Model Railroading > Who wants to model a stone quarry?

I thought about posting these images on the Nostalgia Board, but I believe that they would fit better here on the Model Board, especially since there isn't any railroad traces to be seen. Way back when this quarry was active back in the 1920's or 1930's and 1940's they had an in plant railroad to shift the big quarried stone around. I'm unsure of what sort of steam engine they might have had but I saw a little gasoline powered "critter" that was abandoned way out in the tall weeds once, but unfortunately it was gone by the time I got enough sense to go back there with a camera.

These images are of an abandoned quarrying site and its stiff leg derrick. Way back when, there were several different quarrying sites in this area and each had its own stiff leg derrick. I took these images during the winter of 1986 when the company I worked for decided to move their precast concrete production yard and shops out of what had become a very crowded residential part of east central Austin Texas. When they had started business in Austin, they had been out in the country at the original limestone quarry site that had started up this business. Eventually they started quarries further out 25 to 30 miles northwest of Austin, all of which were serviced by the T&NO (SP Lines in Texas) Llano Branch. Texas Quarries still operated the stone cutting mill that was adjacent to this site, but they had started years back to haul the raw stone in from another more remote quarry site waaay out in the country. When we started cleaning out this site in the winter of 1986, it was still well removed from any nearby developements. This is not so today, and since I'm retired now, I'd be real surprised if the new "NIMBY" types aren't raising cane about the presence of the big precast business in their neighborhood and its big trucks with their big loads of concrete beams and etc. When I took these pictures I had taken the very first load out to the location which was a big front end loader which we used to start cleaning up this site. Today, Coreslab Structures of Texas still occupies this site and is the largest precast concrete manufacturer in Texas.

Con

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I took these images with the thought in mind that I'd someday want to construct a model of a similar quarry operation when I was retired and had the time to do so. Now I am retired and have the time, but not the ability, but I figured that maybe someone else out there in Trainordersland might be interested in a similar project on their model railroad. This is in Cedar Park Texas, just about a quarter mile south of FM1431 on Lime Creek Road for those who are in that area that are curious about such details. For others who might not be as familiar with Cedar Park, this site is just about 3 miles west of where "The Railyard" is today. The Railyard is the area where ASTA and the steam train's yard is in Cedar Partk.

Con

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Thanks for sharing Con.

Up my way in Northern Indiana we didn't have quarries but sand and gravel pits. If you have the room you can model the gravel/sand pit hole in the ground with strata, piled gravel and sand and related equipment. But if not, you can run track back into a hidden area but perhaps have some photos of distant machinery on your backdrop or actual equipment subtly modeled. And then you can drop and pick up your cars from this partially hidden spur as if the pit loco would was dropping and picking up cars for exchange to your operating railroad.

I remember one that was serviced by two railroads from the east and south where the two railroads crossed.
The north-south one had a wye so it could service the pit from both directions. It was quite a huge complex of pits and tracks. I understand the March issue of Model Railroader is going to have something like this featured. The preview photos look pretty good.

There are some quarries over on the west side of the state.
There's a big one up on the Monon in northwest Indiana
(I think on the branch to Michigan City, near Medaryville)

On the west coast there have been many gravel pits served by rail
including one on the PE's Arrowhead Springs branch. Though the rock
is pit mined there still is a lot of surface structures for sizing,
conditioning and storage, great prototype idea, plus it'll fit in
an odd corner.

I think the gravel pit modeling this in the March issue of Model Railroader is going to be cool. I believe the modeler also used photos as backdrops.


rehunn Wrote:
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> On the west coast there have been many gravel pits
> served by rail
> including one on the PE's Arrowhead Springs
> branch. Though the rock
> is pit mined there still is a lot of surface
> structures for sizing,
> conditioning and storage, great prototype idea,
> plus it'll fit in
> an odd corner.