Our coal shovels started with an original D&RGW stamped shovel that Jeff found and shared with me a while back. I was struck by the form of the shovel blade and the proportions of the shovel overall. After looking at a variety of coal shovels, all attributed to narrow gauge railroads I blended what I thought were the best attributes into our model shovels.

The finished 2.5″ scale Coal Shovel is 2 1/8″ wide x 8″ long, although one could lengthen the shaft to suit your needs. The blade and handle are your choice of stainless steel in a natural grey finish or with a durable black stain as shown here. The hand grip is a turned hardwood secured with a brass rivet. The shafts are Cherry as the grain is fine and both the grip and shaft look great with a rubbed linseed oil finish. The kit comes with a 3/16″ d. wire ‘spine’ to run through the shaft and join the handle and blade together. While the prototype used the wooden shaft all the way through, at this size the wood is to easily broken unless you intend to use the shovel for display purposes.

The 2.5″ scale Coal Shovel Kit is $150 plus shipping.

The 1.6″ scale Coal Shovel Kit is in development and will be available soon.

We also offer a solid brass 3/4″ to 1″ scale shovel kit as shown below. These feature lost wax cast components and make a whimsical detail for the small scales enthusiast.  Kits are $50 plus shipping.