Mine Site Clutter

Possibly the first thing that crossed your mind is the fact that I haven't been sending these "inches" of late. Number 9 came out in November and, while I've done some modeling since, nothing more had been added to the layout. As I mentioned last week with "Iceberg" chap 14 which was also devoted to mine site clutter. I got inspired. Even though I enjoyed a lot of the pictures in "Anthracite Railroads and Mining Vol. II. I based all the modeling work on photos I'd taken myself. Many of my slides were taken at the same locations shown in the book. (just a few years later) Case in point: My photo at Jeddo Highland #7 (8-86) where I showed and described a small mountain of "detritus" is a scene that appeared on page 24 of Chuck's book. The photo Chuck chose to use was taken by Bernie Perch in 1-74 from the same vantage point. One of the things that should be mentioned is how the formation of OSHA in 1970 and MSHA* in 1978 changed the visual scene at any extractive industy (quarry's mines, etc. Everything got cleaned up under threat of heavy fines! Trust me I speak from first hand knowledge. Modeling a prototype with a time frame in the 21st century can be a lot easier, though less visually interesting.

As for modeling the "clutter": There's commercially available "junk" from many companies, notably Woodland Scenics and SSLtd. I think one could break the "hobby" bank going that route and you'd still need all kinds of rusted scrap metal, old boards and timbers and a miriad of other things. The approach I took was to use selected pieces of old sprue material, scraps of styrene left over from scratchbuilding and a wealth of other ersatz things that looked like they'd been "something". If it seems like a mindnumbing proposition to select, cut-up and paint individual pieces, I only made up a few hundred over a spread out period of time. Last year (2011) Jim Homoki (on this contacts list) showed a 52' gondola load of scrap made the same way at Collinsville. What a standout!

Except for the 55 gal. drum (Revell) and the sledge hammer (SSLtd) everything was just from the scrap box. Don't forget this stuff can make great loads for trucks.

Based on the Jeddo Highland #7 prototype scene from 8-86.

Try for some variety in color, size and texture. Not everything is rusted metal. 

These little chapters are always informal and freely shared. My contacts list is limited. If you know of others that may like this material please forward.

Hope you all enjoyed seeing what I've been up to,

Wayne Sittner