We walked over six miles today into a deep jungled canyon looking for a old native village we heard about. It was in the mountains behind our house or so they said. Amazingly enough we found it but we also found a old flume that was still in use for a banana and coffee plantation. It got me thinking about building one to my mines. Anyone ever build a flume on their layout? Don
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Hi Don, nice photos. I never thought about it before but it sounds like an idea that could be used on a number of vignettes.
I'm curious, the pipe seems to be suspended on some kind of cradle straps, what are they made of?
Those were the old original open troughs. They laid a large rubber closed pipe in the rusted old metal trough. I agree, I think a flume could be used in a lot of different ways on a layout. You wouldn't even have to make them long. This goes across a small valley and into solid rock at both ends. Don
I posted another "Hawaiian Flume" headed answer on here last night, as I couldn't post "responses" to this posting on another computer. I was answering your question regarding anybody using flumes, for there was a lot of use of them in hydraulic mining, although I don't plan to model that. There are old photos of flumes in hydraulic mining in Nevada and California that I have run across, and I have been in areas scoured by hydraulic mining along Highway 49 California gold country, and other
areas like Virginia City, Montana (not in this case, V.C., Nevada). I would expect to
find, if I looked, remains of flumes in many western mining areas, both for hydraulic
mining and the draining of hardrock mines. Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette has
addressed a flume serving Bodie, the Calif. ghost town historical park.
Thanks coloradohirail, there is one still working on 80 coming into Reno. It's on the right side heading east. I think I'm going to build one to the mines on my layout. Don
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