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Foothill Model Works
D.S.&F. Ore Train Photo Gallery

The following photo gallery/slide show shows off our 20′ Gondola/Ore Car Kit (Kits FMW-2213 and FMW-2325, both the urethane and styrene versions of the kit) in action on our layout. The photos depict a typical ore train on the Diamond Springs and Fiddletown Railway servicing the Fiddletown ore bin.

The scenery on the layout is currently half-way through a redo (the photos were taken 2/26/2010). Our previous efforts were too dark and wet looking. The basic ground cover is back in and the trees have been thinned out and repositioned, but have yet to be blended into the scenery at their bases. The open area along the mainline will eventually be grass covered (California summer golden brown). Some of the buildings in Kimberly Junction are temporary. A small order station, water tank, and semaphore orderboard have yet to be built. Some of you may recognize the ore bin outside of Fiddletown from our article in the January 1997 issue of Finescale Railroader, “Subject to Closest Scrutiny: Inspiration.” It has been cut into the scenery, but the mine entrance, waste pile, and mine office at its base have yet to be finished.

The open area below the retaining wall (below the passing siding outside of Fiddletown) will eventually house a large mine complex with Western Scale Models’ Rowe Shaft as its centerpiece. This mining complex is serviced by the 2′ gauge, Arrowhead Mine Tramway which travels between this mine shaft and its mill on the other side of Half-Moon Bay. The Arrowhead Mine Tramway and the Diamond Springs & Fiddletown Railway share right-of-way starting in Kimberly Junction. The equipment of the Arrowhead Mine Tramway was featured in the cover article of the September 1998 issue of Finescale Railroader.

Engine No. 5 was also the cover article subject of the March 2002 issue of Finescale Railroader.

The track diagram shows the section of the layout on which ore train travels in the following photos.

Clicking on any photo will bring up an enlarged overlay of that photo. Clicking on the resulting play button will play a slide show of all of the photos. The “Pause” button will halt the slide show. The left and right arrows will take you to the previous and next photos, respectively. Clicking on the “x” button will close the photo overlay.

OreTrain01OreTrain01 - Train of MTYs arrives at Kimberly Junction, pulled by D.S.&F. No. 11, a Bachmann Climax. OreTrain02OreTrain02 OreTrain03OreTrain03 OreTrain04OreTrain04 - The four buildings of Kimberly Junction currently consist of a 6 Window Swayne Style Camp Cabin (FMW-1527), a Rico Section Car Shed (ex-FMW-1600), a 2 Window Swayne Style Camp Cabin (FMW-1525), and a Fork’s Creek Pump House (ex-FMW-1604). OreTrain05OreTrain05 OreTrain06OreTrain06 - The MTYs are four FMW-2213, 20′ Gondola/Ore Cars. OreTrain07OreTrain07 OreTrain08OreTrain08 - D.S.&F. Caboose/Combine No. 6 is scratch-built on an FMW-2214 20′ Flat Car. OreTrain09OreTrain09 - Out on the main, headed for the ore bin outside of Fiddletown. OreTrain10OreTrain10 OreTrain11OreTrain11 OreTrain12OreTrain12 OreTrain13OreTrain13 OreTrain14OreTrain14 - Arriving at the passing siding outside of Fiddletown. OreTrain15OreTrain15 OreTrain16OreTrain16 - Pulling train into siding. OreTrain17OreTrain17 - Run around train. OreTrain18OreTrain18 OreTrain19OreTrain19 - Time to get the Caboose out of the way. OreTrain20OreTrain20 OreTrain21OreTrain21 OreTrain22OreTrain22 OreTrain23OreTrain23 OreTrain24OreTrain24 OreTrain25OreTrain25 - Let’s leave the caboose out of the way so the conductor can enjoy his coffee (and do his paperwork) while we load the train. OreTrain26OreTrain26 - Go back and get the MTYs. OreTrain27OreTrain27 OreTrain28OreTrain28 - Heading out on the ore bin spur. OreTrain29OreTrain29 - Load the first two MTYs. OreTrain30OreTrain30 - The ore bin is half a Classic Miniatures’ Virginia City Ore Bin. OreTrain31OreTrain31 OreTrain32OreTrain32 OreTrain33OreTrain33 - Get the first two loads out of the way. OreTrain34OreTrain34 OreTrain35OreTrain35 - Load the last two MTYs. OreTrain36OreTrain36 OreTrain37OreTrain37 OreTrain38OreTrain38 OreTrain39OreTrain39 - Time to put the train back together. OreTrain40OreTrain40 OreTrain41OreTrain41 - Ready to go. OreTrain42OreTrain42 - Well, after D.S.&F. No. 5 (a completely rebuilt, late 1970’s, Iron Horse Models, 16 Ton Tee Boiler Shay) clears with its MTYs. OreTrain43OreTrain43 OreTrain44OreTrain44 - Caboose C-02 is a modified FMW-2310 15′ caboose. OreTrain45OreTrain45 OreTrain46OreTrain46 - All clear, leaving the passing siding outside of Fiddletown. OreTrain47OreTrain47 OreTrain48OreTrain48 OreTrain49OreTrain49 - Out on the main, headed towards Kimberly Junction. OreTrain50OreTrain50 OreTrain51OreTrain51 OreTrain52OreTrain52 OreTrain53OreTrain53 OreTrain54OreTrain54 OreTrain55OreTrain55 - Arriving at Kimberly Junction. OreTrain56OreTrain56 OreTrain57OreTrain57 OreTrain58OreTrain58 OreTrain59OreTrain59 OreTrain60OreTrain60 - Leaving for Half-Moon Bay and, eventually, the Mill. Picture Gallery Maker by VisualLightBox.com v3.1m

All text, images, and drawings ©2010, Foothill Model Works. All rights reserved. Best viewed with standards compliant, cross-platform, CSS3 capable browser (Firefox, Safari, Chrome are good, FREE examples; Internet Explorer - not so much.). JavaScript must be enabled for slide show to work.

Rev. 3/28/2014.