Looking for possible gantry crane with clam shell bucket for ash pit

Crow River products.  There is a clam shell bucket, sold separately, and a stiff leg crane. 

Mike,

I have looked at that crane before but was hoping for something a bit newer (layout is set in 1949).  However, it could work with an appropriate diesel engine and cover.  I'll add to list of possibles.

I had used Crow River detail parts before.

Don't know if they are still in business - Crescent Locomotive Works - but this should be not too complicated to build. The original reqired a hole be made in the layout base but you can always 'fake' the hole with grating.

What do you mean no cyinder hoist available in o scale? Did you look at American Scale models and their fm cynder hoist?

The website below has a clamshell grab

https://www.royfergusonsales.c...clam-shell-grab.html

If you are stuck for space below may be a novel concept - Liebherr 922 - the above company may be able to get it. This is 1/50 scale but I have no idea what the track spacing is.

@CAPPilot....

You mentioned 3D printing. I buy my railroad signals from K&R Custom Signals. They 3D print all types/configurations of signals and do a wonderful job.

You could contact them and see if they would be able to 3D print something for you.

The name of the contact I work with is Ken Oehrig. His email is ken.oehrig@gmail.com.

@Joe Fauty posted:

Don't know if they are still in business - Crescent Locomotive Works - but this should be not too complicated to build. The original reqired a hole be made in the layout base but you can always 'fake' the hole with grating.

Their web site is no longer coming up, and the last post on their Facebook page is two years old.  That hoist is available in HO and N, but have not seen it in O.  Really would like that one in O.

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

What do you mean no cyinder hoist available in o scale? Did you look at American Scale models and their fm cynder hoist?

This did not come up in my O scale searches, although it showed up a lot as HO.  Assumed they only did HO.  Thanks, although at near $500 it is expensive.

Just looked at American Scale Models and they show one ash hoist for $475. They have a larger selection of products than I realized. None are cheap.

Dave with Crescent Locomotive works told me a couple years ago that he wanted to work more on structures. Try Dave Duhamel at (770) 844-7502. Have not talked to him since Covid began.

@Joe Fauty posted:

If you are stuck for space below may be a novel concept - Liebherr 922 - the above company may be able to get it. This is 1/50 scale but I have no idea what the track spacing is.

Way too new.  Need something more like Model Tech Studios 30 ton crane but in O.

Or maybe even this.

@Bill Webb posted:

Dave with Crescent Locomotive works told me a couple years ago that he wanted to work more on structures. Try Dave Duhamel at (770) 844-7502. Have not talked to him since Covid began.

I'll give Dave a call.  He made the hoist in O once, so maybe he will again.  Note his web site is no longer working, so he may be no longer in business.

RON,  

  Is this what you are looking for?  These are Lionel SKU 6-24134, they come up every so often on e bay.  I have one it works great.

K&P Brick and Building makes this small gantry kit.   You would need to add a clamshell from one of the other sources noted above.

Bob

Do a search for  Bantam Crane on the bay.  See if that works

Ron, given your limited space; would it be too unusual to have an elevated track for your ash dump?

@laz1957 posted:

RON,  

  Is this what you are looking for?  These are Lionel SKU 6-24134, they come up every so often on e bay.  I have one it works great.

Actually, I was going to do a WTB for a non working one of these.  However, it seems like overkill for an ash pit.  It is still in the running if nothing else comes up.

@RRDOC posted:

K&P Brick and Building makes this small gantry kit.   You would need to add a clamshell from one of the other sources noted above.

Bob

Nice, but not really small.  It is 12" across and could span three tracks plus some.  Could cut it down to two tracks.  An option, but a really heavy duty gantry for ash.  It would work, though.

@NHVRYGray posted:

Do a search for  Bantam Crane on the bay.  See if that works

Thanks.  One of these on a White WC truck is my third choice (behind gantry and cinder conveyor).  It would be the easiest to do.

@Tranquil Hollow RR posted:

Ron, given your limited space; would it be too unusual to have an elevated track for your ash dump?

Jay,

The ash pit is the first of several engine service facilities in a row on the inbound track to the roundhouse: ash pit, water, coal, sand and maybe wash rack.  There is a service track parallel to this track for the cars to bring in coal and sand, and remove the ash.  Everything pretty much needs to be on the same level.

@CAPPilot posted:

Their web site is no longer coming up, and the last post on their Facebook page is two years old.  That hoist is available in HO and N, but have not seen it in O.  Really would like that one in O.

This did not come up in my O scale searches, although it showed up a lot as HO.  Assumed they only did HO.  Thanks, although at near $500 it is expensive.

Ron;

This is a Crescent O-scale hoist that I purchased a couple of years ago and never used (ended up using Fastrack, so it wasn’t a good fit). If this is what you’re looking for, as it has been sitting unused for a couple of years, let me know and we should be able to work something out.

Nonetheless Ron, that does sound like a nice set up.

@Joe Fauty posted:

The website below has a clamshell grab

https://www.royfergusonsales.c...clam-shell-grab.html

If you are stuck for space below may be a novel concept - Liebherr 922 - the above company may be able to get it. This is 1/50 scale but I have no idea what the track spacing is.

Although 1:50 scale, the unit will work on Atlas O, gargraves, mth Scaletrax and realtrax...any track thats shaped like a rail. I got the cat version.

@Apples55 posted:

Ron;

This is a Crescent O-scale hoist that I purchased a couple of years ago and never used (ended up using Fastrack, so it wasn’t a good fit). If this is what you’re looking for, as it has been sitting unused for a couple of years, let me know and we should be able to work something out.

I am going with Paul's offer for the cinder conveyor.  Should fit in well.

Could a Lionel 97 Elevator Coal Loader be made to work?

Charlie

@Choo Choo Charlie posted:

Could a Lionel 97 Elevator Coal Loader be made to work?

Charlie

Actually, it looks like it could.  The engine would simulate drop its ash on the left side of the loader, which goes up to the shed.  Then the ash would come out the shoot on the right into the gondola.  Not quite what Paul has, but doable on the right layout.

Ron

Most engine service facilities have an ash pit to receive the train ash.  How it is removed from the pit varies.  Small old time ash pit were emptied by hand digging.  Some later ones used backhoes.  Bigger ones had some way to mechanically convey the ash out of the pit to a rail car.

So you must decide how your ash pit will be emptied or if it will be emptied.  I am not clear what you want.  Would just an ash pit do without even answering how it is emptied?  Do you want to model some bucket or rubber ridged conveyor that just sets there and looks good or do you want to use it for an operating accessory that actually works and removes some "model ash" to a rail car?  It is much easier to do just an ash pit or an ash pit and some superstructure to represent as conveyor and a building/tank to hold it and/or store ash to be loaded into a rail car.  A Bachmann 1975 Coal Station is a good inexpensive kit to kit bash into some type of structure to convey and/or store and dump ash.  I have automated it to dump coal, from my coal mine, to a coal car.

Here is an OGR link to an old post on ash pits, etc. that includes OGR magazine articles on ash pits, etc.

https://ogrforum.com/...rvice-area---ash-pit

The pyaperback book "Operating O and O27 Trains" by Maury Klein and Bruce Greenberg, from 1976 and published by Greenbergs (eBay less $10), has descriptions of a Cinder Pit and Conveyor and a Model Gantry Crane that can be used to remove cinders out of the cinder pit.  It outlines how to build each on pages 130 and 131, although they are not real detailed but have a picture and drawings of each to get the idea.  I found it to be my major resource on real train operation and model building  like  a TT and RH that inspired the building of mine.

Charlie

@Choo Choo Charlie posted:

Ron

Most engine service facilities have an ash pit to receive the train ash.  How it is removed from the pit varies.  Small old time ash pit were emptied by hand digging.  Some later ones used backhoes.  Bigger ones had some way to mechanically convey the ash out of the pit to a rail car.

So you must decide how your ash pit will be emptied or if it will be emptied.  I am not clear what you want.  Would just an ash pit do without even answering how it is emptied?  Do you want to model some bucket or rubber ridged conveyor that just sets there and looks good or do you want to use it for an operating accessory that actually works and removes some "model ash" to a rail car?  It is much easier to do just an ash pit or an ash pit and some superstructure to represent as conveyor and a building/tank to hold it and/or store ash to be loaded into a rail car.  A Bachmann 1975 Coal Station is a good inexpensive kit to kit bash into some type of structure to convey and/or store and dump ash.  I have automated it to dump coal, from my coal mine, to a coal car.

Here is an OGR link to an old post on ash pits, etc. that includes OGR magazine articles on ash pits, etc.

https://ogrforum.com/...rvice-area---ash-pit

Charlie

Charlie,

I have always wanted an ash pit that was somewhat realistic, with a simulated way to remove the ash.  Never considered an operating one, except for your post on using the Lionel 97 Elevator Coal Loader as an ash pit hoist.  I guess I should have just said it was too Tin Plate for me.

I have been considering my options for a while.  The pit itself is easy.  Having a way to remove the ash is the issue, and as you pointed out there are many ways of doing it.

An ash pit where the service track goes down into the pit so workers can more easily shovel the ash into a gondola was widely used and lasted until the end of steam at smaller terminals.  My service track (for ash, coal, and sand) is at the same level as the inbound track, so this type of ash pit would require long shovels and strong backs.  Not what I wanted.

So I looked for a mechanical way too move the ash from the pit up to a gondola or hopper.  Wanting to keep space for this to a minimum, an ash conveyor/hoist made the most since.  Unfortunately, with the exception of the nearly $500 hoist listed by prrhorseshoecurve, there are no realistic ash hoists currently made in O.   Joe Fauty's Crescent Locomotive Works hoist in his post is ideal, but not made in a while and never shows up for sale.  That left either a Bantam Crane (or Burro Crane) as mentioned by NHVRYGray or a gantry crane mentioned by Bob.  I wanted something more permanent, so I settled on a gantry crane as mentioned in my original post.  I was looking for something like the gantry in Jim Policastro's post back in 2013, but my service track would be level.  Maybe not this elaborate, but something that I hoped someone could do a 3D model for me.

Anyway, I contacted Paul and he said had a built Crescent Locomotive Works hoist he does not need, so I am buying it.  After all this, I am actually getting what I really wanted.

@CAPPilot posted:

Charlie,

I have always wanted an ash pit that was somewhat realistic, with a simulated way to remove the ash.  Never considered an operating one, except for your post on using the Lionel 97 Elevator Coal Loader as an ash pit hoist.  I guess I should have just said it was too Tin Plate for me.

Ron;

So glad you aren’t looking for an operating pit… while the Crescent hoist does have two crank wheels on the side of the top of the tower, (one raises and lowers the chute, the other the bucket) they are a pain to operate. Had I used the hoist, I probably would have put a small wedge under the wheel for the bucket so it was suspended visibly about half way up the tower.

@Apples55 posted:

Ron;

So glad you aren’t looking for an operating pit… while the Crescent hoist does have two crank wheels on the side of the top of the tower, (one raises and lowers the chute, the other the bucket) they are a pain to operate. Had I used the hoist, I probably would have put a small wedge under the wheel for the bucket so it was suspended visibly about half way up the tower.

Paul,

Did not know it could be operated.  Anyway, the service track is 3' from the table edge, so I don't plan to operate it.  And thanks again.