As part of my extensive studies that are looking at the interconnectedness between our industrialized society and the
Earth that is so tellingly showing the residual effects of centuries
of our use and abuse,I'm constructing an interactive, historically relevant "miniature
village". I'll incorporate cross-curricular components of geology, science, history, math, geography, social, economic and
environmental studies to paint what will hopefully be a somewhat telling story of how we got to this point in time and what
it all means for the world of tomorrow.
There will be detailed reports on all sorts of Industry, Transportation, Commerce and their accompanying social/environmental
impacts. But the first aspect I'll touch on, (chronologically) will be the Steam Era.
Steam power's certainly not to be sniffed at. Nothing in the entire history of our money making species had ever propelled
such a sudden industrial expansion, as STEAM did in the earliest days of our industrial revolution. STEAM would remain the
driving force of the world's commercial backbone for a full century, before the mighty diesels would shove into the fore.
Detailed reports to include:
Port Arthur, Duluth & Western Railway
The PD Railway This little landmark railway, although long gone, has left an indelible mark on this area, both historically
and physically.
DMIR Steam Loco
Two Harbors, Minnesota
Casey Jones
Casey Jones
108 Year Old Thomas Edison Video
3 Spot and Caboose
Two Harbors, Minnesota
Old West Towns
Steam Tug Boats
Railroad Tug Boats
No harbor scene would be complete without a powerful tug boat moving barges and floats and keeping the harbor in action. And
let's face it, tug boats are fun!
The Railroad Tug Boat is a necessity if the idle ore-boats are to get from one place to another. Because of the importance
of tugs in making rail-marine connections, many railroads owned their own boats, in railroad paint schemes. Also, some specialized
tug boats have reinforced hulls that allow them to push more than one Carfloat. They also have high pilot houses so that the
boat captain can see over freight cars on the floats.
Wooden Coaling Tower
Coaling Towers No. 76 is running late today and its engineer, KC, is trying to make up time. Fireman Joe is working
nonstop, heaving shovel after shovel of coal into the firebox to keep the 2-6-2 Prairie traveling at 60 mph over the Kansas
plains. Just outside of Lawrence they roll to a stop to refill the nearly empty tender. As soon as KC jockeys the locomotive
into position, Joe climbs up and grabs the dangling chain and a fresh load of coal tumbles down the chute into the tender.
Echoing off the steel chamber, it sounds like a stampeding herd of the buffalo once common on the plains. When the tender
is full, another yank on the chain sends the chute back up to its resting place, ready for the next hungry locomotive. KC
releases a burst of steam and the engine chugs up the track to take on water and sand. The rest stop is short and soon No.
76 is back on track and back on time.
Pierre Burton
Canada Moves West: An Omnibus
Outhouses
OldTimey Newspaper Printer
Antique Printing Press
Minnesota Center For Book Arts
Apothecaries
DM&IR
DMIR BigBoy Loco
Two Harbors, Minnesota
Wooden Water Tanks
Steam Era Water Tanks Water was power in the days of steam. Thousands of gallons were needed to keep engines hot
and railroads moving. As steam engines grew larger and more powerful, their demand for water increased. In the 1920s, many
railroads replaced smaller wooden tanks with all-steel designs, but I'll stick with the wooden tank for this area of my project
layout. Because such large capacity tanks were usually constructed away from the tracks, they supplied water to thirsty locomotives
via standpipes, which could be erected where they were needed most. Many of these water tanks had a finite shelf-life, but
the steel tanks lasted beyond the days of steam and still supply water to shops or other company facilities.
