Elvas Tower: D&RGW Derrick OP - Elvas Tower

Derrick OP was made in 1911 by the D&RG, as a conversion of a high side gondola. It was equipped with both standard gauge and narrow gauge trucks, and had a wooden boom. In 1920 it was rebuilt with a steel boom and a reinforced body.

It had a two drum steam engine with steam coming from an attached locomotive. One engine drum raised the boom and the other raised the hook, while gravity lowered both. The engine also swung the boom with ropes running through pulleys in the A frame and attached to the boom. Outriggers were installed to prevent the car from tipping sidewise. Work flat 06063 was assigned as a “boom car” for the boom to rest on when not in use, and to carry a 16’ boom extension.

In 1970 it was obtained by the Cumbries and Toltec Scenic RR and is presently (as of this upload) going through a complete rebuild by the Friends of the Cumbries and Toltec. This rebuild includes all new wood for the frame and cab, and restoring the steam engine to operating condition.

This model was built from plans by Ken Pruitt published in A Century + Ten of D&RGW Narrow Gauge Cars, 1871 to 1981 by Robert Sloan. This data was supplemented by pictures and measurements taken by myself during several visits. Several years ago I had the honor of spending a week working on OP doing temporary repairs to keep it going until it’s later rebuild.

This model was built by a team of three people. Howard Saunders did the physics adjustments, lettering, and file compression, Derek Miller performed the Beta testing, and I nailed a couple of boards together. In addition to doing the physics, Howard Saunders spent many nights (and gained several grey hairs) setting up the model so the boom would swing to stay with the boom car. I could not have finished it without his assistance. Howard also supplied the screenie.

To install this car, download the zip file to a location of your choice, unzip it, and copy the folders to your Trainset folder. When creating consists, install the Boomcar, then the Derrickcar, then insert the BoomAssy between them.

Hope you guys enjoy running it as much as I did making it. Bill