Loading dock and Travelling Crane

[CNR Glen]

I'm not quite sure about the second tagline. I need power on control for the trolley (back and forth) and the hoist (up and down) Is there not a reason you could have all that in the same tagline since they are both going into the trolley?

[Rybcon]

That is correct. One tagline, along the bridge (or actual crane if you will) would have enough wires to supply power to the trolley and hoist. The other tagline would run along the runway structure to supply power to the bridge wheels so the entire crane can traverse back and forth on the runway.

A full power overhead crane has three electrical functions. Bridge, trolley, & hoist.

[CNR Glen]

Slowly it's coming together. I started on the hoist dolly this weekend:


It's about 8' square with a slight slant to the top so it wouldn't collect rain and snow in bad weather. I used my small carpenter's square to keep it straight.

The roof and roof details added. The half round shape is the relief for the winch drum inside and the small square in the front would be an access door. I'm going to sand the edges and paint it in a neutral gray. when that time comes. The wheels are stolen from an old MDC handcar kit but I'm just starting to fit that together.

[CNR Glen]

I've pretty much finished the dolly this weekend.

As I mentioned before I used the wheels off an old MDC/roundhouse handcar kit The panel on the side is cut out of an Athearn GP-7 shell. I painted the dolly in flat black, then used artists tube acrylics (the thick tube kind) to brush a light rust down the sides and out of the louvers on the panel. The thick tube paint creates a nice texture when dabbed onto a flat surface, much like old surface rust under paint.

I also drybushed a bit of rust running around the half-round structure and dabbed some around the top access hatch. Sorry if it doesn't show that well in pictures. It looks better in person.
After I rusted it I did a grimy black wash to blend everything together.

[quadk]

Excellent job so far!! She is going to be a great addition when done

[railBuilderDhd]

I like what you have been doing. Do you think you can get better lighting on the last photos as it's hard to see the rust color because of the black color car.
Thanks,
Dave

[CNR Glen]

Hopefully this will be better. One of the most difficult things is to get a good detail shot on a black surface.

[railBuilderDhd]

Better but it looks like the green truck is in focus better then the dolly. Try to step back about a foot and that should help. Over all the dolly looks cool.

Dave

[CNR Glen]

I think I'm on the home stretch now. I added the contol box, conduit and electrical pick rails today. I took pictures before I painted the conduit since it would be more difficult to see the detail later.

I decided to use an electric rail/slider system for powering the dolly instead of a tagline (looped power cord) I think this gives a better feel for the era I'm modelling.

The Contol box is a leftover tomestone from a woodland scenics kit (it was handy and the right size) I used two different sizes of brass rod for the conduit and power rails. The brackets on the conduit are stripped twist tie wire. There are two power rails, one for the winch and one for the dolly's movement.
After this I have to add the dolly and then fabricate the electical pickups from that to the power rails.

[Rybcon]

Did you put in 3 power rails? It was probably the mid-50s when the industry began switching from open/exposed wires to the enclosed buss bar.