Kittatinny Mountain RR

Lets take a ride along the KMRR

2011-06-13T11:53:00.001-04:00

I made my first video of the Kittatinny Mt. RR. t was first attemp with windows movie maker. Grab a drink and relaxe as you take a ride along the Kittatinny Mt. RR.

Click on links below:
Riding On Top Of A Log Car
A Day On The Kittatinny Mt. RR

Spring has arrived

2011-06-11T15:32:00.000-04:00

It seemed like spring would never arrive in the Kittatinny Mountains. The first two months of spring brought cooler temps and rain. Not good for running trains but great for the plants. I also had a club meet on the Kittatinny Mt. RR (Pocono Mountin Garden Railroad Society). Thank god that was one of the very few days this spring that brought great weather - Sun and warm temps. Here are a few highlights of the day.

Time

2011-05-22T16:07:00.000-04:00

Time sure goes by fast. Last time I posted the Kttitinny RR was still dealing with snow. Since this past winter the Kittatinny Mountain RR has added a few new buildings and cars. I also moved some buildings around to different locations on the RR. Some of the new structures that were built is a train station, oil tank, logging bunks, Spar tree, water tower and a cabin.

The first structure to be built over the winter was a new sawmill. The old mill was a portable sawmill and much smaller. A larger one was needed. The new sawmill was built using cedar. It was moved to the Hainsville Yard

The Walpack Train Station was the next structure built. The RR is mainly a logging RR but it still needed a train station for those visitors who want to come out to the forest for recreation or visit the loggers. Over on Large Scale Central http://www.largescalecentral.com/ was a build contest with rules (you had to use what was on hand and only could spend $10 for extras). I was able to creat a station using what I had around and ended up not having to spend a dime. I wanted to build something rustic and small that would fit in with the landscape. The station was built using red cedar.

Next I built an oil tank. The tank is from a Hartland mini series tank car. I then added supports and a plateform using cedar.

I aslo wanted to change the logging camp around and move some structures around. I started off by building some new bunks (4 total) I removed one of the older larger bunks to the Hainsville Yard and the other was kept in the camp as a tool shed. I also reworked the spar tree by placing it in the camp and detailing it. The bunks were made from poplar. Poplar is not the best wood for outdoors but I found using thompson water seal will protect the wood for many years.

Bunks being transported from the Hainsville Yard.

Bunks are being moved in place using a steam donkey.

Bunks in place.

Spar Tree moved to the camp.

The calendar says Spring????

2011-03-28T18:15:00.001-04:00

The KMRR ended winter with 70 degree temps and the first day of Spring was March 20th. At least that's what the calendar said. I find it hard to believe especially the first week of Spring brought two snow storms to the KMRR. Once again the crew had to get the plow out to clear the line.\

Once the line was plowed and the snow stopped the Climax went out on the line.

Never Ending Winter

2011-02-08T19:27:00.000-05:00

Since the end of December the Kittatinny Mountain RR has been experiencing a harsh winter. Snow and cold temps have been the norm. Every few days a storm system has been moving in, covering the main line and suspending operations from time to time.

The winter started out very cold in December and then by the end of December, just after Christmas a blizzard hit the east coast and the Kittatinny Mountain RR. Here are some scenes along the RR:

LGB Forney with an Arsito plow waiting at the Hainsville Yard. Start of snow.

Forney plowing snow

Russell Homestead

AFter the storm the crew cleared the tracks

Once the line was cleared it was time to run trains

It was time to bring out the Hartland Big John.

Next my scratch built Class A Climax. (Build log coming soon)

After the first storm the snow just kept piling up to the point were the line had to be closwed for the season. here the last shot of the Big John making its way through the deep snow cut.

Structures

2010-12-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

Now it is time to look at some of the structures on the Kittatinnny Mountain RR. When I designed the railroad my goal was to have a backwoods feel to the railroad. In order to do this I had to limit the amount of structures on the railroad. The Kittatinny Mountain RR is broken into three main areas: the yard, logging camp, and the logging area.

The first and most developed area of the layout is the Hainsville Yard. Within the yard is an engine house, general store, loading dock, logging office, a backwoods fueling station, water tower and an oil tank. All the structures were scratch built using wood.

Next is the the logging camp and sawmill. The logging camp is called Kittatinny Camp. The structures in this area house the workers after spending the day in the woods. It is also the area that the cut logs get sent to be ripped into boards for building materials. The Sawmill is a backwoods portable sawmill called Snooks Lumber Mill. Again, everything was scratch built.

The next area of the layout is the logging area. This is the newest area of the layout and still needs a lot more work to get the look of a logging scene. I started off with a spar tree. Spar tree is a long straight tree that the sawyers cut all the branches off until they have a long pole. Attached to the pole is a log loader and a high line. The trees are cut then brought to the log loader via a high line. Then the logs get loaded onto the log cars. A steam donkey powers the entire system.

In order to protect the valuable timber, the railroad needed a way to catch the fires before they burned down the forest. The railroad has a fire tower on top of the highest point of the layout. The fire tower is called Culvers Tower and is scratch built.

Also in the layout I have a backwoods cabin. I call it old man Russell's homestead. It consists of a cabin, windmill and outhouse. Future plans call for a small barn and some animals.

The Kittatinny Mountains have many springs that come out off the mountains and in the early days the settlers would build spring houses. The purpose of the spring house is to keep food cold during the summer months. The settlers would dig out the spring and build a structure over it.

Rolling Stock

2010-08-24T12:36:00.047-04:00

Now it's time to look at some of the rolling stock that the Kittatinny Mt. RR uses on the line. The roster is not large because it is mainly a logging line that is just getting by. There is no need for standard gauge cars, plus I never saw a point in having more cars than I would know what to do with. Let's start with the roster.

First on the list is a Bachmann log car. The KMRR owns three of the logcars. These are the main cars used to transport the cut timber from the woods to the sawmill. The only thing done to the cars was some weathering. Most of my weathering is done using the Krylon camo paints. I first use a light spray of black followed by a light spray of camo tan. It is a fast and cheap way to weather and looks pretty good (at least I think so).

The RR needed a way to transport balast and fire wood so they purchased a Gondola. It is from the Bachmann 20ft series. This car was weathered and larger trucks and wheels were added.

Next on the list is a Bachmann boxcar from the big hauler series. This was one of the first cars to receive a makeover. It was painted and weathered. Because of its large size it is not used much on the RR. (I prefer to run shorter cars like the 20ft series cars.

Since the Bachmann Box Car is too long for my taste I decided to pick up a Hartland Boxcar and a Bachman 20ft Boxcar. Both cars are almost indentical in size. The Hartland (on left) and Bachmann (on right) were repainted and weathered and on the Bachmann I added larger trucks and wheels. The Hartland shows the Kittatinny logo while the Bachmann has the Allegany Valley logo. They both transort supplies to the camp.

The KMRR also owns three flat cars. The flats are all Hartland flat cars kitbashed. They were re-painted and real wood boards were added to the flats. For $14 each I couldn't pass these flats up. The flats are used to haul the cut timber from the sawmill to the industry area. They are also used to haul logs and anything else that will fit.

The Kittatinny Mt. RR has three cabooses to add to the end of the train. The first one is a Bachmann 2 axle logging caboose. This was repainted and all the plastic rails were replaced with metal ones. I also used masking tape on the roof to make it look like tar.

The second one is an aristo bobber caboose I got for free when purchasing the Rogers. I converted this one from a two axle to a four axle, and repainted and weathered it. Since the picture was taken I added steps to the car and am now waiting for decals.

Forest fires are common in the Kittatinny Mountains, especially in the spring and fall seasons. The RR needed a way to protect all the valuable timber. The crew built two fire cars: a fire-fighting car and a work caboose. Both cars were built from a Hartland flatcar. This was my first attempt at making cars from wood.

I have always liked the look of short 2 axle cars and the KMRR needed some smaller rolling stock for the porter to pull. Not many companies make the 2 axle cars. I believe LGB and Aristo are the only two. I went with the Aristo. As of now the KMRR has two flats and one boxcar. The flats were redone like the Hartland flats: painted, weathered, and added wood decking . There are no photos of the boxcar but as soon as I get one I will post it here.

Winters can be harsh in the mountains, averaging about 65 inches of snow for the season. The RR needs a way to keep the tracks clear especially since winter is logging time and the cars need to move. I built this small plow car using a Hartland mini series gondola. I used a block of wood faced with a metal coffee can and a light. This plow is now out of service and plans are in the works for a new one.

The last set of cars is part of the Hartland mini series. These are great little cars and very affordable especially for someone just starting out. I like to use these cars as my industrial cars. They are not based off of any real cars so scale is very small when compared to the other rolling stock. For information see this site:

http://archive.mylargescale.com/articles/articles/philjensen/PhilJensen14.asp
In this series the RR has three log cars, four ore cars and a caboose.

The Kittatinny RR also owns a Pennsylvania RR refrigerator car and passenger car. Both eventually will be repainted with the KMRR logo and will be put in service.

Roster

2010-02-19T12:14:00.043-05:00

The Kittatinny Mountain RR is mainly a logging operation but does some mining and limited passenger service. There are seven engines on the KMRR as well as logging cars, box cars, passenger cars, ore cars and a gondola. The KMRR also ownes a few line cars like a work caboose and a fire fighting car.

The first engine on the roster is an 0-4-0 Porter. The Porter mainly hauls the ore cars from the mine and sometimes will take a load of flats to the sawmill. This particular Porter was from the LGB value starter set and has been kitbashed into a saddle tank porter.

Next on the roster is the Hartland Big John. There is no known prototype to this engine but rather a fictitious back-woods geared locomotive somewhere between a Climax and Heisler engine. It is also very similar to the Dunkirk engine. For more information see: http://archive.mylargescale.com/articles/articles/philjensen/PhilJensen17.asp The Big John also got a makeover. It was repainted and more detail was added to give it a more realistic look.

The third engine that was added to the roster was a Hartland Mack engine. This little engine is the only gas powered locomotive on the line. It is not used much on the line but when used it pulls the ore cars to and from the mine. The engine was repainted and weathered.

Next on the list is a used REA Rogers (now made by Aristo Craft) This is a great little engine and fits in nicely on my logging line. This engine also got a makeover. I added more details and repainted the engine. It originally had a coal bunker on the back. I felt a tender on the back would look better plus it is the only engine with a tender on the line.

After buying the above Rogers I decided to get a new Aristo Rogers. It is basicaly the same engine with a few differences in the motor etc.... This engine has not had a makeover yet but future plans are to add details like the above Rogers and weather it.

The newest addition to the KMRR is the LGB Forney. The Big John and this engine are the two strongest pullers and mainly pull the log cars to the mill. Like the other engines, this one was also re-painted, weathered and details added.

The loggers needed a way to get from the camp to the cutting area. Rather than take a large steam engine, the loggers would take a rail car. The KMRR has a Hartland Woody with a trailer. This rail car will eventually get a makeover but I'm not sure what I want to do with it yet.

Of course I can"t forget: Thomas the Tank Engine will occasionally make an appearance.

That"s the completed roster for the Kittatinny Mountain RR. In the future I plan on making a Class A Climax to add to the roster. Next time we will look at some of the rolling stock.

History of the Kittatinny Mountains

2009-09-16T14:40:00.014-04:00

The Kittatinny Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains, is Native American for "Endless Mountains". The Kittatinny Mountains are actually a long ridge extending north into New York and to the south into Pennsylavania. When the ridge crosses into New York it is referred to as the Shawangunk Mountains and to the south in Pennsylvania the ridge is known as the Blue Mountains. In New Jersey the average elevation is 1500ft. The highest point, High point is 1803 ft. Along the Kittatinny Mountains there are a few gaps. The biggest and most popular is the Delaware Water Gap. The second largest is Culvers Gap. These gaps played an important role for the area because they were the easiest ways for man to get into the Kittatinny Mountains, especially via railroad, as the grades were minimal.

In the mid 1800s the Kittatinny Mountains had very few industries. Farming was poor due to the rocky terrain and harsh conditions along the ridge tops. Because farming was not successful in the Kittatinny Mountains, the area remained heavily forested. This lead to the charcoal burning and timber industries. The construction of canals and the railroad lead to intensive cutting of the kittatinny Mountains by providing cheap access to markets. (Railroads were never used to gain access into the Kittatinny Mountains. For logging operations, wood was transported via sleds/horses during the winter). The local railroads were used to transport passengers and dairy.

Since the Kittatinny Mountains played an important role in the logging industry, there was a need for sawmills. Throughout the Kittatinny Mountains sawmills sprung up mainly along the area streams like the Flatbrook and Stony Brook.

Today the Kittatinny Mountains have recovered from all the deforestation and is now all publicly owned land, (Stokes State Forest, High Point State Park and the Delaware Water Gap National Park)

The Kittatinny Mountain Railroad focuses loosly on the logging industry of the area.

Sussex Railroad

2009-09-16T08:06:00.006-04:00

The Kittatinny Mountain Railroad is mainly a logging/mining railroad with limited freight and passenger service. I was looking to model a local railroad but found it would be very time consuming and expensive to build everything that was prototype to the local railroads. After doing research on my local railroads I discovered that there was the Sussex Railroad. The last stop for this railroad ended in the town of Branchville, not far from the Kittatinny Mountains. I also read that there was a proposed extension of the Branchville line that would pass through the Kittatinny Mountains and end at the Delaware River. The line was surveyed but the plans never left paper. The Kittatinny Mountain RR is a an extension of the Branchville line. This allowed me to be more flexible when building my layout. I now was able to create my own structures and use my own engines/rolling stock. To read more about the Sussex Railroad: http://www.newtonnj.net/Pages/railroad.htm