Old King Coal was the reason for constructing the Schleenvoydt Mining Com­pany’s railroad in the first place. When rich veins of bituminous were discovered back in the boondocks, a narrow gauge line was the most logical and in­expensive choice to transport it to the industries in the general area of the lush Lazy River Valley.

  Business expanded; new factories sprouted in the on-line villages and hamlets. In a short time, the hillsides were hardly ever without the sounds of the diminutive locomotives clanking their way up and down the steep grades, squealing around the sharp curves and creaking over the many trestles and bridges.

  As mine production increased, it soon became obvious that the mountains held much more coal than the small valley served by the narrow gauge line would ever consume.

  Thus it was, that a way was sought to extend the distribution system beyond the narrow world of the slim gauge. Clearances, grades and turns negated the scheme of widening the tracks to 4’8½”.  

Main vertical beams are 12x12s spaced 10 feet apart giving the tipple an overall length of 100 feet. From bottom base to H0n3 railhead above is 45 feet. On top deck, ties are not used on the narrow gauge trackage over the coal bins; rails were laid on parallel 12x12s with 12x12 spacers every 10 feet. Would that bumping block really stop a loaded runaway hopper?

Because the wealthy mining company held a considerable block of stock in the standard gauge Lazy River Rail. road, there was not too much opposition when a plan was presented to the board of directors to construct a transfer tipple into which the hoppers of the three-footer could be dumped for later loading into the cars of the bigger road. Also, no one could deny it was a tidy source of revenue.

Details of the transaction are hazy, but it was during these discussions that the Lazy River agreed to assume owner­ship of the little railroad in the bargain. So now all coal moving was under one management. Hence, some of the equip­ment still bears lettering for the original owner. It is one way to get a little variety in non-interchange narrow gauge rolling stock.

With this historical fiction in mind, several years ago I set out to design such a facility as an excuse to add a short standard gauge adjunct to what was then a rather modest (6’x6’) H0n3 layout. Since that time the smaller rail­road has been abandoned in favor of a new HO version of the L.R.R.R. in which the salvaged structure will play the same role, except the focus will now be on the operation on the larger line with the narrow gauge feeder disappearing into a tunnel to make the mythical con­nection with the mine.

As far as I could determine, few prototype structures of this type existed in reality—or, if they did, they were not well documented. One of my favorites, the East Broad Top, trans-shipped through a coal washer, which is a com­pletely different type of animal, so this type of facility was not needed.

Armed with a T-square, ruler, a few basic rules of carpentry and back issues of rail magazines containing photos of various types of coal tipples and other similar facilities, I set about designing the Schleenvoydt/Lazy River Coal Trans­fer Structure.  

It is really not as complicated as it may look. Like many devices of its type. it is the simple repetition of several basic configurations. In this case, it has to look strong enough to support the weight of the cars above and, of course, all that coal in the storage bins. The small office is the place where the fore­man takes care of his paper work and where the crews can cluster around the coffee pot when the weather is nippy.

The upper gangway allows access to the latches on the diminutive cars arriv­ing from the mine, while the walkway at mid-structure provides the area from which the hopper doors on the tipple are opened and closed in the loading of the standard gauge cars.

For these latter devices, I simply used the Wabash Lines (former Red Ball) old-time hopper doors. From each I extended a brass rod to the platform where a brake wheel is used to operate the hatch. These wheels are painted bright yellow for safety purposes. It also adds a color highlight to contrast witn the coal-darkened gray tone of the over­all piece.  

Bridge abutment dominates end view in pre-installation photo. A similar support straddles standard gauge line at mid-point of the two spans that carry the three-foot rails to the upper deck of the structure. Thin plywood backing is covered with sheathing and will provide vertical surface for eventual mounting on the layout. 

The height of the bins can vary, de­pending on the difference in elevation of the two lines and how much coal you wish to store. On mine, the three-foot road reaches the facility on a spur that descends from the main line to a small rock-lined cliff which defines the valley through which the standard gauge line arrives from a tunnel cut in the rock. While a turnout from the standard main line takes its rails under the loaders, the narrow gauge travels directly above on parallel tracks set upon a couple of small bridges scratchbuilt of brass rod and channel from the excellent designs published in the April, 1974, BULLETIN (pp. 31, 32). Heavy timber abutments support the spans at the tipple and at the center-point where it straddles the wider tracks below.

  Of course, there is lots of debris scat­tered about to add interest: spilled coal, tools, a length of chain, hoses for keep­ing down dust and even water lines (thick solid wire) to the office and hose valve.

If you like to work with sheet and strip wood, this project can be loads of fun with plenty of chances to improvise. To me, it typifies a lot of railroad con­struction based on the premise that the easiest and cheapest method was to use whatever material was available: old hopper doors and brake wheels, used timber, ties, etc.