Completing the Gantry Crane

The project is now fairly completed with the addition of a hoist carriage made of several bits of styrene. A first base coat of Krylon black and camouflage brown was sprayed and will give foundation to the weathering.

I can now move on with other projects such as the tugboat and freight station.

The Birth of a Gantry Crane

I'm always surprised how very generic rail-related structures are almost impossible to find on the market. Looks at manufacturers catalog and you won't find a decent-sized gantry crane. None. Too small, Europeand design or the large ones on traveling on beam structure. Look for the ubiquitous model, there's nothing.

So I resorted to kitbash one using parts from a Walthers conveyor kit. I could have entirely scratchbuilt it to be 100% accurate, but I didn't want to go that route. I want a decent representation of Harlem Station gantry crane, not a prize-winning model. Everything came from the junk box, including Bachmann plastic wheel sets (yes, they do have a purpose in life other than be discarded!).

 


I also followed an article in Model Railroader about a similar structure which made my life easier interpreting the picture of the prototype. I'll be honest though... I made what I could to create a believeable mechanism but did go as far as the article. It has the look, but upon closer inspection, the illusion will fall apart if you know how cranes work!

After two days of intense work, I've been able to build the structure. The last thing to be done is the crane motor and hook... and some painting of course.

I'll also have to had two rails on the layout for the crane. I'm not yet decided how I'll do it, but it will probably be some code 100 scraps of flextrack.

1 Concrete Ramp & 4 Grade Crossings

As promised, here is a general overview of different new upgrades on the layout. As you can see on these pictures, the layout is now in its second operation session.

A new styrene concrete ramp now graces the twin team tracks. It follows the prototype as closely as permitted by source material.

Also, two new grade crossings were added according to recent discoveries. They aren't yet weathered and ground cover isn't yet complete.  Also, a third wood and dirt grade crossing will soon be added in front of the freight station.

Finally, another improvement was the addition of coal dust spills over the concrete ramp following prototype picture. They truly help to kill the fake look of concrete and I'm planning to add a little bit more weathering in the long run.

I also started to work on the gantry crane. It isn't an exact replica of the real one at Harlem Station because I did want to use parts I had on hands. However, it follows the general lines and I believe it will work as a decent model.

Sorry, the workshop is a real mess right now!

I'll probably use the same approach about the small coal dealers' structures to save on time and material. While I want the layout to be as close as I want, I still have a time limit to complete the project and Jérôme - the future owner of the layout - want a decent depiction of Harlem Station and not a prize-winning museum model.

On the good side, I found some old suitable models to populate the layout. I still need Erie boxcars thought!

Grade Crossing Festa?

 I once thought until last year only one road access on East 150th Street existed. Photographic evidence quickly demonstrated another one existed on the service road parallel to 149th Street bridge near the pier.

Then Chris revealed last week a third one in front of the station on East 150th Steeet. That made a lot of sense. However, as fellow modeller Jérôme tolf me when he visited, the trucks would have a hard time to turn around the team track concrete ramp. The problem is I didn't fudge the dimensions to fit my need. I followed the prototype and I'm pretty sure I'm not far from reality there.

But Armand Isip, another fellow modeller from New York City, was kind enough to contact me this week and provide links to archives documents available online at NYC Department of Records website.

Among the photos, a very precise city map emerged... and guess what? The grade crossing are drawn... not only three of them, but four!!!

As you may have guessed, the fourth crossing/access road was located right in front of the concrete ramp, eliminating the need for complex truck movements.

Harlem Station Map


Among the nice find are also a set of color pictures from 1983-1988 showing the freight station elevation on East 150th Street intersection. Now, there's absolutely no reason not to start working on this project. And once again, a big thanks to Armand for pointing out these interesting informations and it's a pleasure to share it among other Harlem Station modelers as he requested.

Harlem Station Freight House

Harlem Station Gantry Crane

Updates, Requests & Questions

The project reached a interesting level of completion and some aspects need to be addressed.

 

Updates

Grass and weeds are almost completed. I also started to heavily weather the concrete pads, particularly in the coal dealer areas. It's quite promising and it blends everything together nicely.

I also started to build the concrete ramp out of styrene. It's already in the weathering process and when dry, it will be permanently glued on the layout with epoxy.

Requests

I'm looking for second hand or unbuilt cars to populate the layout, mainly from North Eastern roads. I'm open to any reasonable offer and cars can be old kits or RTR models, as long as they are suitable for the mid-1950s and fit the theme. I have no preference for manufacturers, as long as they are decent. But remember, no trainset quality stuff (Model Power, old Life-Like, Bachman, Tyco, name it).

According to historic pictures of Harlem Station, here is a list of suitable cars to give you an idea of what I'm looking for. Sure, Erie cars should be a priority.

40ft Steel and OSB wood boxcars: mainly Erie, Pennsylvania, Milwaukee Road, Southern, Norfolk & Western, ATSF (Chief, DF), Monon

Steel hoppers (varied prototype): Erie, Pennsylvania, Reading, Lehigh Valley.

40ft & 50ft Flat cars: North Eastern Roadnames.

40ft & 50ft Gondolas: North Eastern Roadnames.

40ft Reefers: FGE (steel, insulated with plugdoor), wine (Chateau Martin, etc.)

Feel free to contact me at matlac@gmail.com

 Here's a more comprehensive list I once made:

Roadname	Type
Erie	Steel boxcar
Erie	OSB boxcar			Accurail 4116
Erie	Twin hopper outside brace		26551
Pennsy	Old 40' steel boxcar	Round Keystone
	Reefer
Pennsy	OSB boxcar 8 panels			Accurail 4304
MILW	OSB boxcar 6 panels			Accurail 7005
D&H	Outside brace steel hopper
C&O	Steel boxcar DD	With the logo
PFE	Wood reefer
	50ft gondola
ATSF	Steel boxcar 50ft	DF logo	11129
N&W	Steel boxcar DD		43384
Pennsy	Twin hopper g panel
Pennsy	Quad hopper 10 panel
Erie	Boxcar	Big logo
ATSF	Steel boxcar	Chief
B&O	Steel boxcar
Ann Arbor	Steel boxcar
Erie	Gondola
Monon	50ft boxcar
PFE	50ft reefer	Yellow
N&W	Steel boxcar	Large lettering
W&M	Rib hopper
CNJ	Steel flat hopper	55 ton
Lehigh Valley	Hopper 55 ton

 

Questions

Chris Schmuck kindly remarked another road crossing existed near the freight house. This area was never documented during Harlem Station's existence.

First: What's the exact location of the crossing (photographic evidence?). Here are two options.

Second: I need information about the freight house. The facade on East 150th Street is never depicted on photos I've seen so far, particularly the 2 storeys part. Any hints or factual information would be appreciated.