Hulett Ore Unloader in 1:32th

[Hauk]

A legend in the making.

[Bernhard]

Thank you for not getting bored with the topic and for still being involved.

A small addendum to the statistics from the last post: the two towers consist of 873 individual parts, including the parts not yet attached such as ladders, stairs, etc. The pin rivets are not included.

In the meantime, the two towers have been primed ...



... and painted.





The builders's plate, etched from nickel silver, is attached to the front tower.

[Bernhard]

I printed out two more signs on the laser printer. Following Volker's instructions, I painted them with clear varnish and then lightly washed them.



However, I am not yet convinced by the quality. The clear varnish, which I applied with the airbrush gun, is problematic. Because the varnish was probably too thick, an unsightly texture is clearly visible on the surface of the signs.
I will make another attempt.

And here are a few more pictures of the finished towers.







The upper sign on the front tower will of course be replaced.

[Bernhard]

The main girders

The main girders rests on the two towers and carries the trolley, the larry car and the disc-hopper. On the land side, the girders are extended with a cantilever so that the wagon can drive out over the railroad tracks and empty its load into a temporary storage area.




(Fotos: Library of Congress)

Here is an aerial photo taken recently during the demolition of the machines on Whiskey Island. For orientation: the water side of the front main girders is on the left. At the bottom center of the picture, you can see one of the severed cantilevers.



It really hurts to see this picture. A testimony to technical history has been irretrievably destroyed!

[Bernhard]

Unfortunately, there are only very few original drawings of this assembly.



(Drawing: Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Co)

For the design I am therefore largely dependent on the evaluation of photos.
And this is what it looks like. Lots of parts, lots of work, lots of fun!

[Bernhard]

And the making starts straight away.
I had the sheet metal parts for the two girders laser-cut. The long sheets are over 1.3 m long. I wouldn't have been able to process them in one piece on my machine. I was also able to have the laser cut 0.6 mm wide slots into which I can insert the bulkhead plates precisely. I hope this will make it easy to fit the various parts precisely.





I also need over 70 m of different profiles and other raw materials.



And with that, I go back to the workshop.

Bernhard

[finescalerr]

"the two towers consist of 873 individual parts"

Does that mean each tower consists of 873 parts?

Satisfactory progress and the overall appearance so far is quite adequate.

Russ

[Bernhard]

873 parts for the two towers

Bernhard

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

873 parts for the two towers

Not counting the rivets I imagine?

[Chuck Doan]

Just incredible.

[Stuart]

Incredible. A masterpiece in the making.

Stuart

[Bill Gill]

Bernhard,Magnificient!

About your danger signs: Several years ago I had very good luck getting photo prints of signs at a Kodak kiosk in a pharmacy. There were two different types of kiosks. One method was self service and
very quick, but the results were not lightfast and quickly faded. The other method was operated by a tech. It was much more durable and the images were infused into a thin plastic layer on the front surface of the photo paper. I could remove almost all of the paper backing to reduce the thicknes of the signs.

Unfortunately I do not remember what that method is called. The tech person who operated that kiosk is gone. She was very helpful at adjusting color balance and other variables to ge accurate prints at no charge when she saw what I was trying to do. Since her departure the equipment has not been well maintained and now is only self service by the customer. Perhaps you can find someplace near you that does durable photo prints.

I scaled the signs to fit on a standard (U.S.) 4 inch by 6 inch photo print, on glossy paper with NO border. Selecting "add a border"changed the size of the image area and the scale of the signs.

The signs looked like enameled metal signs, but with a light spray of a Krylon clear flat coating they could easily be other materials. Some of the signs have been on my layout over 15 years and do not appear to have faded at all under normal room lighting.

One question: Where did you find the originals for the signs that you printed? They appear to me to be newer than signs that would have been on the Hulett Unloaders when they were in service.

UPDATE: Bernhard, I didn't find any helpful information about Kodak photo kiosks, but I did find good information about KODAK PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Paper:

When printed with state-of-the-art pigmented inks, prints made on KODAK PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Paper are projected to last in excess of 100 years, even when displayed without additional protection, such as behind glass.

[Peter_T1958]

This Hulett Ore Unloader seems to come from outer space – absolute surreal! Not only the scale and the dimensions are beyond all I have seen before, also the work required! I admire your courage to tackle such a project! 

[finescalerr]

About Bill's post: Not only Kodak but also Epson has glossy photo paper that nominally lasts a century (if you keep it away from direct sunlight). If you print on glossy paper you shouldn't need a clear coat. -- Russ

[SandiaPaul]

The Cleveland Hulett's operated until 1992 so the signs could be correct for the modern era. Wonderful progress on the model Bernhard.