info

[sailormatlac]

Thanks e-paw and Tom!

E-paw, hat Hercules plant is a fantastic prototype. Our cement plant was rather large, but more boring in aspect! Most large pipes and machinery was well concealed behind steel-clad structures. I always loved the look of the four huge cement bins in the middle (inspiration for the Hedley-Junction layout plant).



I'd like to model the machinery garage that was near the quarry with its row of large dump trucks parked. It would make an interesting non-rail served industry. Following Tom's comment, I found these interesting models. Not cheap, but they would make an excellent starting point.

Langley makes this interesting Bucyrus prototype fitting our era

http://www.langleymodels.co.uk/acatalog/...h__37.html

Langley #HO1A Bucyrus Erie/Ruston Bucyrus 22B/22RB would make an interesting shovel since it doesn't look too much old time for our time frame.

Ralph Ratcliffe makes this nice Mack truck from the 60s and 70s. That would be perfect to fit my prototype. However, the price would make it prohibitive to park a lot of them in front of the garage!

http://www.ralphratcliffemodels.com/deta.../m75sx.php
http://ralphratcliffemodels.com/catalog/...ucts_id/61

They have much more cranes and shovels, but in OO Scale... ish.

Don Mills also make an older Mack Dump truck that would be perfect for the 50s.

http://www.donmillsmodels.com/main/index...&Itemid=73
http://www.donmillsmodels.com/main/index...&Itemid=73


Tom, it wouldn't be too hard to bash some readily available Mach trucks into believeable dump trucks. Villeneuve cement plant was built in 1954. They probably never used skip cars. The plant closed in 1997 and had to pay an hefty sum of money to its neighbors to compensate for damage, health problems and others things like that. They are actually filling up the pit that is quite large... for condos and business!! I would have never believed that before! Digging a hole to fill another!!!

Matt

[sailormatlac]

E-paw, that listing may be useful.

http://www.1-87vehicles.org/photo_index/...mining=232

All that mining stuff takes me back when I was a kid and playing with my Tonka trucks in the sand pit (a real one with real trucks). I once thought about building a railway to serve the mine, but that was well before I was aware of garden trains. Never thought I would revisit dreams from long gone days... God please take me back then now!

Matt

[tomustang]

Athearn has some Mack B dump trucks you can use, if you can find them

[sailormatlac]

Thanks Tom, not that hard to find and much more affordable. They even got the readymix truck too... I think I'll have to save a special budget for trucks acquisition!

Matt