Big Boys' Other Toys

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Most who read this blog are probably interested in -- let me guess -- motorcycles.  Me, too.  But, did you know that some big boys like other kinds of toys? 

Hard to believe, I know, but there are some who are not interested in motorcycles, but have picked another kind of toy to play with.  I even found that some of these miscreants are not satisfied with just one type of toy, but rather, enjoy more than one type. 

Imagine that!  

Well, I recently explored two other types of big boy toys.  I witnessed first hand the affliction of some very big, ol' boys playing with toy trains and toy airplanes.  (Unlike he-men who ride motorcycles, which are certainly not toys like those others.  Right?) 

[Oh, yea, right, Bucky.] 

I ventured out to visit the Central Railway Model and Historical Association, located in Central South Carolina.  The little town of Central houses only about 5000 souls, but is close to both Clemson and Southern Wesleyan Universities, there are many students nearby during the school year.  Central was not named because it is near the center of our state, but rather because its geographic location is about half way between Atlanta and Charlotte, along the former Atlanta and Richmond Air-Line Railway line.  

The railroad still runs through Central, though the name has changed to the Norfolk Southern.  I happened to roll into town just as an intermodal train was passing through.  That train had previously crossed over a quite significant trestle near Toccoa Georgia that I have visited on some other rides -- 1, 2 and 3.    

I enjoy watching trains, so I hopped off the bike and ran across the street so I could get its picture.

In the process, I happened to capture myself on my video camera.  Pretty humorous, watching me dodge traffic and dart back and forth trying to get a good angle for the picture [of the train, of the train, guys].

After the train passed, I went around the block to the model railroad's building. It is in a house they have fixed up for the various layouts.  I have visited here before, in October of 2010, so we will be able to see the progress they have made in their layouts and scenery. 

I park out front, and spot this Pontiac Solstice that looks almost new.  ...and the color is nice I think.  Somebody around here must own this toy.  I have always liked the design of that little car, built between 2006 and 2009, but the recession, the government takeover of GM, and the subsequent demise of the Pontiac badge killed it.  Only 66,000 were built.

I go into the building and am greeted by some older fellows who welcome me, and ask what I was riding.  Hmmmmm.  I don't know why people ask me that all the time.  I tell them about my Ninja, then stow my helmet out of the way under a bench, and begin to look around.  They have made considerable progress on the layouts since the last time I was here, and there are probably eight or so guys working on the scenery, the rolling stock, and the electrical system, and two or three who are running the trains with handheld throttle controls.  Model railroading has certainly come a long way since my Lionel O gage days, about a hundred years ago, I think it was. 

Most of the layout is HO gage, with some HO N-3 narrow gage in places. 

Here is a turntable, but there is no roundhouse near it for some reason.  Maybe is it just for turning locomotives around. 

This fine establishment is the Suds Bucket Bar, where a biker is in the process of being thrown through the front window from inside, but I am not sure that they haven't mixed their metaphors, here.  The bikes outside are multi-colored, but certainly not sportbikes.  Maybe they represent some of the earlier standards that were painted various colors, like some of the ones I saw at the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley North Carolina.  Anyway, serious motorcycle riders wouldn't do that kind of thing, let alone drink and ride, I hope. 

The Abattoir of Seneca, SC.   (I'm sure you know what that is, right?) 

 Inside detail:

Some parts of the layout are not completely sceniced as yet.  Like here:

A massive derailment caused by a car wheel catching a switch point, making the trailing cars derail.  If I had been a few minutes earlier, I would have had exclusive footage for the 6:00 News! 

Passenger cars and a station:

A rock quarry and processing building:

Paper mill (though there were never any real paper mills near here):

The American Flyer S-gage layout, and its overseer, are tucked away in a room of their own: 

I always wanted an S gage train set like that.  It ran on more realistic two-rail track, and the rolling stock looks more like the real thing.  Mom and Dad just couldn't swing it, though, after having funded the Lionel.  Maybe that is why these boys like playing with trains so much. They are trying to relive their childhood, or, perhaps, they want to introduce a new generation to the hobby.  Either way, that's good. 

The modeling scales, from G (I think, the largest here, at the rear) through Z (the smallest). 

At my last visit, most of the scenery looked more like this:

An important note to the modelers back then:

Lots of work has been done by these devoted boys playing with their building full of toys. 


I complete my gawking at the little railroad, and head to my next point of interest on the ride plan.  I have programmed my GPS to lead me there, so all I have to do is follow its spoken and on-screen instructions. 

I do so, and it leads me to a locked gate at the Black Sheep RC Club.  I am surprised that no one is here on a pretty Saturday. 

The day is not lost, however, because I have another point of interest programmed in, too, and it only takes me about five minutes to get there.  It is the Firetower Flyers RC Club.  Their flying field is adjacent to an old fire tower, and their slogan is "Where the Pilot Always Walks Away!"  Apt, I think.

The fire tower: 

A sign on the side of the building. 

The Hobby Connection, in Easley where I live, is a very nice store selling all kinds of hobby supplies, including trains and planes, helicopters, cars, and assorted other stuff.  You can spend hours in there.  They also have an outdoor oval racetrack, a road-race course, and a dirt course for RC cars and trucks.  You can see the courses from the viewpoint of a satellite here. 

As I park at the Firetower field, I have already spotted several guys with mostly large model airplanes, working on them on the field or on benches. 

As I dismount and take off my helmet, three or four of them walk over and begin to ask questions about my bike.  How fast will it go?  How old is it?  How many ccs?  How long have you been riding?  What does this thing do?  What does that thing do? 

A few of the guys make statements like "I'm glad to see you dressed properly to ride a motorcycle."  Yes, so am I, I tell them, reflecting that I have never and would never wear any less to ride.  They nod their heads in agreement.  Another continues, "I wish I could ride something like that.", and, best of all, "I wish my wife would let me ride something like that."

I carefully construct a response to that last statement to encourage them to go ahead and do it, but that wouldn't get me into too much hot water with their wives -- who, unlikely as it may seem, could be lurking on this blog. 

[Don't come after me, ladies.  I did the best I could with my wording.  Big boys do need toys, you know, and some of them need lots of toys.]

As the questions and comments subside, I walk out to the field where one of the pilots is warming up his plane.  None of the planes flying today is equipped with the little Cox .049 cubic inch glow plug engine my Baby Ringmaster control-line airplane has.  Rather, these are running 2-stroke cycle engines with as much as 50cc (3 cubic inch) displacement.  Some small motorcycles have the same size engine!  The fellows tell me that a few planes that fly here have as much as 100cc displacement. 

Here is one of the planes, in the process of being started by a swing of the prop. He had to give it several swipes before it fired off. 

Those posts in front of the wings keep the plane from taking off on its own -- which would not be a good thing.  Note the smaller plane coming in for a landing in the upper right of the photo. 

Fueling up.  His fuel supply tank has a hand-cranked pump, but some others have electric pumps -- the height of luxury. 

Electric power! 

Its performance was quite impressive, and it flies for more than ten minutes on one charge.  That doesn't seem like very long, but a flight of that length is enough to get the heart pumping with high-speed aerial thrills. The battery types that make electric model planes possible are described here. 

Flying on the level.

The fire tower is about a quarter mile away. 

Dragging it back after a safe landing: 

The pilots are pretty skillful, performing spins, stalls, inverted loops, rolls, etc.  As you can tell, I had trouble catching them on my camera. 

Chewing the fat.

Some of these men have quite an investment in their hobby.

After an hour of craning my neck at all angles to watch these birds in flight, I bid farewell to this group of big boys, and head on my way.  I have certainly enjoyed seeing some of their toys today.

By the way, I still have that Baby Ringmaster.

And you can still buy one from Brodak in Carmichaels Pennsylvania. 

Mine is covered with tissue paper painted with dope (a type of lacquer) to shrink it and to provide color.  The can in the lower left is the dope.  The can in the upper left is fuel.  The engine is laying beside the tail.  I have not flown the plane in many years, but it certainly could fly.  Maybe I will fix it up this summer and give it a try. 

Here is a larger version of the Ringmaster being flown.  It is possible to do several aerobatic tricks despite the limited control using only the elevator.


Well, my riding/visiting-boys'-toys day is complete.  I have ridden about 71 miles, including a detour up to SC-11 before going to Central.

What are your other big boy toys?  


Related Posts:

Apple Valley Model Railroad Club, Hendersonville, NC.
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Back to Belton -- For Some Culture and Maybe a Show

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Back in September of 2010, I traveled down to a town called Belton South Carolina.  It is about twenty-five miles from home, with easy roads to get there.  They have a huge structure in town called the Belton Standpipe.  Actually, it is a water tower built in the early 20th century.  I wrote about it then. 

Last weekend, I met up with a new friend who rides a 1982 Honda CB450SC Nighthawk, and we rode down there again.  My friend was apologetic for the older machine he was riding, but it was more than up to our little jaunt today. 

The reason for our trip was not only to enjoy some of our unseasonably warm winter weather, but to view an art show.  Sounds very cultured, doesn't it? 

Well, this art show is at the Belton Center for the Arts, and until the end of March, displays only motorcycle-related artwork.   The show is called "Two Wheels, One Journey."  The famous local motorcycle photographer Patrick Welch has four of his photos on display amongst paintings, pastels, carvings, and other media.  Patrick had his photos printed on special paper, and they really stand out from typical prints.  

Here are thumbnails of Mr. Welch's work on display.  You can purchase exact prints of the photos on display from his website.

 

 

Some of the other artwork in the show includes these.

The carving on this one is very intricate, and the finish is impeccable. 

There will also be the The Ultimate Bike Show Rally on the Square in Belton on March 24th between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM. You can enter as a participant or just go and drool. 

Across the street from the art gallery, is the old Southern/Blue Ridge Railroad Depot.  When built in 1910, it served 68 trains and trolleys, but by the 1960's, service to the station ceased.


It now houses a museum with mostly farming artifacts from the area right now.  For you John Deere fans, a 1943 model "LA", advertised to be the equivalent of three horses:

This one is equipped with attachments to furrow, plant, and fertilize in one pass.

The woman who greeted us in the museum, a retired school teacher, asked how we had found it.  We said we had come to view the artwork, which she proceeded to tell us was across the street in the art gallery.  She couldn't get over the fact that we had stumbled in to the museum instead.  She had us sign the guestbook, and she took our pictures, which I am sure will show up in the local newspaper.  Maybe they don't get many visitors.  Anyway, she provided some local interest that added to our visit. 

The South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame is in the same building, but we were so eager to go get our culture for the day in the art gallery, that we forgot to go in. 

The standpipe is still there, by the way.  See:

The roads leading to and from Belton are well-paved, but rather uninteresting for the most part, good for cruising, I'd say.  There are not many places to pass slower traffic, either.  This is the route we took. 


View Larger Map


On the way back we passed through Anderson -- it was way too busy to enjoy the ride -- but enjoyed a stop at a little park just north of town on Lake Hartwell called Darwin Wright.  It offers swimming, a boat ramp, fishing, and picnicking. We just used the little rider's room, and chewed the fat for a few minutes. 

The day was only about 80 miles, but it was nice to get out on a warm winter day.
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Saluda North Carolina -- a Tag Grabbed, and More

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April 2, 2011, about a month ago.

I had to find it.  What?  Another tag by Stretch in the CarolinaRiders Forum Tag Game.  Recall that Stretch is a pretty good one at posting tags that are interesting and somewhat difficult to find.  And here is another one Stretch posted.  I have prided myself in finding a few of his tags, but this one looked quite interesting to me because of my engineering background.

It is an old waterwheel, and his clues were are follows: 

"Here's a tough one.  The Carolina mountains are covered with old water wheels. What makes this one unique is its proximity to the water.  Bonus points if you can tell me how it worked.
"If you ride down a road in NC with 21 hairpins in about 2 miles (there's only one), you'll find the new tag about 11 miles from the last hairpin turn."

One of the other inmates [members] on the forum posted this:

"Can I ask questions?
"For instance; can I find this road with "21 curves in about 2 miles out of Saluda, NC?"

Stretch replied:

"It may be near Saluda. I'm having a little trouble remembering just now .
"On the return trip I recommend passing the unnecessarily twisty road and taking the next right instead. I find it a more enjoyable ride and it will return you to the same town, whatever that town may be." 

...and provided a couple more clues: 

"When a group of businessmen from Spartanburg, SC needed more power for their mills, they bought land in NC to build two dams. This mill wheel is near one of the two resulting lakes but predates Dam.
"Look for a road named after a famous Golfer."

Well, one cerebral part of motorcycling is to figure out clues like this.

I am sure the twisty road Stretch is referring to is the most contorted piece of civil engineering I know of around here, Green River Cove Road.  I tested out a downhill rear-braking technique here last year, but I don't like the road much because the turns are very sharp, and visibility of oncoming traffic is poor.

I carefully map out another eleven miles from the last (lowest elevation) turn on that road, and find that it is beyond the northeastern end of the road, so I must have to go one way or the other after that.  I looked up waterwheel, but found nothing close.  Well, the only golfer I know of besides Tiger Woods is Arnold Palmer (being the sportsman I am), so I try Palmer Road.  There is one up that way. We'll see if the clues will lead me to the right spot. 

I finish up a Google map, print it, slide it into my tank bag, and head out.  It is 42 degrees, so I bundle up a bit, but not too much, as it is supposed to reach about 70 later. 

I go north on SC-135, then SC-186, US-276, SC-11, US-25, and turn off on the Greenville Watershed Road.  This is a moderately twisty road that winds its way uphill through a watershed for a reservoir from which the city of Greenville gets some of its drinking water.  There is no stopping allowed along this road to help prevent water pollution in the lake.  The road is used extensively by bicyclists, so you have to be careful, since some of them ride in the middle of the lane, it is slow going for them going uphill, and there are blind curves in some places.  The pavement has become rather poor, with lots of cracks and potholes.  It is pleasant enough road nonetheless, but the posted speed limit is probably the most prudent way to travel here.


View Larger Map of the Greenville Watershed Roads


Soon enough, I reach the town of Saluda.  I park, and go right over to the M. A. Pace General Store to visit Mr. Robert Pace, son of the original owner who opened the store in 1899.  He is getting up in age now, so I want to say hello to him once again.  Each time I have come through here on the bike, I have stopped, and every time, for some unknown reason, Mr. Pace has commented on the fact that I look like I just stepped out of a spaceship.  Strange, don't you think? 

Here is a clear view of his store from my parking spot.  

I walk over to the front door.  Sadly, I find a sign that says he passed away in his sleep last October at the age of eighty-seven.

His last few years were spent meeting visitors and explaining the history of the business, the steep railroad grade that crests here, and of Saluda itself.  That seems like a good close to a life here on earth. 

Even though it has been several months since he left this world, the stock in his store is as it was.  Only the refrigerated items have been removed.  The ancient stock of dry goods remains, as do the more modern items. 

Those are boxes of new old stock shirts, and shoes on the shelves to the right. 

 

Mr Pace was a former insurance and real estate broker, and a 1945 graduate of Wofford College. He served on many committees and boards that were instrumental in bringing business to the area.

Here is a picture of Mr. Pace I took in April of 2010.

Although I did not know him well, I will miss him. I had hoped to be able to shake his hand just once more. 

I walk down the surprisingly busy street -- after all it is a beautiful day to be out in the mountains -- to the offices of Saluda Realty and Construction.  I find Mrs. Eargle sitting outside in a rocker with her dog leashed nearby.  I speak with both, pet one of the two on the head (guess which one), then inquire of Mr. Eargle's whereabouts.  I venture inside the office where I am directed, and find him at work at his desk.  As soon as he turns, he flashes a huge grin, and says he remembers me from my last visit.  I am flattered.  Maybe the clothes are the reason he recognized me. It had worked with Mr. Pace, didn't it?  Or maybe Mr. Eargle is just one of those fellows who remembers everyone he meets.  He seems to be genuine, not put on, in his treatment of others.

We chewed the fat for a few minutes.  Mr. Eargle told me the story of the old Thompson’s Store and Ward’s Grill (referred to in my earlier posting and pictured below).

A gentleman named Clark Thompson now owns the store and grill, and writes a blog called Saluda Memories.  Mr. Thompson was born and raised here, but went away to college and to work elsewhere.  He returned in 2010 to keep the spirit and nostalgia of the Old Store and Grill alive.  Mr. Eargle's construction company has been restoring the structures. 

After I leave Mr. Eargle's office, I give their dog a little more attention, then survey the remainder of the main street, and saddle up again.  I want to get that waterwheel tag before anyone else does.

Off I go, leaving Saluda (at Pushpin "A") toward the northeast, Interstate 26 (Pushpin "B"), and beyond.


View Larger Map

I could take the first left after 26, Green River Cove Road, the contorted one that Stretch referred to in his clues, but straight ahead, Holbert Cove Road, is more uniformly twisty, with none of those very tight turns all packed together.  And it ends up in almost the same spot.  The road has recently been tar and chip surfaced, so it exhibits a uniformly good grip with no potholes or cracks.  The work must have been done long enough ago that the loose stone has all dissipated, so I cruise along smartly.  The only thing is that there are few advisory speed signs, so it is difficult to know whether there is a decreasing-radius turn or some other hazard lurking somewhere ahead.

After about 9-1/2 miles on Holbert Cove, I reach Silver Creek Road (Pushpin "C") and make a left.  I pass this end of Green River Cove Road, then after 1.7 miles from where I turned onto Silver Creek, I see Palmer Road to the left and Lake Adger Road to the right (Pushpin "D").  I take Palmer Road and begin watching closely for my target.  I come across it, in about 1.2 miles, on the right.

Here it is, at Pushpin "E": 

35°19'42.49"N   82°15'9.72"W

The waterwheel is an example of an overshot style.

Types of waterwheels are described on this website.  

The source of the water was Bright's Creek a bit upgrade -- toward the left in the picture above.

Up a steep slope from my parking place, there is a corrugated steel pipe, shown below, that directed water from upstream to the top of the wheel, probably pouring onto the wheel from a wooden flume, now gone. 

Water exited the wheel through a cut or culvert just in front of my bike, joining the nearby creek across the little gravel driveway here.

The wheel has a large bull gear on the side that engaged a much smaller pinion, providing an increase in RPM to drive a generator.

There may have been a mechanism to govern the flow of water to maintain the correct voltage and/or frequency. (You electrical engineers: Was this likely to be a DC or AC generator?) If you want to do a few calculations on the power provided by waterwheels, here is a website to help. 

This photo shows the pipe at left-center, upstream of the wheel, at the entrance to Bright's Creek, an upscale golf development with a Tom Fazio-designed course.  (Now I know another golf-related name besides Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer.)  

Wherever the pipe connected with the creek upstream must have been some distance away judging from the height of the pipe versus the creek bed beneath the bridge.  I couldn't follow the likely path of the pipe any further because the golf development is gated, and I'm not a resident.  That's OK, they pay just a bit more than I do for a place the live -- lots start at $200,000 each, so a little extra privacy is their privilege. 

A little waterwheel history:
The waterwheel was installed in the 1950s by Dr. Marion C. Palmer, landowner and lover of gadgets, according to an account written in 2003, found on the Tryon [NC] High School class of 1971 website. (Search for "water-wheel".) The story speaks of the lady of the household, Mrs. Palmer, having to tell the tenant farm family to turn off their lights so she could use her electric iron. That leads me to think the output of the waterwheel was around 1000 watts, or about 9 amperes at 110 volts. Commercial electricity reached this area in 1962, with telephone service following.

A view of the area.  

Well, it is pretty country here, but I have to get back, so I retrace my path back to Saluda on Palmer Road,...

...Silver Creek, and Holbert Cove Roads, then head west on US-176.  There are a couple of tight turns on this last road, one in front of a quarry entrance.  That one can be treacherous due to spilled gravel. 

I turn south on US-25, then veer off onto Gap Creek Road, hit SC-11, then SC-8, SC-135, and home to Easley.  The complete trip map is shown here:


View Larger Map


I don't rush, but I also don't tarry on my way back home.  After all, I have to post the tag grab photo before someone else does. 

By the way, if you remember, Stretch challenged the tag grabber to describe how the waterwheel worked.  I think I get the extra credit for doing so.  (Whew, I'm glad that those four years of engineering school weren't wasted after all.) 

Once at home, I rush to the computer, post my photo, and I can now lay claim to bragging rights, at least until someone finds the new tag that I have posted. 

I have ridden 147 miles today, in beautiful weather, looking at natural scenery and an engineering project not quite as old as I am.  You can't beat a day like this.  Thanks Stretch for providing an interesting tag in a beautiful part of the country.

Oh, here's the new tag I posted.  See if you can find it. 

Clues:

"This bridge spans a small river.
The river has something to do with twelve miles, and it must be tired -- as it needs to lay.
The bridge is not far from woodside two.
If you go further on the road you will find Elfwing and Magic Mountain, both centrally located."

If you go:

• The Saluda walking tour is another activity you can do while in town.
• A Very Twisty Road and a Downhill Technique Tried
• Saluda North Carolina, the Saluda Grade, and a Friend Who Helped Me Learn to Ride

New tag answer

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