Coaling locos

[bristolmidland]

After many false starts and a house move I am finally getting somewhere with my layout, thanks in no small part to the lockdown. I have built my baseboards and I have a track plan I am finally happy with. There will be a 3 road steam shed built using a modelux kit (built with the aid of someone with younger and better eyes!) and a bachman 2 road diesel shed. I have decided to go with servos in conjunction with a megapoints switchboard and control unit. This method is so much cheaper than tortoise or creep motors or any of DCC concepts products which are way above my budget. They will be wired with their own supply with electrofrog and juicers. I find I have enough to do operating locos with my NEC cab controller never mind turnouts!

Now to the point of all this. I do have a GWR coaling stage but not enough room on my layout for the ramps etc so what other methods of coaling locos were used ie. Cranes and grabs etc?. One answer would be to have the ramp coming from "off scene with just a couple of wagons and the building but my layout is not GWR really but mainly LMR with a few "foreigners." I did have a BR coaling tower in the first flush of model mania but that did take up far too much room ditto the bachman 4 road shed ( which is for sale)

Thanks in advance

Steve

[BrightonMan]

Cranes with buckets, scoops or grabs were quite common, although a lot of smaller sheds made do with a shovel and muscle power.

[stuartp]

Ratio do a small coaling tower, little brother to the concrete megalith types found at the big sheds and much easier to find room for. It's an LMS design found at Wick and Stranraer. Some LNER sheds had a free standing hoist which lifted tubs of coal up but I'm not aware of any kits for that type. Otberwise a small raised platform, sometimes with a small hand crane and tubs, sometimes not, sometimes with a corrugated iron roof, sometimes not, and a lot of shovelling. Labour was cheap for most of the steam era, the big towers were designed to increase throughput, not to save on labour.

[Bigmet]

Some LNER sheds had a free standing hoist which lifted tubs of coal up but I'm not aware of any kits for that type...

That tub elevator was a design by Stothert and Pitt, a well known crane maker, specifically designed to be compact enough to be found enough space for between the sidings in a physically small yard. Quite widely used at medium size LNER loco sheds and I believe a few LMS locations; quite a variety of differences in detail design.

There is an etched kit of one of the types from Walsworth models, which is a good item but quite demanding to build. Useful thread on model construction here with pictures:
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index ... hoist-kit/

[bristolmidland]

Thanks for the replies. I like the look of the Stothart and Pitt tub hoist but I feel it will be beyond my limited skills. Talking of Stothart and pitt I live not far from Bath where they were based for a long time. It still seems strange to drive along the A4 and see no trace of them. I will have a look at the ratio one and as you say labour was cheap in those days! Now to the electrical section for my latest tooth gnashing quandry, how to wire a symetrical 3 way turnout (electrofrog). It will be operated with two servos and I realise I will have to insulate the frogs and will be using a frog juicer or not, maybe a micro switch. If I put one back to back with another turnout I guess it will have to be electro as well or there will be no feed between the two? Am I right thinking this. I am beginning to think it may be better to have an electrical guy come and wire my layout for me. I am fine with the bus and droppers and the servo side of things but after that my brain seizes up!