Now what was this referring to ? Yes, soundings taken of the river by Boatswains ( Boatmen ) On our great rivers when steaming up or downriver .Especially the Mississippi !
This was even heard on the Monongahela ! Why the lesson ? Well , Daniel in another post made the comment ( " By the mark 17 " ) got me to thinking ( Ooops ! ) . What if someone built say a small Sternwheel Riverboat ? You don’t see them often and besides unless it’s a Thames Sidewheeler they seem to be stuck on the ( Robt.E.Lee and Natchez types .)
If I can figure out the gobblydegook and git them pichures hear . I will try to see if anyone is interested in this type of vessel .Guys and Gals there must be at least two dozen permutations ( types ) I’ve seen .
Now the beauty of it is , Yes , they can be large or small .Yes , Regal , or a muddy beat up Cargo boat . Or a Snag Boat and so on .Now as to scale .How about this ? all the way from 1/1200 to 1/4 scale and everything in between .
You have heard of Lionel and American Flyer Trains , Right ? Well , that’s the largest I,ve seen in R.C. Now , the smallest was a Tie Tac at an engineers convention in Chicago . Yes , the fellow made it himself .Seems he started out on the rivers as a deckman and then got the coveted position of sounds-man on the main deck . Calling up depth to the wheel-house .That’s actually where the phrase " By the Mark - Twain ! " Came from !
I am going to try one in " N " scale and if it’s too big it will be railroad " Z " scale .Wanna build along with me ? You can’t call it a group build Cause I don’t know where interests lie .Just for fun . Tanker - Builder
Drop me a PM with what you have for computer system and what photo host site you have, if any. I have Photobucket, but not familiar with any others. I think we can get you up and picture perfect fairly easy.
The sounding line or lead line has been around for a very long time. The marked depths, in fathoms, are: 2; 3; 5; 7; 10; 13; 15; 17; and 20. If the water depth matched one of the markers, it was reported as “By the mark two or twain.” If the water depth was between markers, it was reported as “By the deep six.”
There are a couple of sources for plans of paddlewheelers and old steam rivercraft. One- I forget his name- even offers photos for some of the craft in his drawings line. The name is on the tip of my tongue. I will get his name from the plans of the Far West, a project I am building from his plans.
The biggest one I’ve ever seen is the one at Disneyland in Los Angeles. It is 5/8 full size, or 62.5%.
Disney had a bit of a fixation on scale models, and he nearly broke the bank with the steam locomotives at the Park. #1 and #2 were built to Standard Gauge prototype dimensions, running on narrow gauge track. So the scale was 36/ 56.5, or 64%.
As it was underwritten by the AT & SF, it all got built. A sidelight was that while the “ticket” system still existed at the park, up until 1974, it was possible to ride the train using a Sante Fe Railroad pass, rather than a D ticket.
As the chain expanded to other cities, more conservative minds went about buying up old narrow gauge sugar cane railroad locomotives in the Carribean and tarting them up to look like early American locomotives. I’ve got a good book on the subject.
But I digress.
TB did you ever build the old “Chicken of the Sea”?
Don, is the name you’re looking for Allan Bates? Or John Fryant? I just googled them. Mr. Bates no longer sells plans, but Mr. Fryant offers a pretty extensive range - at reasonable prices.
Fryant! The plans and pictures I have are from him. I am aware of Bates, have a book of his. Also, there is a Steamship Historical Society (or similar name) that has some resources.
No , though I saw it plenty when i had a night job at the park .Myself and three other lower rated Marines at the time needed outside work to house our families off base .
We all got 6 hours every other day( night ) working on the rides that water as part of their exhibit . I worked mostly on the little subs .
I saw the models of the "Chicken " but never acquired one . T.B.