Camp
4 Gallery Camp
4 Gallery
These are just some random pics of Camp 4, taken as I had the chance, while
playing with a new toy camera. Apologies for the load times. Enjoy.
Welcome
to Camp 4. This is the home of the railroad. Small as it is, it has everything
we need to get the logs downstream to the mill. The log pond is a vicious brew
of Enviro-Tex and Selley's "All Clear" silicon sealant. The two camp
huts are actually only one Master Creations "McCabe" bunkhouse. The
watertank, at right is a scratchbuilt structure, using leftover wood from a
John Rendell kit.
As
our small Class A Shay drags a load of logs up the Cliff switchback, we can
see some of the inhospitable terrain the loggers had to conquer.
Here's
a overview shot of one of my favorite scenes on the layout, the pig sty pier
trestle at Rainforest.
One
of the loggers was a keen photographer, and some period sepia tone pics of the
early operations have recently been unearthed. Here the Class A Shay prepares
to head from Rainforest to the Cliff switchback.
Many years later, this is how the pig sty pier trestle looked when photographed by logging researchers. Note that time has not diminished the flow of water over the waterfall ;-)
The
log landing at Camp 4 is a curious affair. While a small W.I.W. 2 drum wideface
yarder "ground snigs" the logs in from the bush, there is a A frame
loader on-site to speed loading of the snigged logs. Note the below track water
tank, which makes use of an old (N scale) tank car. The inspiration for this
came from a emergency watertank located on the Cass Scenic RR, and an article
on modelling it by Pete Moffet in the May '98 NMRA Bulletin.
The A frame loader is a scratchbuilt unit, one of the first ever built by the Broughton Vale blacksmith for the smaller Camp 4 operation. Much has been learned about winch design and construction since then, but this loader continues to give good service.
Because the W.I.W. winch is only ground snigging, there is no "trip" or "haulback" line in place to get the choker back out to the bush. So, at least one horse continues to work in the bush at Camp 4, even if it is only to haul the mainline back out.
Another period picture discovered recently, apparently from the camera of the same logger as previously. Note the dissimilar drum drive gears on the W.I.W. winch. This may have been due to a rebuild at some stage during it's career in the bush. Note also the siphon hose on the deck of the water tank. It is unclear as to whether the tank was used mainly to water the loco, or to provide a water supply for the yarder and loader winches.
And finally, a shot that suggests that small modular layouts allow photo opportunities and angles that larger permanent layouts may find hard to achieve. This long shot was taken looking up the track towards the log reload.
We hope you've enjoyed this look at Camp 4. For more details on it's construction, please feel free to explore around this site further. For info on Camp 4's parent layout, please feel free to visit Broughton Vale Tramway.
For more pics and info on some of the great Narrow Gauge modelling coming out of Australia, please visit the Narrow Gauge Web Exhibition. (Respect for John Dennis, for all the hard work, and fantastic images).