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dallas_m
Crew Chief
Premium Member
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dallas_m
Crew Chief
Premium Member
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 Posted - 12/31/2009 : 01:18:51 AM
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The Dead Mule & Sinagua Railroad runs from the town of Dead Mule (big surpise!) to some other places that ain't got much water. Locals say that Dead Mule was founded by an old prospector who's luck (and mule) had purdy much runned out, and he just dropped his gear near to where the mule dropped and set up camp.
Some say the fellow's name was Dusty Fossett or some such ... others say he was called Dadburn Cottonmouth. But one historian argues that both names are correct, stating that Dusty Fossett was his given name, and "Dadburn Cottonmouth" was how he started every sentence with a clearing of the throat. So, it wasn't unusual for him to extend a hand to greet someone, hack a little and proclaim "Dadburn Cottonmouth" ... which is what the townsfolk came to call him. Well, that is once ole Dadburn struck a vein of ore and the patch of sand where he once fell became a bustlin' little town ... but we'sa gettin' ahead of ourselves there, ain't we?
What in tarnation is 55n3? Back around the end of October, "hminky" (Harold) posted some info about the idea of modeling in 55n3 -- basically, using 1/55 scale measurements on HO gauge track, which then scales properly for 3-foot gauge. More info: http://55n3.org/
After reading the info that Harold posted, surfing the web to find suitable items and looking at the empty space above my desk ... I thought it might be fun to build a little 55n3 micro layout. Photo above probably qualifies as the start date (11/18/09) for this project ... a piece of foamcore, some small On30 cars, a turntable represented by a plate and some blocks of foam where I imagined a little hillside town like Jerome, AZ.
11/25/09 -- Received an Atlas N scale turntable and laid that out with some Peco switches, Grandt Line HO retaining walls and small On30 equipment ... which reminds me ... almost two years ago "CieloVistaRy" (Arthur) started a thread called A-frame Gallows Turntable in the On30 Line section ...
That gave me an itch to build a turntable (although I didn't have a place to put it!) ... then came Harold's ideas on 55n3 modeling ... and that nagging empty space over my desk that seemed to be "begging" for some trains and track ... which all came together as the idea for this little micro-layout. Add to that, the idea of modeling the southwest, which is something I've never tried before ...
11/28/09 -- Settled on a size of 20x33" and "finalized" the track plan ... 6" radius on the left, 7" radius on the right, a couple of Peco switches and a turntable ready for bashing ...
12/30/09 -- The turntable is presently under construction, and all the gory details are shown in this thread: Small On30 or 55n3 Gallows Turntable build/bash. Photo shows some 1/48 scale guys dropping by to check out the progress.
Jake & Elwood take another one of their legendary coffee breaks as some terraforming starts to take shape behind the turntable.
The rocks are war-gaming "terrain" pieces from Armorcast. The war-gamers seem to use the words "terrain" where model railroaders tend to say "scenery" ... part of the fun with the new adventure is 55n3 is finding these alternative sources for figures, materials, etc. The sandstones are resin castings (ACRC010 and ARC013) ... nice, inexpensive pieces that should help the railroad "take shape" easily.
So, as it says in the header, these are the humble beginnings of the Dead Mule & Sinagua Railroad. I'll continue to show progress on the turntable in that thread until it's more-or-less done ... and use this thread as the layout takes shape ... with track-laying, scenery and all that good stuff.
As mentioned, I've never tried modeling the southwest before ... and 55n3 is all new to me, so there should be some interesting "challenges" along the way. (PS -- For the animal lovers, turns out the legendary "Dead Mule" was faking it as shown in the opening sketch ... apparently he was a bit of a smarty pants.) 
And, in closing for now, hack-hack ... Dadburn Cottonmouth! 
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Cheers,
Dallas
55n3 Dead Mule & Sinagua Railroad
Chambers Gas & Oil -- structure build |
Edited by - dallas_m on 12/31/2009 01:28:42 AM |
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k27rgs
Fireman
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Posted - 12/31/2009 : 03:36:38 AM
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I'm a rubber gauger from way back ( 1998 ) and read ....More info: http://55n3.org/
but not sure where this scale will end up in the future.....
but thanks for the info... the link was very informative.....
and I like the micro layout.... I think it will be copied by others...
cheers
Mario
www.modvid.com.au
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Peterpools
Engineer
Premium Member
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Posted - 12/31/2009 : 05:33:37 AM
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Dallas
Always love the history of a model railroading project and I have to admit, that's a great one. enjoying following your thread and the evolution of 55n3Model railroading. You and Harold have really hit upon a little gem waiting to be discovered.
Peter
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hminky
Crew Chief
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Tyson Rayles
Moderator
Premium Member
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Posted - 12/31/2009 : 08:25:09 AM
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Looking forward to watching your progress Dallas, great "history" story as well! 
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BBLmber
Fireman
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 Posted - 12/31/2009 : 09:18:17 AM
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Well Dallas(aka Dadburn Cottonmouth), looks to me like your well on your way with your new location in the southwest. It will be great to see what you are a building.
Mark
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MikeC
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 12/31/2009 : 09:57:56 AM
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This is a really neat little project, Dallas. Looking at your photos and reading the captions brought back memories of Gary Nash's series of Gazette articles about building a desktop layout. I will enjoy following your progress on this as much as I enjoyed following Nash's articles some 25+ years ago.
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Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm a busy man. I have a railroad to run.
Visit the Central Missouri & Southern
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hminky
Crew Chief
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Posted - 12/31/2009 : 1:14:22 PM
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Dallas,
Since you are doing a western theme, I found this HO LifeLike Stockpen that matches with 55n3.
Sorry I don't have a Scale55 cow.
Harold
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EOE - Emperor of the Earth with:
55n3 - 3 Foot Narrow Gauge on HO Track
Narrow gauge at 5.5mm/foot visit:
http://www.55n3.org
Best On30 site on the Net
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/ |
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dallas_m
Crew Chief
Premium Member
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Posted - 01/01/2010 : 03:46:01 AM
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Thanks all for the friendly reception to the new thread!
Happy to say that the pit wall got "stoned" for New Year's! 
Added some more stones in front of the pit, where the scenery will fall away ...
The curved track in front of the turntable pit (where the lines are drawn) will sit on a low trestle ... the ground will slope down from the front edge of the turntable pit here ...
Boss says I can have some hobby time on Friday, so we'll see if we can get a bit more done. Meanwhile, Happy New Year's to everyone!
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Cheers,
Dallas
55n3 Dead Mule & Sinagua Railroad
Chambers Gas & Oil -- structure build |
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Peterpools
Engineer
Premium Member
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Posted - 01/01/2010 : 06:46:14 AM
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Dallas
Now that's the right way to get 'stoned' for the new year. The stone wall looks fantastic. Looking forward to following along as you keep progressing through the 55n3 micro project. Just great stuff.
Peter
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Rick
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 01/01/2010 : 11:27:54 AM
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Neat little layout Dallas.
Doesn't Frederic need to announce a birth date?
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___________________________________
All the things that others want for me...
Can't buy what I want because it's free... |
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Tommatthews
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 01/01/2010 : 11:55:12 AM
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Dallas,
Great work and lots of good information.
Just what I need " more ideas " 
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| Tom M. |
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dallas_m
Crew Chief
Premium Member
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Posted - 01/01/2010 : 1:28:29 PM
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The Shadow Knows! -- Forgot to mention something that might be useful here. The pit wall is stationary, but the pit floor turns with the Atlas TT underneath and the bridge on top ...
So, I'm deliberately using "shadow" areas to help conceal this. The lowest layer of stones is much darker than the others ... the N scale rail around the pit was placed closed to the edge to help conceal the joint (actually small gap) ... and I plan to "ballast" the pit rail with cinders, but use lighter tones in the middle.
If it works, then the eye should be drawn to "the action" (turntable, center points, whatever) ... and the shadow areas should just fall off as such. And, if it doesn't work ... well, we'll just see what we can do to fine tune it a bit!
Rick -- I wasn't sure if Frederic handled ALL layout birthdays or just On30, so I checked my own notes and suspect 11/18/09 is the start date or "birthday"! 
Ha-ha, Tom -- It's your "fault" I had to build a gallows turntable, so if I'm causing you similar annoyances that's only fair! 
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Cheers,
Dallas
55n3 Dead Mule & Sinagua Railroad
Chambers Gas & Oil -- structure build |
Edited by - dallas_m on 01/01/2010 1:30:22 PM |
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Peterpools
Engineer
Premium Member
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Posted - 01/01/2010 : 1:31:26 PM
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Dallas
Just absorb every post on this thread. what a great idea to make a TT with something so reliable and inexpensive. Thanks for sharing.
Peter
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Tyson Rayles
Moderator
Premium Member
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Posted - 01/01/2010 : 2:18:15 PM
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Great wall Dallas and a really neat little layout!
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Country: USA
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Posted - 12/30/2009 : 11:59:54 PM
