Tow Boat/River Barge

That tug looks good.  The extra rope curled up under the stairway is a nice touch: there is always a lot of extra rope, etc., all over these things, given what they are and do.

The tow-boat is even better!

Peter

Yes, please Dave, any additional pictures or details on how they are both made would be helpful.

I need to start off with a new barge for the Club Layout, for under the coal tipple that will be dumping coal into the barge. The tug will come later as our Club October 1st Show is soon arriving!

Dave love the Tug Boat.

That is very cool, not something I have seen modeled too often.

They look great, Dave.

That looks pretty cool!

    Dave I was wondering if you were going to put the water level marks on the side of the barge 8' 10' 12' 14'? Choo Choo Kenny

That is a very nice setup and a part of material handeling that isn't often seen on a model railroad.

Good job.

Dave, a fabulous operation, with all your"moving parts" well-crafted. Especially the crane! Yours is a GIGANTIC version of my tiny coal transfer operation at Smiths Ferry Landing on the Youngstown & Southern.

    Dave I just looked on the Mercer Junction site and now I know where you got all the URR cars. I already have A powered and A dummy engine A caboose and 2 URR coal cars ( I do not think URR had any coal cars) but I got them any how. After the holidays I will have to stop in and get the B&LE coal cars. Do you know if they have different # or does each car have just one #. Thanks for any advice Choo Choo Kenny

http://www.tstarinc.com/union/urr/index.htm

I love that crane, too.  I have somewhere I think I can put one like it.  I'm keeping these pictures in my good ideas folder . . . veyr nice!

Really nice work as usual Dave!

And Paul, I love your layout. You really show how much 2 rail modeling can be done in a reasonable space with tight radius curves. I watch your YouTube videos all the time

I think I missed that issue. Which one was it in?

My ears are burning!!!! Such kind comments about the Youngstown & Southern. FYI... That issue was January 2013. 

My grandson Fen likes it too!

Yes, that's a sword next to him. Pretend (I hope)

Great job David. I just found this in my National Geographic archives while sorting through paper into take and toss piles. 

This thread has inspired me to order a tugboat kit from MicroMark: not sure where it will go but . . . I have the Lionel tug but was never really that happy with it.  Hopefully this one will be more realistic and detailed.  

Beautiful work for sure!!  I was inspired by David's crane and sort of copied it...here are a few pictures from about a year or so ago......

Alan

Tow Boat/River Barge

Hi Dave • Looks Great

Hi Gary, Sure wish I had the space. What could be done with the old Detriot River Rail Car Float. Maybe a Mini  shunt table would be neat to build.

This crane conversion is a marvelous idea. Very professional.

Marty,

Mine is a shelf on the edge of my layout.  It takes up very little space.

Dave

Dave, Mt layout is a shelf around my master bedroom. No room for all that great looking detail.

I love cranes, and would dearly love to have one, but there is no possible place for one.  Leavingtracks, I think yours is not just a model, but powered - it works, right?  I always wanted one of those.    

The only crane on my layout is and will remain this Lionel kit crane, which is occasionally trucked around the layout on this  tractor trailer I call "big chaos" - it will run nicely through any 'Streets curves (great big motor hidden inside/under the crane cab, actually) but the end of the trailer and the crane sweep around over sidewalks, etc.,  knocking people to the ground and signs off buildings as it runs around the layout. (In other words, in the opinion of the eight-year old inside me, it is a lot of fun!).   

Lee,

I know that crane and that you got it onto the trailer and converted it into an operational street model is way cool and a terrific engineering feat! 

Mine is not on a trailer, but has an operational magnet for scrapyard duty.

George

Thanks Brian and Lee!  When I saw David's (much nicer) conversion, I had to find a way to do something like it on my layout.  It seemed natural to put it near the harbor/canal area where I can either put a hook on it or a bucket.  Right now it is being used to transfer container/barge traffic on the water to the inter modal yard.  The crane is from an MTH Railking car.  It is capable of being hand operated as it comes that way from the factory.  I used PVC pipe for the "concrete" tower base, Plastruct details and mounted it on top of the PVC with a Pringles can top painted flat black....

Alan

Take a look at the Laserkit barge/lighter:

http://www.laserkit.com/orailmarine2.htm

Seaboard Air Line had some that looked a lot like this.

Wow!  This is a cool thread.  I love all the barges and boats and cranes.  Stuff like that is so fun, particularly when the magnet pickup is motorized and all.  Its giving me too many ideas: The list of projects I want to do is growing by leaps and bounds.

This is from Vac-U-Boats web site.

David

What I really like about your projects are the details. Starting with something as simple as your handrails. Each of your projects have great handrails that don't look like they came from Plastruct.

The handrail details of the tug are just great and adds significantly to the plain Vac-u-Boat. 

There is nothing wrong with using Plastruct, I do use them all the time; BUT David's handrails just look better.

Kenny,

The URR has a fleet of coke racks (taller hoppers).

The B&LE Blue & Black hoppers are all unique numbers.

Dave

Alan,

Thank you for the kind words!

Dave