Good Start on my Stockyards

Was that from a kit?...it looks similar to a stockyards kit I see on the Bay, and, the gates are very realistic.  That is a nice looking windmill....is that also from a (different) kit?

Virginian, it looks like you are moooooo-ving along well on this project.  Don't forget the cow-pies!  John A

Very nice realism.

VIRGINIAN,

   John Wayne would love it, don't forget the elevated walk way for the cowboys, down the front of the Pens!   Fantastic job sir.

PCRR/Dave

Thanks for the compliments guys! The kit is from Banta Modelworks and the windmill and cows came from Meyers Imports.

"... moooooo-ving along well on this project."  Aw, geez.  I was hoping we could steer clear of cow jokes. Ahem.

Seriously, this is very nicely done. I had seriously considered incorporating stockyards and packing plants into my Milwaukee Road-inspired layout but opted for breweries instead.

As a rancher, let me say these are very realistic pens. 

My dad's cattle business had a large set of pens like this on the ATSF Slaton Division...they were last used in 1965.

If you want to add another touch of realistic detail, the swinging gates that position between the loading ramp and the RR car were held fast with the following:

a four foot solid steel rod (1" dia) with a loop at the top and sharpened to a point at the bottom.  The top loop connected to another loop-ended bolt that fastened through the swinging gates.  The mounting height of the bars caused them to drag along if the gates swung inward, but would dig into the deck to prevent outward motion while the cattle were passing through the chute.

Very nice!!!

Stock pen loading yard good scale size and design, wood weathered gray realistic and cattle amount per pen looks good, the addition of the windmill  to supply water to the cattle adds detail to the stock pen loading yard.

Looks great. I have that cattle pen kit and Banta's instructions and illustrations are great. It's designed for sheep, pigs and cattle with the two-level ramps. The cattle are a perfect size. Found some Life-Like cattle, but they're a bit large (look like something you'd be showing at a county fair).