(moved from RR Page 3 and greatly amplified 07 Jun
2004).
Here's a type of turntable you won't normally see (not
that most railfans "normally" see any turntables
- we are triply blessèd here on Long Island),
it's a QUARTER-TURN marine turntable.
I wasn't sure if it belonged on my
Naval and Maritime pages or on my
Railroad pages; I opted for the latter but now,
with far more pictures, it's here, with links back
there and to my LIRR pages.
It's at the old Jakobson's Shipyard (
Jake's) in Oyster Bay, where Loco #35 will be
restored, and hard by where the new Oyster Bay rail
museum will be built. Jake's is where so very
many RR tugboats originated, those with the rakishly
canted foredeck and level wheelhouse with matching roof.
The pit was filled with sawgrass when I was first there
ca. 09 May 1996, and again in Jun 99, so I'd also
given you a diagram.
[The photographs are thumbnails; click on the pictures for the full images:]
Images by and © 1999 S. Berliner, III
That last picture shows a W/B new LIRR control cab
bi-level going hard by immediately to the south.
The whole area was been changed for a waterfront park
but the marine turntable was preserved; I was over
there for Bay Day, representing Engine #35 and
the Oyster Bay RR Museum, only a few blocks to the
east, on 06 Jun 2004, without a camera, of course (it
was raining), liked what they'd done (new grading, new
ties, new gravel, new visibility), and went back 07
Jun 2004 for more photos:
(07 Jun 04 photos by and © Copyright 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[Thumbnail images - click on pictures for larger images.]
1 - L - view WSW / 2 - R - view W
3 - L - view WNW / 4 - R - view NW
That left picture above is weird! The building
appears to be floating in the air!
5 - L - view NW / 6 - R - view N
There's the trusty Neon above R and below L!
7 - L - view NE / 8 - R - view E
(07 Jun 04 photos by and © Copyright 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[Thumbnail images - click on pictures for larger images.]
9 - L - view NE / 10 - R - view NW
Somebody had the good sense, not only to save the
turntable, but to drag the cradle/carriage/trolley out
of the weeds and re-emplace it. That last shot is
a detail of the "puller" pulleys/sheaves that allowed
the trolley to be moved without a switch loco; one
assumes there was a donkey engine somewhere abouts.
What is missing in all this is that there were huge
marine erecting shops to the N, beyond the end of track
in picture 6; all that's left of Jakobson's Shipyard
now are the two smaller sheds on either side and the
medium sized one to the E (picture 8) and the main
pier, which now houses the Nantucket lightship.
I suppose I should have shot the lightship, as well,
and measured the track of the track (wide-gauge); this
whole scene just begs to be modeled. Back I go!
HOMABED®
HOMABED®,
has been bought out by Richard Jayne, of California
Roadbed, Co., Inc. HOMABED®,
a milled roadbed made from
HOMASOTE® (thick cardboard used for
layouts), is available in scales from G (1:32) down to
Z (1:220).
Straight and curvable sections, turnout blocks, shims,
strips, yard plates, and more, in thicknesses from
0.350" to 0.175", are available.
Speaking of roadbed on which to lay track, don't bother
laying your own any longer! I found the greatest
product imaginable; it's a kit for casting track (really!):
(Photo by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
Just add water; amazing! There are even special
kits for Z-scale and
Z meter gauge (39"):
(Photos{?} by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
What will they think of next!
Whoops, dearie! That first photo, of TRACKS, is of
the S-scale version; Downeast Concepts (DCI) makes the
kit and here's the standard HO TRACK kit:
(19 Dec 08)
(Photo{?} by and © 2008 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
Good thing I caught the discrepancy and made tracks to correct it, eh?
Wouldn't want anyone ordering the wrong kit. Then I'd REALLY
have to make tracks! [This really gives you paws!]
RMC Down the Drain?
(06 Dec 07)
Diversification is one thing, Hal, but this is ridiculous:
(06 Dec 2007 cell phone photo by and © 2007 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
This is the real McCoy, retouched only ever so slightly to overcome
blurriness due to bubbles; believe me also that the urinal was very
well flushed before I took the picture!
Der Herr Eckl's Santa Fé-style Garratt - now here's quite a
kitbash! Gerold Eckl of Vienna, Austria, was able to pick up an
incomplete (rear engine + center section) Fulgurex/PFM/Model Dockyard
model at ebay.de for a few Euros.&nbsdp; He considered attaching a
suitable dummy front engine and, as luck had it, a few weeks later
found another one, at eBay.ch, again, just a rear engine and center
section; he placed a high bid and won at a reasonable price.
Then, it was lost without a trace by the Austrian post!
Fortunately, it showed up after four weeks .... Gerold was really
angry. He then found out that the two engines were from
different runs(!), the German one from the sixties with an open
frame motor; the Swiss one from the seventies, with a can motor and
brake shoes. He converted the older power truck to a can motor,
too, to have identical running characteristics, and then copied the
brass turtleback tender of his ATSF 2-10-10-2 in resin and shortened
the casting to fit one of the trucks, somehow resembling the tank of
the real AD60 class. As he had begun to incorporate Santa Fé
detail, he continued by removing most detail from the center section
and added an Elesco feedwater system, an AT&SF (MDC) cab, pipes, and
AT&SF numberboards, pilots, and headlights. Gerold plans to add
a sound system in the future.
(28 Jan 08)
So, here are the two chassis as received:
(cropped and enhanced from photo by G. Eckl - all rights reserved)
Next, the nearly completed conversion:
(cropped and enhanced from photo by G. Eckl - all rights reserved)
[click on thumbnailed picture for larger image]
The finished masterpiece:
(cropped and enhanced from photo by G. Eckl - all rights reserved)
[click on thumbnailed picture for larger image]
WOW! It can walk on water! And on glass:
(cropped and enhanced from photo by G. Eckl - all rights reserved)
[click on thumbnailed picture for larger image]
Now, tell me this isn't magnificent! My only problem was where
to feature it; it also belongs with the
Berlinerwerke Guest Apocrypha and with the many
Ruhnian State Railways (RSR) apocryphal Garratts (et seq.).
If you like model railroading nonsense (and good tips), take a gander at Jim Wells'
incredible 
and at the AW NUTS Magazine site, "A
Publication of the A.W. N.U.T.S. Garden Railway Society".
THUMBS UP!
THUMBS UP! - Support your local police, fire, and emergency personnel!
S. Berliner, III
To contact S. Berliner, III, please click here.
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2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008,
2009
- All rights reserved.
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