Books Available from Western Scale Models

Western Scale Models is proud to carry a series of books aimed at helping you understand the machinery and techniques that our models represent. Each book is meant to assist you in creating the most accurate models possible.

The Sierra Railroad Machine Shop, the Anatomy of an early 20th Century Railroad Machine Shop: an Aid to Modeling

Written by Bill Gustafson, this book describes the Sierra Railroad Machine Shop and provides a floor plan showing the placement of machines in the shop. The overhead belt system is explained and a picture of each machine shows how it is connected to and run from the overhead belt system. Pulley dimensions are provided for each machine. This book is an excellent reference if you are planning to build a machine shop for your railroad. (40 pages, comb-bound, Book P-1)

The Stationary Steam Engine, a brief look at their history, development, and how they work

Written by William Gustafson, this book looks at the development of the stationary steam engine from the early atmospheric engines of Savery, Newcomen, and Watt, through the Corliss, and finally to the Uniflow engines of the early 20th Century. Brief sections include a look at railroad steam locomotives and marine engines. Ten appendixes help the reader to understand how a steam engine works, steam valves, governors, condensers and boilers. It even includes a section on how to start and run a stationary steam engine. This book should answer many of the questions you may have had about steam engines. (59 pages, 46 figures, comb-bound, Book P-2)

Complete set of plans for the Hull-Oakes Lumber Company, Monroe, Oregon

Prepared by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) to document historically significant engineering, industrial, and maritime works in the United States. The field work, measured drawings, and historical report was prepared under the direction of Eric DeLony, Chief, HAER, in 1998. The set includes 12 11" X 17" pages with plans, drawings, and descriptions of the entire Hull Oakes Lumber Company operation. (Book P-3)

Modeling the Mining Industry: Gold and Silver Stamp Mills

This book, written by William Gustafson, describes the gravity stamp mills used to process gold and silver ores from the time gold was first discovered in the western United States in 1848 until the early 1900's when cyanide was used to supplement the stamp milling process. Various regions including the Sierra Nevada Motherlode, Gilpin County, Colorado, and the Homestate Mine, South Dakota are compared to see how stamp mills have been modified to process the different types of ores found in each region. Included are detailed descriptions of mill equipment and how they were used in the mills. A complete set of plans and templates are provided to assemble a 20-stamp mill. 102 pages, 74 figures plus 14 pages of templates, comb-bound. (Book P-4)

Modeling the Mining Industry: Compressed Air, its Generation and Use in Mining

The use of compressed air has been indispensable in mining since the invention of the pneumatic rock drill in the 1860's.  Compressed air is used in every facet of mining from the drilling of the tunnel, to transportation of ore by hoist or haulage and is even used in the milling operation.  This book discusses in detail the production of compressed air by various types of air compressors, the transmission of compressed air, and then looks at the applications of compressed air in mining.  Applications include rock-drills and hammers, coal mining machines, hoists, compressed air locomotives for mine haulage, pumping of liquids and the use of compressed air in machine shops.  The use of compressed air at various mines is described.  75 pages, 56 figures, comb-bound. (Book P-5)

Gold and Silver Stamp Mills: A detailed look at mill interiors with emphasis on the Standard Gold Mill, Bodie, California

This book takes a detailed look at the interior of the Standard gold mill and Gray's mill at Bodie, California.  The Standard gold mill is an intact example of the "model California stamp mill".  The building houses the full array of equipment that exemplified stamp-milling practice at the turn of the twentieth century.  Gray's mill is an excellent example of a small 7-stamp mill, similar to hundreds of small mills that once flourished across western America.  50 pages, 57 color pictures, 14 figures, comb-bound.  (Book P-6)

Modeling a Steam Powered Sawmill, A Detailed look at the Hull Oakes, McLean and Sturgeon's Sawmills

The book takes a detailed look at the Hull Oakes, McLean, and Sturgeon's Sawmills, three steam powered sawmills still in operation today in Western North America.  We first look at a generic sawmill to see how sawmills operate, the equipment used and their layout.  Then we take a detailed look at a large, medium, and small sawmill to see how to develop a sawmill for a model railroad.  The book is over 100 pages in length with over 100 figures and pictures, many in color.  This is a must for anyone thinking of modeling a sawmill for their railroad.

Let's Build a Sawmill, How I Built a 1:20.3 Scale Sawmill

This book describes how I assembled a sawmill display modeled after the McLean Sawmill in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. Since the model had to be transported to the 2012 Narrow Gauge Convention in Seattle, Washington, it was built in four sections. The book documents the assemblly in text and pictures from start to finish. The model includes a log pond and ramp in section 1, the log deck, log carriage, circular saw, and log haul winch in section 2, the transfer rolls, edger, cut-off saw along with the steam engine and brick boiler in the basement of section 3, and finally the green chain and small machine shop in section 4. In addition to the 5 chapters on the sawmill assembly it includes a chapter on my workshop and the tools and equipment I use to model, a chapter on making figures for the sawmill and finally a chapter on how I make the detailed white metal castings for Westen Scale Models. This book is of particular interest to those who want to build a sawmill model with our Western Scale Models 1:20.3 kits but it would be of interest to anyone who whould like to build a sawmill. The book is 95 pages in length with 49 pages of color pictures.

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