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Lee B
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What kills me is I live very close to a lot of these locations,
but missed them by many years (I moved to the area in 1998).
I now look at all the RR history that was around as late as the 80s,
and how I missed it all, and it annoys me.
But I missed steam due to my age.
Born in 1969, I never got to see steam running anywhere,
other than tourist operations and the rayon mill at Elizabethton TN
(they had a porter 0-6-0 fireless cooker than run until about 1990).
But I missed Rayonier and all that.
And like a fool, I never went chasing the Longview or Shelton operations,
and then they were both done.
POOF, just like that.
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-Lee
Commanding Officer, 796th Railway Operating Battalion (in On30 gauge)
https://willysmb44.webs.com/modeltrains.htm
Photos of my layout: https://www.flickr.com/photos/53587910@N05/albums/72157668176638961
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Alan Sewell
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Lee
I know how frustrating in can be to miss out on things.
Luckily I am old enough to have seen steam on industrial railroads in the UK and in Europe in the 1960/70’s,
and I like diesels so that I have been happy to visit railroads around the world since steam declined.
However, there have been many things I missed such as real steam on the Cuban sugar mills,
and missed visiting steam in Java before the sugar industry there down sized.
Since I started getting interested in forest railroads in the early 1980’s,
I have been fortunate to make a few visits to North America,
but I did miss out on seeing Grisdale and the end of Rayonier when I had to cancel a planned trip.
I did however have the friendship of the late John Henderson who sent me photos and other information,
and encouraged my somewhat obsessive collecting of information- some of which has appeared on Freerails.
I don’t like freelancing equipment or indeed operations, and need what I model to be rooted in the “normal”,
and that’s where information comes in, especially as much is “history” now.
Yes it is a shame you did not manage to chase things when you got to the PNW.
I made a trip in 1999 and saw some of the last woods ops on Simpson,
and also chased Weyerhaeuser up to Green Mountain mill.
Experiences that have stayed with me for a long time.
Best regards
Alan
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Reg H
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I have been working diligently on the mill.
The current project is assembly of the Jack Slip.
It has turned into a major project.
The assembly is reasonably complex to begin with.
Add in my ham-handedness, and it just takes awhile to get it done.
The bents took quite a bit of time,
and mating them up with the beams was time consuming in a calendar sense.
I had to glue them one at time.
And then, a sequencing issue I did not see coming.
The plans call for the lower three bents to have a small angle sanded in them,
so the walkways snuggle down properly.
This should be done BEFORE gluing the bents to the beams.
There is no way to complete that sanding, with the bents in place,
without damaging the bents.
I have repaired every single bent at least once. Some more than once.
The sequencing (sanding the angles after installing the bents)
may work in 1/48 scale, but not 1/87.
I took a break to look ahead, which I do often,
to try and spot sequencing problems, as above,
and to make sure I understand how the parts are to go together.
I looked at the Jack Slip House.
Crap! More windows!
I have been fussing over the logging operation engine house.
I have been trying to decide whether to scratch build it or buy a kit.
I settled on buying a kit and went for the Builders in Scale 2-stall engine house.
It came. Great looking kit, but it will be a lot work.
It is billed as a laser kit. Kind of.
Remember the old "craftsman" style kits?
I think of Campbell with die cut walls, cast windows and doors,
and a bundle of strip wood for everything else.
Well, this engine house kit is very similar, except the walls are laser cut instead of die cut.
A bit of contrast to the B.T.S. lumber mill where absolutely every single part is laser cut.
Having said that, it is a great looking kit and I am looking forward to working on it.
I will start on it after I complete the log unloader associated with the mill,
which I will start after I finish the mill.
I need those three pieces completed,
so I can figure out how I am going to arrange everything in my limited space.
Reg
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Reg
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Reg H
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Here is the slip jack:
It may look complete, but I am not satisfied.
The most glaring error is that one of the bents
(look closely and you can see it)
is badly off center.
The lower bents have to have an angle sanded in the top plate,
in order for the walkways to sit properly.
The sequencing in the instructions has this sanding done,
after installing the bents to the main beams.
It is very difficult to do that sanding without damaging the bents.
That one bent popped off while I was doing some of the sanding.
I managed to glue it back on off-center and did not notice until the glue
(Titebond III, it is not coming loose) had dried.
It seems to me it would be much easier to do that sanding,
prior to gluing the bents to the beams.
Maybe even before gluing the top plates to the rest of the bent assembly.
There are some other small problem, for most part only visible to me.
I can live with those.
I have emailed Bill Wade at B.T.S.
to see if I can get a new set of parts for the slip jack so I can try again.
I just sent that email off, so no response yet.
I don't really want to work on this assembly again.
It will set me back about a month.
But I am not happy with the current result.
I can do better.
Reg
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Reg
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Reg H
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Bill Wade says he can't give me any idea on the cost of replacing all the parts for the jack slip.
We are still communicating. I have asked if it is feasible just to get the parts for one bent.
Baring all that, I just might try and scratch build a replacement and very carefully cut out the one bent that is truly awful.
Reg
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Reg
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Alan Sewell
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Hi Reg
I am assuming it is the last bent up by the mill that's the problem,
or that is how it looks like to my possibly un-tutored eye.
It is a bummer if you can't get a replacement,
but I did wonder if you had thought to use strip wood,
and build a wider bent which would not be off centre.
As this is the "modern era" I imagine you can assume the bents are creosoted,
and paint them black to hide any differences.
When I made my jack slip I used the Keystone metal version as the basis,
and mounted this on metal (plastic) legs from I think a conveyor kit.
Since this is away at the back of the layout,
it does looks OK compared with prototype photos I used as the guide.
I may post a couple of photos in a day or two on my Diesel Logging thread.
I have kitbashed/mingled a dry landing log deck for the mill,
so that I can do the 1980's onwards.
This has been built to fit over the jack slip.
My Company"history" says they constructed a barker house,
to handle smaller logs in the mid-1970's,
and modified this to handle logs dry sorted at the mill from around 1980.
Still a bit of work to do on it but will show were I have got to.
Look out for the post and let me know.
Alan
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Reg H
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Alan:
Actually, it is the third bent from the right.
The slip is sitting at a slight angle on the cutting board,
which kind obscures the discrepancy.
It is about an 1/8th of an inch off, which is really noticeable when viewed "live".
How I missed that before the glue dried I don't know.
As today wears on and I have time to meditate,
I am strongly leaning towards scratch-building a replacement.
If I can get the offending bent out,
while retaining part of the outside posts to establish angles,
and retaining all of the center posts to establish height, I should be good.
I can use material from the parts sheets.
Provided I can do that without damaging anything else on the assembly.
The clearances are very tight.
The big challenge will be separating the header from the walkways,
without damaging the walkways.
That would not be a disaster as the walkways are very simple to duplicate.
I already had to do one.
The part fell out of the sheet at some point.
It should have remained in the box, but I can't find it.
Reg
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Reg
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brianwbc
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"As today wears on and I have time to meditate"
I really don't think you will achieve World Peace -
leave it and it will be brilliant.
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Cheers
Brian
Victoria, BC
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Reg H
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VICTORY!!
After spending a long and tedious evening,
I was able to get the offending bent removed,
without damaging it or anything else on the slip.
It involved a very small X-acto knife,
with a brand new blade sharpened on my oil stone,
and a great deal of very gentle patience.
I figured I had nothing to lose by attempting to get the bent off in one piece.
It was a simple process of very gently working the blade against each glue joint,
re-sharpening the blade on the oil stone every few strokes,
until the blade was all the way through each joint.
It was very time consuming and had to be done very gently,
in order to avoid damaging anything.
These parts are very small in HO and any appreciable pressure breaks things.
Clearances are tight, too.
But I succeeded.
Saved me 100 bucks and a good three weeks of work.
My hat is off to Bill Wade at B.T.S.
who was willing to work with me, to get the parts I needed,
in the event I decided to start the jack slip over from the ground up.
I think we are both glad it didn't come to that.
Reg
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Reg
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Reg H
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Si:
Yep. After a lifetime of working in 1/4" scale, HO seems really tiny.
The slip jack is now fixed and finished.
Actually, there is one more "sin" I discovered, but it is really hard to see.
So it will remain with only me knowing it is there.
I am really looking forward to getting all these craftsman kits finished
(mill, log dump, engine house, camp cars) that are associated with the logging operation.
I am enjoying the process, but it really has knocked a hole in my schedule for this layout.
The mill is very close to completion.
I just need to build the slip jack house and the two loading/unloading platforms.
Progress is on hold for a bit while I deal with some upgrades to the airplane mandated by the FAA.
That project is sucking up way too much time and money.
Normally, I don't have a construction schedule,
but the original goal for this layout was to get trackwork and basic scenery done within a year,
so I could introduce the grandkids to operations (other than watching trains race around an oval).
I am WAY behind schedule.
The flip side is that I am excited about having the logging operation a part of the layout.
Reg
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Reg
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Reg H
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Progress is being made on the mill.
We are having 80+ degree weather here (somewhat unusual, quite unusual for June),
so I have an excuse to cower in the basement.
The jack slip is competed except for the handrails, and the jack slip shed is assembled and installed.
Since the photo was taken the roofing has been applied.
I attached much of the roofing on the mill using a spray adhesive.
It is beginning to appear that was not a good decision.
I am saving the installation of some really fragile parts, until the mill is permanently installed on the layout.
It is fragile enough as it is.
The rafters for this dock were a major undertaking. They are very small and light.
Since this was taken the roofing has been applied... using Elmers Glue-All and the roof installed.
This dock is actually the output port of the mill.
From here I will build a "green line" that will double as the departing loading dock.
Every now and then I take issue with the sequencing. This is a case in point.
Had I read ahead a bit more, I would have installed the header for this roof before joining the walls together.
If you look closely you can see some "posts" under the header.
It was the only way I could see to get it installed at the correct height and level.
I took another approach with the loading dock (for deliveries). It's roof is a bit different.
I cut some spacers for the roof height and temporarily attached them with a dab of rubber cement.
Another sequencing variation is that, for these small roofs,
it makes good sense to apply the roofing material prior to mounting the roof on the mill.
Once all this is dry I am going to call the mill complete for the moment.
There is a small porch yet to be assembled and installed, and a wrap around walk way.
I am going to hold off on those until the mill is in its permanent location in order to avoid damage.
In hind sight I should have done the same with the two docks.
Reg
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Reg
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Alan Sewell
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Hi Reg
Congratulations sawmill is looking really good.
Don’t think I would have had the patience to do all the steps and would have cut corners so result would not have come out so well.
I see you have modified the jack slip so that it now goes into the pond and does not stop in mid-air as the kit originally had.
Well done and I look forward to seeing it set up on the layout.
I still don’t understand why BTS had the two loading docks.
I would have had to modify one at the rear as this should be where the green chain I comes out of the mill,
and the sorted lumber is packaged to go to the storage shed/yard or the planning mill.
Another dock at the mill seems unlikely I think.
Not sure what this would be used for except the occasional replacement bandsaw or drive machinery
I guess it’s now on to the log dump.
I know you will make a better job of it than Model Railroader seems to have done on their Olympia project layout
Best regards
Alan
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Reg H
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Alan:
Yes, the second dock very definitely appears to be for the receiving department.
The photos show a crated saw blade
(provided in the kit as a detail...there is a stack of small details)
so that suggests incoming supplies.
I can see where one would want incoming supplies and parts,
to be separate from cut lumber coming off the planer.
I intend to extend the "green line" dock,
into what will come close to representing a green line,
as I have observed in the photo (and others) that you provided.
Yes, it is on to the unloader.
I have stained all the parts that look like they need staining.
There is not much to be airbrushed.
I don't subscribe to Model Railroader,
so I don't know what they did to the unloader.
My two mags are the Gazette,
and Model Railroad Hobbiest, an online magazine.
Reg
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Reg
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Alan Sewell
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Hi Reg
Will be interested to see how you set up the green chain.
If you want any more info on that I will see what I have got
Well given what you said I guess the other dock is for machinery and supply,
although I can't remember ever seeing something like that.
The nearest was the attached I took at Scotia in 1989,
which looks like a way of handling spare band saws into the mill.
My visit was brief on a Saturday, so the railroad was not working,
but I did see their two GE 88-ton in the open fronted engine house.
And now it is all gone.
My comment on the Model Railroader layout,
was on the series running on Model Railroader Video Plus called Olympia2.
It is an On30 logging layout supposedly in Washington,
where there were not many narrow gauge loggers anyway.
David Popp originally built a dump with an A frame but no brow log.
After some comments he corrected this but left the brow log too far from the tracks and too low.
He also had the cable from the A-frame attaching to the cars rather than the brow log.
I did e-mail him on this, but no response.
Anyway will be interested to see how yours works out.
Alan
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Reg H
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There has been some progress on the log dump.
It is going together pretty rapidly.
I know everyone recommends using a weathered gray finish.
I have that option in my bag of tricks. I just prefer the brown stain.
In the end, I don't need to please anyone but myself.
I just about had a disaster with the beams.
The instructions are not crystal clear on how they are to be installed.
I went ahead and glued them in the way I thought they should be.
I was about to pack it all up and go upstairs, pleased with the progress.
But something just kept bugging me,
kind of a nag in the back of my mind, that it wasn't right.
For one thing, I had left over parts.
My experience with the mill is that BTS doesn't provide any extra structural parts.
So I went back to it, looked it over and poured over the instructions looking for a clue.
Sure enough, kind of buried in an unrelated drawing,
the beams show up, and I had not installed them correctly.
Fortunately, the glue had not firmly set up.
Had I not caught it there would have been some very serious problems down the road.
Reg
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Reg
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Reg H
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Alan:
My thoughts on the green line are pretty simple.
I am planning what amounts to a simple loading dock on which lumber can be sorted.
Reg
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Reg
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Reg H
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You just can't have enough clamps.
This is the header for the log dump, visible in the background.
This kit is going together pretty rapidly, compared to the mill.
Note the pre-drilled (lasered?) holes for the NBW castings. That is a major blessing.
This beam is made up of four separate pieces.
The clamps are from Harbor Freight.
I have no idea how many of these clamps I have, some in the model shop,
some in the machine shop, some in my music bag for outside events.
Harbor Freight sells these things dirt cheap.
Sometimes they will have a bag of assorted sizes, sometimes just individually.
They used to all be black.
Some time ago they decided they had to be in "designer" colors.
I always pick up a handful, or bag, whenever I am in Harbor Freight.
Reg
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Reg
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Reg H
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I have been trying to find plans for the Simpson #700 caboose
(in front of the post office in Shelton).
No joy.
I have a bunch of photos,
but I guess I am going to have to develop a set of plans myself.
I haven't checked the museum yet, but I will soon.
I had also hoped I could find a kit or ready-to-run caboose that was very similar.
The only ones that I can find are "Out of Stock".
So scratch building is my only option.
One lesson I have learned is that, in the new environment,
if you see something you want, and it is "In Stock", buy it.
I did find what looks like a great kit for a Great Northern wood caboose.
I have lusted after it for some time, but it has always been "Out of Stock".
It popped up "In Stock" at Walthers, so I jumped on it.
I won't need it for some time,
but I can be pretty confident it won't be available when I do need it.
Reg
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Reg
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Lee B
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Reg H wrote:
One lesson I have learned is that, in the new environment,
if you see something you want, and it is "In Stock", buy it.
I did find what looks like a great kit for a Great Northern wood caboose.
I have lusted after it for some time, but it has always been "Out of Stock".
It popped up "In Stock" at Walthers, so I jumped on it.
I won't need it for some time,
but I can be pretty confident it won't be available when I do need it.
A very good lesson.
I have a few kits lying around that aren't being made anymore and I'm glad to have them.
Great work so far, can't wait to see your take on that hack in Shelton!
I've seen it many times and I agree it'll make a fine model!
____________________
-Lee
Commanding Officer, 796th Railway Operating Battalion (in On30 gauge)
https://willysmb44.webs.com/modeltrains.htm
Photos of my layout: https://www.flickr.com/photos/53587910@N05/albums/72157668176638961
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