Small-scale Mid-Michigan Railroad: Mighty Miniatures

Image Gallery Well used, but not abused, this little red International dump truck has hauled more than its share of material for the Over The Hill Construction Co. Based on a Cub Cadet chassis, the frame has been stretched and the relocated transaxle powers a pair of chain sprockets that drive the rear wheels. The truck‚Ã"ôs keyhole cab was fabricated using plywood and seats used in model railroading.

Building railroads to scale with scale model equipment

It takes a certain eye for detail and a good deal of patience to build working small-scale outdoor railroads. It takes plenty of labor as well. And once the railroad is built, reduced-size maintenance tasks become a big chore in a hurry. While many model railroaders rely on muscle to shape the roadbed, apply ballast and maintain their rights of way, a pair of little-locomotive enthusiasts from Kalamazoo, Mich., created an easier way.

‚Ã'úWhen the Mid-Michigan Railroad (a 1-1/5-inch scale operation located at Cornwell‚Ã'ôs Turkeyville U.S.A. near Marshall, Mich.) wanted to expand its track, we needed to haul quite a lot of material to make the grades,‚Ã'ù Mike Perigo, one of the founding partners of Over The Hill Construction Co., says with a grin. ‚Ã'úSo we decided to build a small dump truck to make it easier.‚Ã'ù That roughly 1/3-scale International Harvester truck marked the beginning of a full-sized fabricating friendship that has grown ever tighter with time. ‚Ã'úWe knew of each other in high school,‚Ã'ù says Tom Briggs, Mike‚Ã'ôs partner in fun. ‚Ã'úBut we didn‚Ã'ôt really become friends until more recently.‚Ã'ù

(Excerpt from Farm Collector, December 2006)