Some recent work on the In-ko-pah RR

[WP Rayner]

Wishing you all the best Ray. Stay positive, it really helps, and know that all your friends and colleagues here are rooting for you.

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks for the well-wishes, guys!

I'm still working on the railroad a bit here and there, mostly maintenance and repairs. One of my earliest structures was an ore bin located on a spur track at the southeast corner of the layout. I'm calling it the Black Rock Mine. I have long planned to build the rest of the mine structures there but never got around to it. It's been so long now that the ore bin is due for replacement.



The support structure has fallen off, the ore chutes, catwalk and handrails are damaged, and the whole thing is severely weathered:




I started work on the replacement by assembling the profile frames which are made of 3/8" square strip wood. (All wooden components are made from Western red cedar.) Where needed, I pre-drilled holes for tie rods:






Once the profiles were complete, I began attaching them to the top and bottom timbers:






The support structure from the original ore bin was in very good condition, so I decided to reuse it. I will add additional braces to make it sturdier:






At this point I set the bin out on the layout to see how it looked, and also to test whether it would be possible to add an extension to the top. Two pieces of strip wood were placed loosely on the upper rear of the bin to give me a rough idea of where the sloped portion of the extension would fit:




Next I moved on to adding the planks that will form the front and rear walls, and sloped bottom, of the ore bin. When this was done I added some small strips of wood to brace the planks that will form the sides of the bin:










At the top of the front and rear walls, it was necessary to add small pieces along the sides of the frame timbers to support the short planks between the timbers:




Here's the bin on the layout again. If you look closely you can see some of the additional bracing that I added to the support structure:






That's all for now. I post more on this later.

[Ray Dunakin]

I decided to add an extension to the top of the ore bin. I started by building a frame, and made it removable:






Then I added the planks to the front and sides:




This shot shows how the extension fits onto the top of the bin. I drilled some holes where I will add small brass rods to keep the two sections in alignment:




Next I added a frame for the sloped section at the rear of the extension:

[finescalerr]

It looks very adequate so far. -- Russ

[Sami]

Good starting Ray !

[Bernhard]

Well done Ray. I hope model building works like good medicine.

Bernhard

[Barney]

 A nice bit of construction there Ray - and Im sure it gives a bit of therapy and takes your mind off the world of today
Barney
How old was the last mine hopper - living out side makes it look well weathered

[Ray Dunakin]

How old was the last mine hopper - living out side makes it look well weathered

I made the original ore bin in 2007, so it's 15 years old.

[TRAINS1941]

Your work is exceptional especially for being outside!!

Jerry

[Ray Dunakin]

Continuing from where I left off back in August...

I finished the sloped extension at the top of the ore bin:




Next I began building the ore chutes. I started by gluing in place the sloped supports. Then I added planks to form the bottom of the chute:




Before adding sides to the ore chutes, I test-fit the gates. I had planned to reuse the gates from the old ore bin, but I couldn't get them off without damaging them. Luckily they are still available from wildwestmodels.com. I won't permanently install the gates until after the ore bin has been painted:




I completed the ore chutes, then added the deck and handrails:






I plan to add stairs at one end of the ore bin. To make them removable, I first made a special bracket and glued it to the underside of the deck:






I drilled two holes through the top step of the stair and through the support bracket:




The stairs are from Plastruct. I glued two brass pins into the holes on the top step. I also used a razor saw to scribe "wood grain" into the plastic:






Next I added handrails and support posts. I used thick CA adhesive to glue the wood pieces to the ABS plastic:




I wanted another set of stairs at the other end of the ore bin, going from the deck up to a concrete platform on the cliff. I cast the platform in place using high-strength mortar mix and a form made from foam-core board and hot glue:




I added handrails to complete the stairs. I used four brass pins to align the stairs and hold them in place, while keeping them removable for painting or future maintenance:






That's all for now. The next step will be to add another set of stairs going from the concrete platform up to the mine. After that I can begin work on the mine structures.

[finescalerr]

A real improvement over the previous chute. -- Russ

[Bernd]

Some very fine wood working going on there.

Bernd

[Bill Gill]

Ray, very nice woodworking and overall appearance of the bin.

[Chuck Doan]

Nicely done!

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks guys! I think I'm far enough along that I can paint it, as soon as I get the time. Once it's painted then I can install the tie rods, NBWs, etc.

Unfortunately, some time in the past 2-3 years an invasive mosquito species has moved into the area. I've rarely encountered mosquitoes in all the years I've lived in San Diego until now. These particular mosquitoes are tiny and hard to see, and they like to go for your ankles. I usually wear shorts around the house but now if I want to work on the layout I have to change into long pants.