The following just scream out to be modelled somewhere on the layout. They were snapped when Marion & I visited Shanty Town and the Charming Creek branchline (2010).
Derelict hut. (Shanty Town)
Ah Lee’s Market Garden. (Shanty Town)
Rail corridor through dense West Coast bush. (Charming Creek)
Moonlight Creek. (Charming Creek)
Remains of the loco workshop. (Charming Creek)
To be built on 4 1200mm.x300mm. sections:
(i) Paparoa (settlement, NZR railhead); rail corridor thru dense West Coast bush
(ii) The Bins: coal bin and (sawn) lumber loading dock (this is the first section to be built). Enter Stage Left: dense West Coast bush; Moonlight Creek tressle bridge; Moonlight Creek; derelict hut in bush; yard – Inglenook track plan (to include: track inspection pit, open/out door workshed with brick furnace); lumber loading dock (wood chips, stacks &c.); Bins; elevated tressle and workmen.
(iii) Dense West Coast bush and Munn’s Sawmill (abandonded mineshafts – Mine #1; Chinese market garden; sawmiller’s huts; creek)
(iv) Even more dense West Coast bush; Moonlight Creek Coal Mine.
Period: 1930s-1950s The Sugar-Bag Years to the End of the Golden Wether.
Operation: Inglenook shunting on a (simplified) trackplan of Charming Creek Coal Co. Railway.
Trouble at Mill!
The late 1920s was not a good time to start a mine. The demand for coal dropped during the Depression, and there was fierce competition for sales. The directors of the Moonlight Creek Coal Co. were prepared to undercut the price of coal from the longer established mines at Paparoa and Roa. Because no other jobs were available, Moonlight Creek miners were forced to accept a form of contract work known as the tribute system, which was strongly opposed by the large mining unions. This was to lead to an ugly confrontation.
In the early hours of 26 May 1931, more than 200 miners, led by union officials from the Paparoa and Roa mines, trekked up the Moonlight Creek railway, arriving just as work was about to start. They frog-marched the Moonlight Creek miners back to Paparoa where they were forced to leave the district, under police escort, showered, with what The Grey River Argus termed, “Irish confetti” (bricks or stones).
The government sent police to restore order, and the protest leaders were subsequently arrested and fined. Within a few weeks the Moonlight Creek mine was working again, but the events were to leave a legacy of mistrust that persisted for decades. Over the years a number of private mines opened in the area, but the miners there remained apart from the strongly unionised miners south of the Grey River.
Black Diamonds
Drilling and detailed geological surveys had shown the presence of a sizeable area of coal in the headwaters of Moonlight Creek in 1911-12. This was outlined, in yellow, on the map in the Annual Report of the Mines Department for 1912 (known, in later years, as ‘the Yellow Blob’). This could have been an extension of the nearby State Mine, but in 1913 the government decided to cut its losses and abandon the area.
After the closure of the State Mine in 1914 there was considerable private interest in obtaining a lease to mine this coal-bearing area. The problem was how to transport the coal from an inaccessible area surrounded by dense forest. Local sawmiller Walter Sullivan, who had constructed a bush railway up the Kokiri Gorge to his small mill near the mouth of Moonlight Creek in 1912, proposed to extend this 4 kms upstream to the coal. Finance for the railway extension and mine development was raised by a share issue, and the Moonlight Creek mine started producing coal in 1929.
The Moonlight Creek mine (1929-1986) was to become one of the longest-lived mines in New Zealand. At its peak in the 1940s it employed 70 men, producing over 40,000 tonnes a year. Total production was over a million tonnes.
The first lease over the Moonlight Creek area was taken out by Robert Watson (Granity) and Francis Harriet James (Wellington). As Mrs James was the wife of the General Manager of the State Coal Mines, this caused “considerable comment“. But as State Coal Mines had declined to work the area a decade earlier, there was hardly a case for conflict of interest.
The mine was remote from the nearest settlements. Some of the miners lived in Kokiri, and had an 8-km bush walk to work every day. The rest lived in Paparoa, and rode to work in the empty mine tubs. A road to the mine from Kokiri was opened in 1948, and miners were transported by bus.
The Area
Paparoa Range (Maori: “long place”) extends for 29 miles south-south-west from the lower Buller Gorge, between the Grey and Inangahua Valleys and Tasman Sea and the coastal plains, and reaches 4,925 ft at Mount Uriah, with many other peaks exceeding 4,000 ft. Glacial action in the past has produced sharp ridges, steep cliffs, and cirques, and many of the deeply incised rivers and streams have glaciated forms. With an annual rainfall of 150–200 in., the range is clothed in thick podocarp forest up to about 3,500 ft, a thin narrow belt of subalpine scrub giving way to mountain grasses on the tops. On poor soils these grassed areas can be as low as 1,000 ft.
The range is part of a complex, faulted anti-clinorium from which the softer Tertiary and Mesozoic sediments have been mainly stripped, exposing a core of granite and pre-Cambrian greywacke, argillite, and gneiss. Mount Buckley (1,145 ft) is a continuation of the structure south of Grey River. The Papahaua Range north of the Buller Gorge is a geological continuation, the gorge being cut as these ranges were uplifted during the early Pleistocene.
Significant coal deposits have been found in the Paparoa Range, with the Blackball Branch/Roa Incline and the Rewanui Branch railways built to provide access to the mines. Although these branch lines are now closed, they were famous for their usage of the Fell mountain railway system to aid braking for trains descending the Inclines (though this was not a full use of the Fell system like the North Island’s Rimutaka Incline). Gold has been worked on a small scale on the southern end and, more recently, uraniferous deposits have been investigated in the Buller River, Fox River, and Bullock Creek catchments.
Numerous species of flora and fauna are found in the Paparoa Range, as well as lower slopes and valleys below. One of the significant understory elements of the floral palette is the fern Blechnum discolor.
A portion of the range is protected as the Paparoa National Park.
Back in the early 90s, when I first became interested in model railroading, I chanced upon a layout in the British Railway Press by Chris Elliot. It was an elegant and very functional roundy-roundy in N gauge. It weighed in at 4×3 feet (not micro, but … wot the hey!) and was specifically designed by/for an English bed-sit railroad modeller.
It was the potential the layout had that was appealing. A hillside scenic divide broke the module into three distinct modelling scenes (4 if you include the tunnel through the divide); and, whilst Chris’ layout was 1960s American branchline, it could just as easily have been the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island (the Mainland).
What is it about the West Coast? Dunno, but I know I just like it.
Suffice to say, the inspiration for Paparoa and the Moonlight Creek Coal Co. Railway comes from Chris Ellis’ design; it is simply a reduction of the original roundy-roundy plan to its linear schematic. So, thanks, Mr. Ellis.
Whilst Paparoa is a fictional West Coast railhead (allows for whimsey, afterall), it is solidly based on prototypical practice (the Charming Creek Coal Mine railway and Munn’s Sawmill tramway, West Coast, New Zealand).
What follows are just some of the details (that I have to date) pertaining to the Moonlight Creek Coal Co. Railway.
Gary asked if he saw a De lurking about on the UEB Siding.
Well, yes, you did; and here is a way better photo. Currently, she needs to be numbered (choice of either: 1366, 1389, 1412, 1429 or 1458 – all who worked the southern Mainland from 1981-89); heavily weathered and receive a damned good DullCoating (although most of the shine is a result of the camera’s in-built flash).
Enjoy.
I am discovering that model railway layouts are organic wee beasties, especially during the planning stage. After the trials and tribulations (and the occasional bloodied finger) yesterday, Messrs Bodgeit & Hackit stood back … and said “it is Good!”
In the cold light of day, however, something was just … not “Good!” The UEB siding is located in a narrow rail corridor (see below); and, as the layout currently stands, there is just way too much exposed real estate in the foreground to make it feel anywhere near claustrophobic enough.
Although UEB Siding was originally designed as a stand alone layout, the decision has now been made for it to conform to NZ120 FreeMo standards, which, effectively kills two birds with one stone. Moving the mainline centerline forward to be 100mm. in from the layout edge significantly shortens the amount of real estate out front. It also allows for the UEB warehouses to gain some added depth so they can now be modeled in more detail than was previously intended.
Secondly, moving everything forward allows for the electrics to be hidden inside one of the warehouses, thus obviating the need to go under the layout (something I was very concerned about).
Will it still be “Good!”tomorrow? Well, as the old adage goes: Good, Better, Best/Never let it rest/’Til your Good is Better/And your Better Best.
Today the first sod of turf was turned on the construction of the United Empire Box Co. Ltd. Siding layout.
The Baseboard:
In keeping with the theme of a box company, my primary construction materials are all paper products (or derivatives thereof).
Naturally, the framework is a cardboard box file. I have wanted to build a layout from foam core art board for some time now, so here is my chance. A 5mm. thick foam core sheet was butchered to fit snug inside the box file, leaving a 5mm. gap at the rear to slot a scenic backboard in.
Removing the box file’s inside spring clamp was easy enough; however the riveted mounting plate was another matter entirely. Messrs Bodgeit & Hackit were all for employing sheer brute force to leaver it out. I am happy to say, wiser heads prevailed. Using a pair of snub-nose pliers I was able to bend the offending flanges back upon themselves, and the judicious use of a C-Clamp forced them into position flush with the mounting plate.
As I intend to use scenic contours cut from 1-2mm. cardboard, covered with a hardshell of paper mache, I wanted the baseboard height to be approximately three scale feet below the lip of the file box. (I now know I was overly generous with this measurement, but it can be packed with the contours so the terrain undulates gently at a height of +/-6 scale inches rather than being a uniformly flat billiard table.)
As I did not remove the mounting plate, nor the plastic catch lock at the front of the box file (this too is riveted), I simply cut the baseboard to fit around them.
Foam core art board is a relatively strong material to work with, especially in NZ120 where weight is minimal. I cut two supporters and PVA’d them to the inner side walls of the box file, creating a lip for the baseboard to sit on. I was, however, concerned it still might sag without further support, so I cut another two and hot glued these to the underside of the baseboard. For the moment, the baseboard is not permanently glued down in place. This is to allow me some time to think about how I am going to wire the layout (and allow for easy access when I do so).
Well, that’s the state of play … for the moment. I still have to coat the foam core baseboard with PVA to create a water-resistant surface, but that’s a task for another day.
The United Empire Box Co. Ltd. siding calls for two warehouse structures to be clad in corrugated iron. Invented in 1820 by Henry Palmer, corrugated galvanised iron soon became a common construction material in rural areas in the United States, Australia and New Zealand … where today it has become a part of the national cultural identity.
Corrugated iron sheets, during the era I intend to model, were 27.5 inches wide (and between 60-72 inches in length). In NZ120 1 scale foot=2.5mm, therefore 2.3 scale feet (27.5 inches)= 5.75mm (you could round this down to 5.5mm). There are 4 peaks per lineal foot (one peak every 2.9 inches), so one peak every 0.5 mm. is close enough.
To make a corrugating jig, cut a piece of thin but sturdy art card the size of one scale sheet, mark off every 0.5mm at the top and bottom, and “connect the dots” with a fine scribe. Take thin fuse wire, cut to length and straighten each strand with a pair of tweazers. Coat the card sheet with a thin application of white glue and allow this to almost set (you want it tacky). Lay the fuse wire into the scribed lines (every 0.5mm.) making sure they are parallel and do not touch one another. Allow to dry, and your jig is now finished.
For iron, I have found that aluminum baking foil can (sometimes) be too thin to work with. Aluminum pie plates/baking trays found in your local supermarket cooking supplies dept. are a sturdier material, but they may not take the jig impression all that well. When I find a good source of (inexpensive yet strong) foil, I will let you know.
Cut individual sheets of foil slightly wider (+0.5mm) than the scale sheet size, lay it on the jig and burnish gently with a cotton bud (if using the pie plate/baking tray foil you will need to apply some pressure for it to “peak” properly). And … Voila! One sheet of corrugated iron. Only 99 more to go.
Corrugated iron is meant to be laid alternately lap up, lap down, which gives a one and a half corrugation overlap, but with the laps facing in opposite directions.
Nails can be simulated by dimpling the underside of your corrugated sheet with a sharp(ish) pencil point. If you do intend to go this far, it is best to lightly pencil in the line you wish to follow on the underside of the sheet before jigging it. In common practice there is a nail every second or third peak at the lower edge of the roof and where the ends of sheets overlap. Other nails, including at the edge of the ridging, are at every fourth peak.
The beauty of individual sheets (as opposed to a single sheet of styrene, for example) is that you can peel back an edge every so often to create a distressed wall or roof effect.
