Sternwheeler From the Susquehanna River's Hard Coal Navy by Keith Black - 1:120 Scale

[Cathead]

53 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

I'm seriously looking to move up to HO scale on my next build. 

Welcome to a thoroughly enjoyable scale to work in!

[Keith Black]

59 minutes ago, Cathead said:

Welcome to a thoroughly enjoyable scale to work in!

 Thank you, Eric.

 

 Other than being a bit larger than 1:120, there are many more PE and 3D printed pieces parts available in HO scale but I'll need to buy a HO scale ruler first off. 

[kurtvd19]

Here is a link to where you can get your HO scale ruler, fast, easy & FREE.  Make sure to set your printer to 100%.

https://www.printablerulers.net/category/hobby

[sheepsail]

I am finding this build most inspiring.  Getting a feel for 'scale.'

 

My 'Forester' is 1:128.  Which is way smaller than I wanted.   I am using CAD (lightburn) and a laser to cut part.  It always amazes me when I print them out and they are so small.  I could almost use toothpicks as raw stock.

 

In my research on other local shipwrecks, I learned about the local train ferry's .   At 424 feet these were some of the largest wooden ships built. (Which I find hard to believe. What about the Orient express and cross channel ferries? )  The local ferries could load 4 trains on each. 116 feet wide!   A relation is into Model train's.  I believe mostly in the HO scale.  I asked if anyone ever modeled these.

 

A magazine article showed up in the mailbox from a 'Railroad Model Craftsman'  Noted that the resulting model was over 5 feet.  They also modeled the slipway which used counterweights to load the trains.  So the result was over 9 feet including the rail yard.

 

The remains of these slipways are still visible on the shoreline.

 

One of the ferries was abandoned in Antioch, nearby near the local coal mines. The engine A frames still visible as of 2007.   I think these mines were soft coal.  The article noted that the oil burned to hot, so they had to return to using coal.  They had 4 distinctive smoke stacks and were side wheel powered. The ferries ran from 1879 till the bridge  was built in the 1930s.  The other ferry is buried underneath the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo.   Both completely forgotten. 

 

I had to look up HO scale which is 1:87.  Looks like the toy cars are 1:64 which would be the scale, I was thinking of using for my next model.  I actually have my grid set to 3/16 which means each square in the CAD is 2 feet.  Normally I work in mm scale on pipe organs and watches, so working in inch feet in ways feels strange.

 

Looking at my architect scale and the model at hand it looks like if one was to model one of the ferries, the results would be close to a meter or so in length (I grew up in the 1970s with both systems. Learned like language it is ludicrous to convert between the two.  Just use what ever is more convenient as long as one is not landing on mars.) 

 

Curiously I had to look up the Nemi ships, which I thought were similar is size to the ferries.  Turn out at 70 meters by 20 meters they were half as large.  Since giggle AI tells me this is 230 feet by 60 feet.  Even if 20 meters is 20 meters and the size of the Bocci court in the back yard.  Of course we could use football fields and furlongs, to be just as descriptive. 

 

It is so easy to not get a feel of scale from the photographs of the Hard coal stern wheeler.   This just means that I am in awe of the modeling skills here and look forward to the next installment of this build.  Great work.

 

-julie

 

 

 

 

[Keith Black]

3 hours ago, kurtvd19 said:

Here is a link to where you can get your HO scale ruler, fast, easy & FREE.  Make sure to set your printer to 100%.

https://www.printablerulers.net/category/hobby

 Thank you, Kurt!

 

2 hours ago, sheepsail said:

It is so easy to not get a feel of scale from the photographs of the Hard coal stern wheeler.   This just means that I am in awe of the modeling skills here and look forward to the next installment of this build.  Great work.

 Thank you very much, Julie. And thank you for the entire post, very interesting.