Hello modeling friends
I am always on the Internet to look for new modeling projects. Some time ago I came across the Hulett ore loader.
These machines were used at the Great Lakes in the early to middle of the last century to unload iron ore from vessels.
Here you can see the machines in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RJfnk2S330 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RJfnk2S330)
Very impressive, I think.
Of course, this is far away from what I normally build. But I would be interested in the modeling challenge of rebuilding such a beast in a functional way. In 1:35th scale, it would be 4.8 ft or 1.5 m long at least.
(Illustration: Historic American Engineering Records (HAER), Dept of Interior)
Now my questions about this:
Mike Rabbitt offered a set of drawings in 1:87th scale. Unfortunately, he passed away last year and it is unclear at the moment what will happen with his work.
Do anybody of you know where to get these drawings today?
Or do anybody of you have the drawings and could make them available to me?
Do anybody of you live at the Great Lakes and could take pictures of the few remaining machines (e.g. in Cleveland) for me?
I have relatives in the USA who could take care of shipping the documents to Switzerland if necessary.
Many thanks for your feed-back.
Bernhard
The "remaining" ones are all in pieces on Whiskey island in Cleveland, probably never to be put together again. One of my uncles operated them at Ashtabula. I always wanted to build one. I have the Rabbitt drawings but don't know how I could copy them. A montage of digital pictures maybe. There are a lot of pictures of them online. Here is one good source:
https://clevelandmemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/search/searchterm/hulett
A quite good model exists at the maritime museum in Ashtabula
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3bkh7ZxzcI
I follow this person on Flickr, he has many good Hulett pictures:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/115892967@N03/albums/72157640696962653
I hope you do this project...I probably never will.
Lastly...the sad state of what is left of the Huletts can be seen in the approx. center of the loop of track:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Whiskey+Island/@41.4942899,-81.7235147,183m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8830f05c381015fd:0x7a46229d490b9f19!8m2!3d41.4958841!4d-81.7165209
Walthers made a Huelett kit in HO scale.
This is a link to an O scale modeler who used the Walthers kit to fabricate O scale parts to build a Huelett in 2015.
Maybe you can find a way to contact him to see if he has any other plans or photos that he worked from. https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/new-project-hulet-loader
Here is a link to a post of a modeler who built a Huelett in 1:32. It is a functional model, but built from pieces similar to an Erector Set rather than a scale model. I don't know the date the model was built
https://www.nzmeccano.com/Documents.php?show=32
Here is a link to the Bowling Green State University Library Jeff Clark Hulett Collection that has plans:https://lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/items/show/2728
Maybe some of these can help.
Thanks Bill.
I also found the Walthers kit, as well as this H0 -> 0 conversion. However, this is not necessarily the approach I want to build my models.
The link to the Bowling Green State University Library seems interesting, I'll have to take a closer look.
Bernhard
You might be interested in this thread on the railroad-line forums:
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17649 (http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17649)
Beware, it is 30 pages long...
Paul
Thanks for your information. If you can find any way to copy the plans, I would be very interested. Of course I would pay for all costs.
Hauk
I saw this thread as well. It is very interesting because it gives a good insight into the structure of the unloaders.
Bernhard
As for reproducing the plans, do you have a shop similar to Staples near to you? I have had them successfully duplicate drawings as large as an A plate for reasonable prices. I have had to copy old East Broad Top drawings over the years to allow work on repair and restoration to continue. Also, the Library of Congress' Industrial Heritage Program may have plans for sale or because it is an agency of the US Government for download without worry of copyright issues.
Thats just "jaw opening stuff " looks a lot of fun building that one
Barney
First I have to find the drawings! Then let me see what I can do...honestly I don't make ANY unnecessary trips anywhere these days. So if I can manage something at home I will. I once copied about 100 drawing of a locomotive by putting them on the floor and shooting them! With color correction they read fine.
Paul, the project is certainly not worth any health risk. But of course I am grateful for any other support.
Bernhard
Much of the Library of Congress is available on the Web. It takes a bit of digging to find some of it, but since there is no copyright you won't have a problem copying it. Or, most of their plans can be purchased.
I will try and dig the drawings out this weekend and take a sample photo(s)
Paul
Thanks Paul. I am already curious. I have the ability to print the photos in large format in the office.
Bernhard
There is good news: a fellow modeler from the Steel Mill Modeling Group was able to get the plans copied and sent them to me. This is a first important step.
Paul, thanks again to you for your offer of support in this regard.
Now I have another question, because I don't know much about American railroading: are the railroad cars that were used to transport ore at that time (ca. 1910-1950) available somewhere as scale 1 models (1:32th)?
Bernhard
Bernhard....that is a good question. My guess is there is probably something close. I'm not that familiar with "gauge 1"
The bigger question is(and I do mean bigger) what are you going to do about an ore boat? Note: on the great lakes the "ships" are known as "boats"
My favorite ones were the Whalebacks:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaleback
Paul, those whalebacks look really interesting. But I don't know if they were typically used for ore transport.
In any case, I probably won't build a complete boat, but only a short cross-section. I would have to build 4 Huletts for a complete arrangement
Bernhard
Bernhard, 1:32 scale never became popular in the U.S. even though a few of us tried for years to establish it. Model Die Casting offered some plastic two bay hoppers and small ore cars in the 1990s. While they may have called them "G Scale", they were actually 1:32. They could serve as a starting point for a lot of additional detailing. eBay still has some: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1311&_nkw=mdc+g+scale&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=1%3A32+scale+model+railroad (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1311&_nkw=mdc+g+scale&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=1%3A32+scale+model+railroad)
The other company with 1:32 scale plastic railroad models was MTH (Mike's Train House) but they recently went out of business. I looked online but could find no appropriate hopper or, for that matter, almost anything in their now defunct "Rail King" 1:32 scale/Gauge One line.
Two or three importers offered expensive brass models, mostly of locomotives, for 1:32 scale collectors. All or most are out of business except AccuCraft Trains in California but I doubt they have the right kind of hopper car. https://www.accucraftestore.com/rs-gaugeone (https://www.accucraftestore.com/rs-gaugeone)
I am still in contact with some 1:32 scale modelers, including the one who has tried hardest for the past 30 years to encourage manufacturers to promote the scale. If the MDC models fail to meet your standards I could phone him for more help ... but I doubt he knows much more than I do.
Russ
Quote from: Bernhard on April 18, 2021, 11:13:31 AM
Paul, those whalebacks look really interesting. But I don't know if they were typically used for ore transport.
In any case, I probably won't build a complete boat, but only a short cross-section. I would have to build 4 Huletts for a complete arrangement
Bernhard
4 Hueletts in 1/35 would be quite a sight!
Looking forward to see how this project developes, event if it is "only" a single machine.
Russ, thanks for your information. It is a pity that the scale 1:32 finds so little interest in America. I also came across MTH during my search. Too bad that the company no longer exists. I will try to find some cars from them or from MDC at dealers or on the internet.
In this case, it is less important for me to be accurate in detail. I just want to show the process of loading the ore and the use of the shunt engines in the environment of the Huletts.
Hauk, I will of course share the project. However, there is still a long way to go before it can be realized because there is little meaningful documentation on the complex project. Unfortunately, no complete machines have survived either.
Bernhard
Quote
Hauk, I will of course share the project. However, there is still a long way to go before it can be realized because there is little meaningful documentation on the complex project. Unfortunately, no complete machines have survived either.
Bernhard
Research is half the fun! And even if the lack of information can be frustrating, piecing together information on a prototype can give a modeling project another layer of meaning.
I absolutely agree with you, Hauk!
Bernhard
@Paul
QuoteThe bigger question is (and I do mean bigger) what are you going to do about an ore boat? Note: on the great lakes the "ships" are known as "boats"
My favorite ones were the Whalebacks:
Paul, during my further research on the project, I came across this picture here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/115892967@N03/30423068558/in/album-72157640696962653 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/115892967@N03/30423068558/in/album-72157640696962653)
It shows the John Ericsson, a steel whaleback freighter, at Ashtabula Harbor, being unloaded by Huletts.
She was built in 1896 and scrapped in 1968 after plans to preserve her in a marine museum failed.
So the Wahlebacks were indeed used to haul ore. But with the spread of Huletts, they were replaced by new, larger boats whose hatches were adapted to the Huletts.
Bernhard
Yeah...I haven't had the time but the Whalebacks were indeed used for ore. Maybe not the "iconic" lake boat for freight..but a personal favorite and used for many years. I started building one in N scale about 25 years ago. Didn't get very far. :(