2014 Reference Photos for modeling and weathering

[Ray Dunakin]

I finally finished posting a report on my latest adventure, exploring old mines and ghost towns in Nevada and the Mojave desert:

www.raydunakin.com/Site/Nevada_Trip_2014_Part_One.html

Lots of good modeling reference here, especially mines, mills, weathering, etc. Railroad-related items of interest include a cabin made from a narrow gauge box car at Buckhorn Mine, and a wooden Las Vegas & Salt Lake RR caboose at Rhyolite. I also got detailed photos of a Skagit B-20 Logging and Loading Donkey, which was being used to operate a steep aerial tram at the Gray Eagle Mine. There's also some other vintage equipment and vehicles.

Sites I visited this year include:

Viking Mine, CA
Buckhorn Mine, CA
Saline Valley, CA
Gray Eagle Mine, CA
Bunker Hill Mine, CA
North Star Mines, NV
Black Hawk Mine, NV
Silver Gulch Mine, NV
Belleville, NV
Reward Mine, NV
Warner Corral, NV
Gunmetal Mine, NV
Turquoise Bonanza Mine, NV
Simon, NV
Rawhide Ranch, NV
Illinois Mill, NV
Illinois Mine, NV
Quartz Mountain and the San Rafael Mine, NV
Broken Hills Mine, NV
West Lodi Mine, NV
Victory Mine, NV
Buffalo Summit, NV
Knickerbocker, NV
Ione, NV
Pigeon Springs, NV
Sylvania Mountain Mine, NV
Log Spring, NV
Olsen's Folly, NV
Willow Spring, CA
Bonnie Claire, NV
Thorp's Well, NV
Rhyolite, NV
Death Valley Junction, CA
Danby, CA

I've also added a lot of new photos to my Modeler's Resource pages:

www.raydunakin.com/Site/Modelers_Resource.html

These are images of weathered wood, metal, steel drums, and much more -- all great reference for modeling and weathering.

[TRM]

Thank you Ray!! What an invaluable resource for weathering!! The weathered woods are awesome!! Thanks for sharing!!

[elco]

Great, gonna bookmark this one. I am always looking with a modelers eye to everything

[dupes]

Oh, very cool! Bookmarked!

[Leon]

Thanks for sharing Ray,bookmarked.

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks!

BTW, one of the more amusing things I saw on this trip was an open-air toilet made from a small steel drum (looked like about 20-30 gallons), with a toilet seat bolted to it, and handles made from horseshoes:





I can't help wondering why it needed handles -- perhaps to keep the user from "blasting off"??

I may try modeling one of these for a mine on my railroad.

[TRM]

That is priceless there Ray!!!

[afvfan]

I imagine those handles were a welcome addition when it came time to empty the can.

[Ray Dunakin]

After thinking about it a bit, my guess is that the handles are so it can easily be moved when the shallow hole fills up. (The bottom of the can is cut out.)

[deafpanzer]

Loved the last pic... made me chuckle! Can't beat the view you get to see from it than being stuck inside one of those portable potty!