DURANGO'S COALING TOWER
The
Durango coaling tower was erected between 1923 and 1924, and served
until 1967 or 1968. That's nearly 45 years of service by a wooden
structure handling up to 75-tons of tumbling, rumbling, dusty
coal. Yes,
the tower required a bit of strengthening over the years, but it served
well. The kit is designed based on photos found in at least a
dozen books and those generously provided by other modelers,
plus the drawings from both the John Maxwell Collection and Mike
Blazek. The Maxwell drawings represent the D&RGW's
75-ton standard design coaling tower. Blazek's drawings represent
more of an "as built" Durango tower. There are definitely
distinct differences between the two sets of drawings, as well as
differences that made the tower distinct from those at other locations.
The tower was an "oddball" for the railroad in that it was painted a solid black. At first I thought the darkness of the published black and white photos could be attributed to aging film or simply coal dust, but more recent color photos clearly indicate the tower was truly painted black. This actually is a help to us modelers, as it is a VERY difficult structure to construct and the black paint helps hide a number of areas where, let's just say, I would have liked things to come out neater.
The kit was designed to make construction as simple as possible. This is not to say construction IS simple. It is NOT!!! It is VERY involved and will require reading (and re-reading!!) the instructions, along with many hours of focused concentration and patience. The box is NOT filled with a pile of stripwood. The photo below illustrates the 5 main pieces the exterior framework is made from. Each piece is laser-cut from a solid piece basswood. At this point, the parts are VERY delicate and must be handled with care.
The tower was an "oddball" for the railroad in that it was painted a solid black. At first I thought the darkness of the published black and white photos could be attributed to aging film or simply coal dust, but more recent color photos clearly indicate the tower was truly painted black. This actually is a help to us modelers, as it is a VERY difficult structure to construct and the black paint helps hide a number of areas where, let's just say, I would have liked things to come out neater.
The kit was designed to make construction as simple as possible. This is not to say construction IS simple. It is NOT!!! It is VERY involved and will require reading (and re-reading!!) the instructions, along with many hours of focused concentration and patience. The box is NOT filled with a pile of stripwood. The photo below illustrates the 5 main pieces the exterior framework is made from. Each piece is laser-cut from a solid piece basswood. At this point, the parts are VERY delicate and must be handled with care.
Once
assembled, the parts look like this:
The kit also includes a number of
peel-and-stick parts. Among these are the "metal" components,
some of which are shown on the chute during a test build:
The photo below, taken during a test build, illustrates the front of the tower with some of the various parts installed (yes, the lights operate):
The photo below, taken during a test build, illustrates the front of the tower with some of the various parts installed (yes, the lights operate):
As with the prototype, a pit is used on
the model to transfer the coal from gondolas to the coal
bin. The pit requires a hole be cut in the roadbed, and it drops
down 2.25-inches (5.8 cm) for the O-scale kit (1.7-inches for the
S-scale kit). The bottom of the rail as it
crosses the pit is 1.25-inches (3.2 cm) above the roadbed for the
O-scale kit (0.85-inches, S-scale) and
requires a ramped fill to reach, as was done with the prototype.
Retaining walls and rail uprights are included to achieve the correct
"look" of the fill near the pit.
The top of the pit is covered with Grandt Line grating and the rail is supported by two lengths of brass H-beam. The slide gates that allow the coal to transfer into the buckets are equipped with the same chain and roller arrangement as the prototype.
(Sorry, the coal isn't included with the kit -- it's too heavy to ship!!!)
The top of the pit is covered with Grandt Line grating and the rail is supported by two lengths of brass H-beam. The slide gates that allow the coal to transfer into the buckets are equipped with the same chain and roller arrangement as the prototype.
(Sorry, the coal isn't included with the kit -- it's too heavy to ship!!!)
When the buckets reached the top of
the tower, they automatically "flipped" and dumped their load onto
ramps that tumbled the coal into
the bin:
Here's
a picture of the inside of the sheave house at the top of the
tower. These are two of the many Grandt Line castings (nearly 50 sprues of parts!!) included in
the kit:
If you are planning a spot for the
tower on your railroad, you should know the centerline distance from
the coaling track to the pit track is 9.65-inches for O-scale, and
7.25-inches for S-scale. The O-scale kit includes parts (and
instructions!) to modify the structure for On30.
A 75-ton coaling tower is also practical for a standard gauge shortline or branch. To use our Durango tower, the structure would likely need to be raised so the chute will clear the side of a standard gauge tender. A simple retaining wall would look great running along the front of the tower! If your tower is to be used on a standard gauge railroad, please let us know and we will provide additional pit grating at no charge.
Weighing in at nearly 4-pounds (without the coal!) it truly is a "super" kit. It has more parts and pieces than anything we've ever produced. The O-scale instruction book is 59-pages long and includes 95 photographs (S-scale: 46-pages, 88 photos) describing the construction in detail. Included are Parts Layout Diagrams, suggestions for tools to use, finishing techniques, and a pattern for adding the tower/pit to your diorama, display, or layout.
A 75-ton coaling tower is also practical for a standard gauge shortline or branch. To use our Durango tower, the structure would likely need to be raised so the chute will clear the side of a standard gauge tender. A simple retaining wall would look great running along the front of the tower! If your tower is to be used on a standard gauge railroad, please let us know and we will provide additional pit grating at no charge.
Weighing in at nearly 4-pounds (without the coal!) it truly is a "super" kit. It has more parts and pieces than anything we've ever produced. The O-scale instruction book is 59-pages long and includes 95 photographs (S-scale: 46-pages, 88 photos) describing the construction in detail. Included are Parts Layout Diagrams, suggestions for tools to use, finishing techniques, and a pattern for adding the tower/pit to your diorama, display, or layout.
($260, postpaid in US)
PURCHASE DURANGO'S COALING TOWER KIT, O-SCALE
Click the link below to purchase the S-scale Durango COALING TOWER
($240, postpaid in US)
PURCHASE DURANGO'S COALING TOWER KIT, S-SCALE
RETURN TO MAIN PAGE