Large Scale Central

T&D Feeds 10 years and counting

Modeling
#41

Craig: my process is just a simple “Rolling Mill” with two machined dies, male and female. If you had access to a lathe, and a milling machine, you could make your own.

I use annealed alum. Stock. I have not been able to get the soda cans to “crimp” properly, even after annealing to 1600 deg. Something about the crystallized structure induced in the can forming process ( as my metallurgist friend says).

The rolling mill, creates all ridges and valleys at the same time. Stretching and forming the sheet. The crimper method, just folds the sheet, one crease at a time, not putting any stretching or compression to the metal.

The big difference is the crimpers, don’t give a prototypical size to the ridges and valleys spacing. I think that they scale out to something like 1:15. Almost twice the size for a 1:29 layout.

#42

Dave,

I don’t have access to a lathe or milling machine, but I’d be willing be buy a set of rollers from you! :slight_smile:

#43

Craig, it sounds like your feed mill’s expansion projects have a reoccuring problem, which can be FIXED with the proper technical operations to curtail output of seed money for these 9month projects. Babs River Railway had the expansion nullification job farmed out to a company which specializes it this type of project. the results were outstanding as the same work orders that resulted in expansion can be carried out without the 9 month capital outlay and resulting 18-26 year funding and repayment. If you need reccomendations, there are 2 seperate ways to do these projects. Good luck in geting this problem under control. Sincerely Pete Lassen, Project Operations and Implementation manager, Babs River Railway.

#44

Good one Pete!

Future expansion projects have been deemed unnecessary, and production quotas will remain the same. However, because permanent removal of excessive seed equipment has not been scheduled there remains a small chance of future expansions if accidental acquisitions take place.

#45

Now to get the latest expansion literally up and opertating without so much assistance from the main offices!. Breakdowns and the constant need for small repairs from the waste stream will be a great turning point, good thing is the other expansions have tempered a lot of the new expansions problem, former accidents and problems are no longer big surprises. When my ops were going through the first expansion every problem was a major one, by the end of the second , we knew what was going to happen almost before it happened.

Look forward to more work on the mill, I am doing a way smaller version, adopting a completely different business of a customer of mine to something like yours, so get to work, I need ideas!

#46

oops double post!

#47

A few folks were saying they couldn't see all the photos, so hopefully in a few days I can slowly edit the pictures from Facebook to Flickr.

#48

I can’t see pete’s picture in his signature unless I change back to http://

really, pictures can be a full time job here on the site…

#49

So I was able to get in contact with the former feed mill manager. Hopefully he can answer some of my pressing questions about operations at the mill. One more small project to cross off the list and I can get started working on this building again.

#50

Very awesome project!

#51

Craig Townsend said:

So I was able to get in contact with the former feed mill manager. Hopefully he can answer some of my pressing questions about operations at the mill. One more small project to cross off the list and I can get started working on this building again.

Well that was a long walk for nothing.

I got one set of questions answered and then when I attempted to ask more I got the following reply:

“This latest set of questions hardly seems like modeling to me. I think you have enough information to proceed with your model.”

What did I ask? Oh just general questions about how feed mills operate and if there was any record of railroad car movements, and a question about how many cars fit past the dump pit…

#52

Ray Dunakin said:

Very awesome project!

Thanks Ray. Hoping to make forward progress on this soon.

#53

Craig Townsend said:

Craig Townsend said:

So I was able to get in contact with the former feed mill manager. Hopefully he can answer some of my pressing questions about operations at the mill. One more small project to cross off the list and I can get started working on this building again.

Well that was a long walk for nothing.

I got one set of questions answered and then when I attempted to ask more I got the following reply:

“This latest set of questions hardly seems like modeling to me. I think you have enough information to proceed with your model.”

What did I ask? Oh just general questions about how feed mills operate and if there was any record of railroad car movements, and a question about how many cars fit past the dump pit…

Yea, live interviews for historical information can be a real crap shoot. One guy will talk ya to death and give you information on stuff you don’t even care about and the next guy it is like pulling teeth to get even a little bit. Sometimes a little of both(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

#54

Rick,

He apparently doesn’t like my questions because his first reply was very gruff as well. I’m just hoping that he donated records to the Redmond Historical Society about the feed mill so that I can try and access it. I’m kind of hesitant to ask him what was donated in fear that he would tell the historical society to give it back. Apparently asking about railroad cars and car numbers isn’t modeling… Um isn’t that the definition of a model railroad?

#55

Craig Townsend said:

Rick,

He apparently doesn’t like my questions because his first reply was very gruff as well. I’m just hoping that he donated records to the Redmond Historical Society about the feed mill so that I can try and access it. I’m kind of hesitant to ask him what was donated in fear that he would tell the historical society to give it back. Apparently asking about railroad cars and car numbers isn’t modeling… Um isn’t that the definition of a model railroad?

Yea, sometimes old timers just don’t like talking about certain things in the past for personnel reasons, even though it might be/is business related. Sometimes I think they just may not know the answer and don’t really want to admit it.

A few years back I was researching a Mag article on Big Wheels and discovered that the son of the foundry owner was still with us and he had worked in the foundry back in the 1930’s before it closed up. It took 2 years of off and on trying but I finally got him to open up and share his memories and memoribilea (spelling?). Discovered there had been some problems in the family business and it depressed him to talk/think about those days.

Point being, I guess, Is don’t give up, keep trying, in a way that you don’t make a pest of yourself in his eyes.

#56

That would be a big structure if you built half of it. Would be a good multi month project, depending on how much time you have.

#57

Ron Hill said:

That would be a big structure if you built half of it. Would be a good multi month project, depending on how much time you have.

Ron,

I’ve already started, 10 years ago so yes it is a multi month project. As it stands, the footprint is 6’x 7’ with the tallest part at the moment a little under 4’. Considering that it will be placed on the layout somewhere between 3’ and 4’ tall, it will definitely be taller than any person. Which is what I want to do to replicate some of the mass.

#58

Some businesses are so afraid of being harassed by activists or sued by someone looking for a big settlement, that they get very suspicious of anyone asking questions or taking photos.

About 20 years ago my brother and I were out in the desert and stopped to look at the US Gypsum plant at Plaster City. I shot a couple photos and suddenly a guy came over and told us in no uncertain terms that we “couldn’t do that”. (Never mind that the law was on my side – anything visible to the public can be photographed.) The plant was in the midst of an expansion, and I suspect they were leery of environuts trying to block it, or some such thing.

#59

Ray

The funny thing is this place now longer exists. The building has been torn down and replaced by condos.

Just more motivated now to make a trip Redmond (90 minutes away) to spend the day at the historical society looking for records.

#60

Okay so I need to go back and fix all the broken photos…

But in the meantime I’ve started working on this massive project again.

Boiler house was a quick 1 evening project.

The silos took another evening each. The elevator leg needs siding. I see earlier in the thread that Dave informed me that my paper crimper method is way over scaled. But not having another method to make siding I may have to just stick with it.
Unless Dave wants to sell me a 1/29 crimper/siding maker.