Berkshire Valley Models
438 Morgan Woods Dr.
Fenton, MO 63026
www.berkshirevalleymodels.com

Berkshire Valley Models has produced two ore bins in HO. Kit #2016 is the version I assembled and is designed as a truck ramp at $29.95 and Kit #2015 is the mine track version at $25.95. The latter features a length of mine track across the top of the bin; the former, a planked roadway to allow trucks to back onto the bin and dump their loads.

Colorado narrow gauges used such ore bins as many mines were either too small or too remote to justify a track spur for rail service. Further, unlike most model mines, rare was the occasion when an ore bin could conveniently be located adjacent to both a mine and a spur track. So, having ore cars or trucks service a bin makes sense.

The kit consists of laser-cut wood and card components plus a few nut-bolt-washer castings. I easily assembled it in one evening with every part fitting perfectly. But do pay attention to keeping everything square as the instructions suggest. Also note the card side gate pieces fit notch-down on the protruding front timber with card extension wrapping around afterwards. I liked the railing along the roadway, the simulated iron barred grate atop the bin and card chute extension. The latter features were painted with gunmetal, rusted and blackened to look like worn metal. The entire bin received a heavy dusting of black as it will represent a coal bin. I first imparted wood grain with a razor saw and stained the timbers as suggested. I appreciated the small retaining wall included to raise the front to standard gauge height if needed. Very thoughtful.

The result was a lovely and authentic looking source of traffic for a narrow gauge or standard gauge line. Designed for a hillside setting, the extended roadway with mid-trestle bent allows a lot of flexibility in placement. Another winner from Berkshire Valley.
-Charlie Getz.

Dart Castings
17 Hurst Close
Staplehurst, Kent TN12 OBX
www.dartcastings.co.uk

Dart Castings sells a huge range of OO (4mm scale) and O (7mm scale) figures and scenic accessories. Their OO scale line includes horse drawn vehicles, horses, and line side details such as signs, mailboxes, barrels, and animals including cows, squirrels, sea gulls, dogs, goats, pigs, and even a dolphin, to name a few.

There are also some 27 O scale figures sold under the Monty’s Models name, and 14 sports figures just in case you have a Le Mons racetrack on your layout. I have samples of two O scale cast metal figures with separate arms or legs. The first is for a tractor or industrial locomotive driver, and was cast for the Simplex reviewed in the March/April 2021 GAZETTE. The second is of a worker taking a drink of water from a canteen. Each figure sells for £3.95. The minimum mail order is £5.00, so I ordered two figures.

You can pay via PayPal making things easy since PayPal will do the currency conversion. My figures arrived in about 10 days.

I have just touched the surface of the range of parts available from Dart Castings. All are British, but the horse drawn vehicles, horses, animals, and most of the figures, and many of the scenic accessories are usable in an American scene. Well worth checking Dart Castings’ web site.
pBob Brown.

Walthers
5601 West Florist Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53218
www.walthers.com

Walthers released its Ranch Tract House in HO and N some years back. I assembled the HO brick version (Kit #933-3777, $24.98) although it is also available as a framed version (#933-3775, $24.98). Note the N scale version is brick only. One-story ranch-style houses first appeared in the 1920s and are associated with the American West. This design worked perfectly for the rapid expansion in housing required in the 1940-50s and soon became ubiquitous around the country. I lived in a very similar house in Albuquerque as a child in 1952, and the design of the kit is very true to what I recall.

The kit is composed entirely of good quality styrene parts and a piece of acetate for glass. All of the styrene parts fit perfectly. I used Testor’s plastic cement to quickly assemble the parts using the illustrated simple instruction sheet. I painted the walls a buff color with white windows and a salmon color door. Very 1940s. The shingled roof was painted a warm green and dusted with a matching weathering powder, although the house itself was not weathered. I added lead foil flashing around the chimney and painted the interior of the walls black in case I decide to light the house. I especially appreciated the inclusion of rain gutters and downspouts plus window treatments. Though not a railroad structure, this little one-day project will date your layout, provide a place for your workers to live and bring memories to your visitors. I really enjoyed assembling it.
-Charlie Getz.

Berkshire Valley Models
438 Morgan Woods Dr.
Fenton, MO 63026
www.berkshirevalleymodels.com

Berkshire Valley Models sells O scale kits of the Yankee Girl Mine for $159.95 each. The prototype was once located between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado and the ruins of the Yankee Girl Mine still stand on Red Mountain Pass. In its heyday this mine was one of the best producing properties in the Red Mountain Mining District. This vertical shaft mine worked the claim filed by John Robinson in 1882 to work a large subterranean quartz bloom. The ore was so rich it was able to bypass preliminary processing, and was shipped directly to the smelter. The mine was initially shut down in 1898 when silver prices plummeted, and the country went on the gold standard, however, it was briefly reopened up until 1914 in a last ditch effort to continue ore production. The Yankee Girl provided the focal point for the mining camp that would be called Guston, which at its height would have a population of 300.

The prototype is interesting, since it consists of a patchwork of sheathing over a frame built over the head frame. This angular structure, while eye-catching and unusual, was designed to protect the hoist frame’s structure and machinery from the often harsh weather seen in the Colorado Rockies. The kit for the Yankee Girl mine is now offered by Berkshire Valley Models in both O and HO scale. The model is assembled around a laser-cut plywood core over which scribed basswood panels are laminated. A nicely laid out set of instructions, as well as a series of drawings, make building this seemingly complex model very straight forward.

As with most laser-cut kits, construction begins with the prep-work. In this case, the core pieces were sealed with sanding sealer and sanded smooth, while the exterior panels and beams were stained with a solvent based penetrating stain. Once dry, the sheathed carcass was complete in only a few hours. The doors and windows are laser cut from laser board and their framing was stained with good results. The window framing and hoist sheave were primed and painted prior to being added to the model.

The corrugated roofing is ribbed aluminum sheathing. It was cut to 8-foot lengths and pre-painted with a base coat of red oxide primer followed by an over spray of matte dark brown. Each of the roofing panels was held in place using double sided tape laid over the roofing substrate in strips. Once the roofing was complete, the entire surface was dry-brushed with a light tan acrylic craft paint.

A small, square hoist house is provided, which is assembled using the same techniques as the main structure. Once both structures were completed, they were attached to a base and connected with a cable (string provided) which runs from the spindle in the interior of the hoist house to the sheave at the top of the hoist. Overall, the fit of the parts was perfect. Among the drawings is a plate showing how the prototype structure was laid out which can be duplicated in any number of configurations.

The finished Yankee Girl Mine building has a rough footprint of 2½ x 8 inches and the hoist house measures 3 inches square. Since the prototype was served by the Silverton Northern Railroad, provisions can be made to include a railroad spur, or the mine can provide outbound ore, over the road, in wagon loads. The model in no small part due to its height, being over a foot tall in O scale, has a presence much larger than its rather modest footprint. The Yankee Girl Mine kit provides the model builder a historically accurate model of the silver rush era in Colorado which can be finished as it would have appeared when new, or in disrepair.
-George Riley.