HO scale survey screw

Somebody posted this on one of your previous posts..can't remember who. It looks like a good start.

Thanks Mr. Paden!
I completely missed it before.
E

HO scale survey crew

> Did anyone ever find some detail plans for a Bilby tower so I can scratch build one?

[msg=297370]Previous thread[/msg]

Initially, I was a little nervous about what I might find in a "survey screw" thread. Whew!

> Initially, I was a little nervous about what I might find in a "survey screw" thread. Whew!

Perhaps an HO scale ho 😉

> Initially, I was a little nervous about what I might find in a "survey screw" thread. Whew!

I had written "surveyors crew" then [attempted to] changed it to "survey crew".

But hey, at least I didn't get a bunch of idiots holding clip-boards standing around waiting for someone to walk by. 😀
E

Bilby Tower for BigE

BigE you want Special Publication #158. "Bilby Steel Tower For Triangulation"(1940)

NGS pub. and I would guess you can download a pdf file from NGS web page?

JOHN NOLTON
Tombstone, AZ

Have Norm Larson build you one with his 3-D printer.

Bilby Tower for BigE

> BigE you want Special Publication #158. "Bilby Steel Tower For Triangulation"(1940)
>
> NGS pub. and I would guess you can download a pdf file from NGS web page?
>
> JOHN NOLTON
> Tombstone, AZ

Quick search of NOAA Central Library shows two dates, 1929 & 1940, for that publication. Downloading both now to see how they differ.

EDIT: BigE that is exactly what you need. Has scaled drawings with data for several tower heights and tables showing parts dimensions and number of each part required.

USC&GS Special Publication 158 "Bibly Steel Tower for Triangulation" -- authored by Mr. Bilby himself.

So about 1'1" tall printed or just a bit shorter than my Wild GST-30 legs in 1/4 scale. The issue that I see is you could not print the "L" metal or flat metal to scale as it would be too wispy. The smallest commercial printed wire you can order is 0.8mm which would be 2.75" true scale and that would be deposit material and weak. I would want something sturdier like a laser sinter print and their minimum wire is 1 mm, but, I would go to 1.5 mm box for the more durability. 1.5mm would be 5" true and would look big, but, not by that much. It is definitely do'able. Print it in the proper sections with tabs to lock them together. My 2 cents ...

HO scale survey CREW

Assuming my math is correct the thing based on the pic shown above puts the top of the 24' section at 342 feet.
Even at 1:87 [HO] scale that is almost 4 feet tall in real life.
I don't want anything that big on my little layout.
If it was a foot or 2 - maybe - but not 4.
Even N scale at 1:160 is still over 2' tall. I don't think the biggest mountain I built in N was that tall.
E.

BigE

I don't know about your math but there were different heights of Bilby towers.

37 foot,50 foot,77 foot, 90,103,116 and after that they were called supers.

JOHN NOLTON
Tombstone, AZ.

HO scale survey CREW

I was using the height of 103 ft tower, so, 103/87=1.184' OK, it is a little higher than I said, but, still shorter than the T3 legs. The 90' section does not mean that section is 90 feet tall, it just means it is the section you add to the last section to get a 90' tower. Yeah, ... new, old math

BigE

OOPS; I left out the 64 footer in my above post. Sorry

JOHN NOLTON
Tombstone, AZ.

HO scale survey CREW

Did a quick model of the two lower sections of a 103ft outer tower. The 1.5mm box does look a little big

BigE

> I don't know about your math but there were different heights of Bilby towers.
>
> 37 foot,50 foot,77 foot, 90,103,116 and after that they were called supers.
>
> JOHN NOLTON
> Tombstone, AZ.

And if you talk to former tower builder Ulis Jones you will learn that he was in charge of the team that built the tallest Bilby ever constructed. It was assembled in Dakar, Senegal in 1974, took a day and a half to build and was 159 feet tall.

Ulis Jones, Age 89, Osgood, Indiana, 10 October 2013

Don't be redundant

There are at least three versions of the publication titled Bilby Steel Tower for Triangulation. The 1965 version has the most detailed drawings. It also has drawings of the bed for the steel-hauling truck which you will, of course, need.

Bilby Steel Tower for Triangulation - 1929, Special Publication 158

Bilby Steel Tower for Triangulation - 1940, Special Publication 158 Revised

Bilby Steel Tower for Triangulation - 1965, Publication 62-3

You might also wish to consult Special Publication No. 93, Reconnaissance and Signal Building (1923) and Special Publication No. 234, Signal Building (1943), both by Jasper Bilby.