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Keith Pashina
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THE END OF AN ERA! (in modeling, that is)
Well, last Tuesday was a bittersweet day. I got what will be my last UPS package of stuff shipped to me from Caboose Hobbies in Denver, Colorado. Every time I visited Denver, a must stop was at Caboose Hobbies, which was a huge hobby shop loaded with models, kits, and parts, and that included a lot of narrow gauge modeling items and narrow-gauge-themed books, too. However, the store's landlord made them move for a site redevelopment, and it was time for the owners to retire, and so they are closing up shop this month.
This isn't the first wonderful hobby shop to close or migrate to web-only, and won't be the last. All things change in this world, and I suppose this hobby isn't exempt, either.
However, on the plus side, I got a neat book shipped to me, and a bunch of locomotive and car parts that I can use for modelbuilding on my Gilpin Tram layout. So, there will be more to come!
Stay tuned...
Attachment: 901 last shipment copy.jpg (Downloaded 792 times)
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Keith Pashina
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Oops! After a few mishaps...
Well, thanks to help from Si, Herb and Eddie,
my previous difficulties with posting have been worked out.
So, let's get back to looking at the Gilpin Tram.
In my previous posts, I started posting about my next big modeling venture, modeling the enginehouse, yards, mills and buildings of Black Hawk.
But first, just to be clear, this thread is Part II, and will start looking at the Black Hawk area, and how I will go about modeling it. Part I generally covered the line from Chase Gulch at the Black Hawk end, and eventually more or less looked at the mainline, branches, spurs, and mines to the end of the line. This map shows where this information can be found in Modeling the Gilpin Tram (Part I):
So, if you're if your seeking more information about the Gilpin Tram, don't forget to check out the Part I thread.
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Keith Pashina
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Modeling the Gilpin Tram's Enginehouse in Black Hawk
I first built an HO model of the enginehouse in 1993, and this was eventually written up in an article in the September 1999 Gazette. This model was of the final three-stall version, and included a fully detailed interior.
At the time, I was building a small 4' x 9' layout, and set out to reproduce as much of the Gilpin Tram's enginehouse area as a I could. This shows a 1993 view, and eventually, the area immediately around the enginehouse was scenicked, but the rest of the layout was never completed.
After the previous layout was torn up, I began building a two-level layout based on the Gilpin Tram (again, in HOn30) in a larger space in my basement. So, the enginehouse model was reused on the new layout. I didn't have quite the space I needed to model the real Gilpin Tram's trackage accurately, so I compromised. In the view above, you can see I included a wye right next to the enginehouse, and I built a small (non-prototypical) yard off to the side.
Then, I dismantled two-level layout, so my son could use the area for his musical efforts. I then started building a shelf layout around two walls of the main basement rec room. Again, I had to compromise the track layout, but this layout was built for operation, so I included the trackage I needed - a small yard, two mill tracks, interchange, and a boiler works. I didn't have room for a wye, so I put a very unprototypical turntable behind the enginehouse.
 
Then, I moved, so I restarted my HOn30 layout. Once again, I did not faithfully model the Black Hawk trackage, but fit in the enginehouse where I had space. Once again, I didn't have space for a wye, so I put in a turntable (the real Gilpin Tram never had a turntable).
But, after 7 years, we decided to move once again, so, this layout was dismantled and parts of it saved. But, by then, Mike Pyne of Wild West Scale Model Builders expressed an interest in bringing out the enginehouse as a kit. Since the enginehouse (temporarily) did not have a layout space, I gave the enginehouse to Mike to use as an example.
So, when I do build my new model of Black Hawk, I will either build a kit, if available at that time, or scratchbuild another one!
Keith
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W C Greene
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Keith, wonderful views of "engine house transformation". I have wanted to build the house for many years but your model was so nice that what I could build would be a travesty. Finally Duane brought out his SC book and I found another engine house to build. The idea that Gilpin's house was an old barn is just great! A barn for iron horses.
Woodie
____________________
It doesn't matter if you win or lose, its' how you rig the game.
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Keith Pashina
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Woodie,
Thanks for the nice comments about the enginehouse model. However, it was your Mogollon Railway thread on Freerails that was an inspiration to me. I like the scenes you created, on a realistic, operating layout. I was trying to attain something similar.
The Gilpin Tramway's enginehouse and yard area was simple and compact. This was something worth modeling! The map above, sketched from the original Sanborn Fire Insurance map from about 1895, shows the former barn-turned enginehouse built between Clear Creek and against a steep mountainside.
This shows my model railroad trackplan for Black Hawk as it existed until 2005. This was part of an article originally published in Railroad Model Craftsman in September 2003. I had room to model Black Hawk in HOn30 on a shelf area 16" x 96" - very tiny. But, I did have room to model the trackage to the main items of interest. The enginehouse was the main focus of the scene, and the rest intended to be mostly building flats.
This is an overall view of the Black Hawk portion of the layout. This is a very compact scene - 16" x 8' long. You'll also notice some non-Gilpin rolling stock in the picture - a caboose with cupola, and two boxcars. I wanted to model traffic for non-ore freight, that would be in bboxcars, tankcars, and other rolling stock. I want to model this on the current layout I am building, too.
For this layout, I used Peco Hon30 (009, actually) turnouts and flex track. It worked rather well, and I'll probably continue to use the same track on the new layout. Since this photo was taken, a lot more HOn30 locomotives have become available, and these will find a home on the new layout, too. The three locos shown here were all scratchbuilt bodies over N scale mechanisms, with dummy, non-operating cylinders and jackshafts. On these small models, the non-operable parts were not all that noticeable. However, now I have been using N scale shays with scratchbuilt bodies, and these look much better.
Looking back at the former, pre-2005 layout, this photo was taken during one of many operating sessions. I learned on this layout that a small amount trackage, but laid out in plausible configuration, was interesting and fun to operate. In this photo, a train of empty ore cars is headed to the mines. I set out some structures as mockups, but never finish the scenery on this part of the layout, due to an impending house move.
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Keith Pashina
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The Warming House
This is an enlargement from a photo in the Denver Public Library collection, and shows the north end of the warming house. A harp switch stand for the lead track to the warming house can be seen by the left margin (next to the railroad crossing sign for the wagon road). There are ties and barrels stored by the warming house. The track enters what appears to be a wooden sliding door, where inside, the track branched out into three parallel sidings
Across Clear Creek from the enginehouse, the Gilpin Tram built a stone warming house. This structure was need to provide a place for loaded ore cars to be parked and warmed until the ore loads thawed. The gold-bearing ores tended to be mined in wet conditions, so during winter months, the ore often froze up. By parking the loaded ore cars overnight, or for several hours in a heated structure, the loads would thaw, and then be taken to the various mills to be dumped into the ore bins.
This map was drawn by Dan Abbott, and originally published in Issue 4 of the Gilpin Railroad Historical Society Newsletter. A similar map of Dan's was also published on page 33 of the book, The Gilpin Railroad Era.
Dan's research shows the mainline down into Black Hawk passing by the stone structure, next to the creek. Dan's research showed the building eventually measured 28' wide by 250' long. I think this structure was modified quite a bit over the years. Originally, the building was heated by a series of stoves, but later, a large boiler was set up, and fed steam pipes throughout the building. I think the small structure addition on the south end is the boiler house.
This structure was located on a sloping grade, so the loaded ore cars would be dropped by gravity onto the tracks. The building was too low for locomotives to go inside.
Photos of the warming house are rare, and it appears in the background in only a few older photos. This is another enlargement of a Denver Public Library, Western History Collection photo, and shows a (distant) overall view of the warming house. There are two houses next to the enginehouse. On the far right (north side), there is a large structure of some time. I thought this was an ore bin for a nearby mine, but Chris Walker sent me some information where he thought this could possibly be a squarish water tank. This photo is an extreme enlargement of the background of a photo, and I cannot get much more detail out of it than what is shown here. Interesting to speculate on what this was, though
This is a contemporary photo looking east from just north of the warming house. I wonder if this mine was around in Gilpin Tram times, and whether its ore bin shows up in the previous photo. I like the lengthy ore slide leading from the tunnel down to the bin - this would be an interesting scene to model
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Keith Pashina
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This photo was taken about 25 years ago, and is looking north over the former warming house site. By this time, nothing remained of the warming house. Colorado Route 119, to Nederland, is visible at left. The small mine previously shown can be partially seen - the ore slide down to the bin can be seen on the hillside
Parts of the warming house survived into the 1980s. By the time I first saw the area, in 1986, only a part of the stone walls at the north end were still standing. The rest of the structure had been torn down or covered with waste rock from mining operations.
Parts of the warming house walls at the north end were still standing into the 1980s. This view is looking north
2014 view of the former warming house site
Due to "progress", the large amount of new development in Black Hawk and Central City caused a lot of changes. One casualty was the warming house ruins. The walls were knocked down, and the site covered with soil and gravel, and construction equipment parked on the site. Today, the site is vacant, and nothing remains.
Keith
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W C Greene
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Howdy Keith, I have always been interested in the "warming house", what a neat thing! I can see that such a model might be built a bit taller so a tiny (#1) Shay and train could be "stored" inside as a sort of "hidden staging" track. The purists might howl but then....
It is a real shame that traces of the GT are being desecrated for the "good" of gambling and "progress". When I lived in Denver, I used to really enjoy getting to Blackhawk & Central, it made living in Denver more tolerable!
Woodie
____________________
It doesn't matter if you win or lose, its' how you rig the game.
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Monte
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Keith,
Your Part 1 Thread Map index is great.
Did I show you the cut stones I have been working on for the Warming Shed, during the NNGC? If i couple work out the posting of photos I would, still messing with the system, but not working, for me.
Monte
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Monte Peaeron
Brandon, MS
1:24n2
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Keith Pashina
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Woodie,
Yes, it is too bad progress continues, and the warming house ruins are all gone. Considering the tram quit running 99 years ago, I consider myself fortunate that there are as many remains to view today as there are!
Monte,
Glad you found this thread, and I hope you will be able to post some photos of your stonework modeling here. You and I talked about it for a while at the National Narrow Gauge Convention, but I didn't see any photos at the time.
The real stone retaining walls are impressive, and hold up very well today. Something I have tried modeling in different ways, including casting in plaster and resin, hand-carving, hand-laying, and ready-made walls. Hand-laid looks the best, but of course, takes the most time. I recently picked up a package of the Chooch brand flexible plastic stone sheet with adhesive backing - this may be useful for building foundations.
Keith
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Salada
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Keith,
I use 2 methods of making heavy rough coursed stonework.
1) I turned up a slim, pointed soldering iron bit. Then I freehand the courses in soft pencil onto soft, thick cardboard & burn the courses in. Repeated to/fro over a part will deepen the course depth between stones.
Or,
2) I peel off the outer paper skin from 5 mm foam board then use an old dried out biro point or sharp pencil to "emboss" the coursing.
Paint to suit.
Regards, Michael
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Monte
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Keith, Go ahead and post the cut stones I have been playing with for the Warming Shed.
They need to be more varied in size still working on that.
Monte
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Monte Peaeron
Brandon, MS
1:24n2
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Chriss H
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Thanks for all the great information on the Gilpin ore car warming house, and the photo, I had not seen it before!
____________________
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Chriss
I'm a Colorado mining district afficianado. Planning a layout in HOn3 based on the Gilpin County area.
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Larry G
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When I was in "G" scale, back in the twin cities, I laid out a frame of 1/4" thick boards on a flat surface then filed the center with mortar mix. Leveled the mortar with a rough stick to give it texture. Once cured, I hit the mortar with a hammer to break it into flat "stones" suitable for hand laying a stone wall. This should work in smaller scales using thinner boards and plaster.
Larry Gant
Last edited on 28 Sep 2016 09:48 pm by Larry G
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Larry G
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Si, make two or three frames of various thickness for variety.
Larry Gant
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Keith Pashina
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There are a lot of ways to model the stone walls so common in Gilpin County. Michael and Larry, thank you for posting your methods to model these types of walls. If you, or any other thread readers have photos of your stone walls to share, please post them.
More on Stone Walls - Monte Pearson's Modeling
Monte Pearson models the Gilpin Tram, in 1:24 scale I believe. His layout seems to be well along, and he has been building structures and retaining walls depicting stone. He asked me to post some photos he recently had taken, and also emailed me to say,
"Attached are a couple of photos of the backsplash stones I policed up a Lowe’s. They are about 1’ x 2.75”, I started cutting them with a hobby saw. It plays hell on the teeth, so changed to a small hack saw. I have about one wall completed. During the cutting a lot of rock dust is generated. Have saved most of it and will use as grout."
Nice modeling, Monte, and keep progress photos coming!
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Keith Pashina
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HOn30 Layout Retaining Walls
I tried modeling retaining walls typical of the Gilpin Tram right-of-way by casting them in plaster from a molded master. These looked okay, but didn't have the shadow lines I was seeking. This is from an earlier layout about 1997.
Another method I tried was casting the walls in resin, again from a handlaid master molded in silicone rubber and cast using Alumilite urethane resin. This photo was taken of the C&S ore chute transfer area, and turned out okay. However, I didn't notice until I took this photo and enlarged it that there were several air bubbles I had neglected to fill in.
Keith
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