Fictional northern namibian copper mine

Hi All, LS = Loco Shed
GS = Goods Shed
EG = Station Building
W = open Waterpool
Gl./Gleis = Track
Kohlen = Coal for locomotive or steam engine coaling open stored without bunker
Track Gauge 00-9 in 4 mm Scale or H0e/H0n30 in 3,5 mm Scale both in 9 mm Narrow Gauge.
Track Gauge of 6,5 mm (Z Gauge) for Mine Shafthouse Steam Engine coaling.

The track centers of the above straight track is onto left and right side 15 cm from background and the track center of the track close to the station building in the right is 15 cm from the front side.

Small shunting friendly layout like a shunting puzzle. When used as shunting puzule at home a short add on track plank will be needed in the right close to the station building. It length should be in maximum 20 cm.
The layout was planned to use 4 axle freight cars of 15 cm lengths.

About the ASIS Copper Mine history:
In the north of the former german South-West African Colony was a private built railway company called O.M.E.G. - Otavi Mines and Railway Company. This Railway connected the Swakopmund Quays with the Tsuneb Copper and Lead Foundry 589 Km far away. The Railway had been opened in 1907 onto full length.
From 1906 to 1908 had been built a nearly 94 Km long branchline starting in Otavi to Grootfontein (Greatfountain). At Km 41 was the village of ASIS. At Km 40 was a track Triangle to connect the ASIS mine.
From old lists of done shipments is known that there were train movements between the ASIS Copper Mine and Tsuneb or Grootfontein to Otavi via ASIS Mine or back.
The Triangle at ASIS village used in all three directions very often.
Therewas a high traffic between the Mine and the foundry delivering them Copper Ore from this mine and other mines anlongside the branchline to Grootfontein.
Weekly were it three cars of 15 metric tons loading capacity.
Miners and administration workers had been transported with mixed freight trains on passenger cars.
Known is that there were three open gondolas to being loaded with copper ore. One closed goods car were in place ahead the goods shed mostly. One small shunting loco did the duty at the copper mine.

When the daily mixed freight train with farm goods and passenger coaches came into Mine Station than it stopped ahead the station onto track 2 but before the de-cuppled some freight cars ahead the first turnout. A Brake Van was in the end of train, to give safety to the outer track. The loco shunted over track 3 to the loco shed for re-coaling and pumping water into its water tanks.
The shunting loco needed to sort the cars onto track 1 for the later departure of the mine station. The goods car changed and the brake van needed to be changing the position into the end of train, so all cars needed to be stored in tracks 2 and 3. The re-coaled and ready made loco went into the left that the shunting loco could enter to loco shed track. The normal loco oicking up the cars from track 3 and track two and coupling the rest onto track 1. Than the train leaves the station. The shunting loco is storing the goods car ahead the goods shed for unloading the goods.

When the needed coal is being delivered one or two more cars blocking the station tracks.

Most of the goods cars are longer 4 axle cars in double length of one two axle car.

The historical locos were 0-4-2T  or 0-6-2T locos with 4 axle 20 t box water tank tender some of them had planks above with extra coal. The shunting loco was a twin coupled version of 0-4-0T-T0-4-0 double loco or 0-6-0T-T0-6-0 double loco or only one of them. 
On the engineer's side was the water tender and on thr fireman's side was the coal tender. One of the double locos had a mirrowed cab interrior.

There were not any historical trackplan knewn how big the ASIS Mine was in the past. 
The mine shipped weekly 45 tons of copper and lead ore. They digged around 100 tons weekly.
Around 300 tons of coal shipped into the mine weekly.
30 % of the in the colony arrived coal came from western german coal mines. Around 70 % of the needed coal came from northern Ireland and Wales via Walefish Bay.

That is indeed a very nice little shunting layout.  Good plan!

Regards

Michael

Hi Ingo,

A John Allen Timesaver in Namibia. Nice (but…). Are you using straight or Y switches (as used in the original)? Y's would save some space but would make what looks a modular layout hard to do. 


What module standards are you following? It looks to be 1 m long.


In HO a Timesaver needs to be at least 2 or even 3 m long when used as a layout. Plan on that even in HO narrow gauge. As originally designed it was around 1.25 m (4 feet) and was a switching puzzle deliberately designed to be difficult. Not a model railway. Unfortunately the design keeps being used as a layout or part of one. It is not shunting friendly unless the tracks are much longer. From your description it seems that 3 empty ore cars and a passenger car coming in will be exchanged for 3 full ore cars going back along with the passenger car. If the length of a car is 15 cm you need nearer 90 cm for the sidings. Locomotive, 4 cars, brake van. 


There was something like this where the Great Northern and Northern Pacific both served an industrial estate in Great Falls, Montana. The parallel sidings were used to exchange freight cars. And were about 1 km long.


Any thoughts on uncoupling? This is one of the big issues with the Timesaver. The original used fixed positions with mechanical uncouplers, as only single cars were moved.


Nigel

Hi Nigel,

Look here, the over all modules arrangement needs space of around 15 square meters.
Additional planks or module sections could be added.
In theright ofthecopper mine station building a small plank is needed so that the incoming loco can do a turn around move.

Plan was ist to find some more friends here to model this theme of northern Namibia during its occupation by german imperial troops over 110 years ago.The triangle operations are tricky when using DCC. You will need a reverloop unit with detecting sensors. 
Max train length is 120 cm it can be made longer when making longer the distance between Sensor 2 and 2b.
Three sensors are needed for triangle operation of all possible directions. 

The distance between detector sensors S 2 a and S 2 b is 120 cm in minimum…it can be made longer by adding one more module between it.

Hi Ingo,
I think one auto reverser is sufficient for a turning wye.

Nigel