Action at the Steel Mill. Friday 21-12-1972

Very nice. You guys must have a lot of fun operating the layout.

Roo posted:

 

 

Those slag cars remind me of the numerous containers of Dole and Del Monte fruit cups I've gone through in the past few months. When I first started buying them, I thought the empty cups looked an awful lot like slag car pots, which got me to thinking if I could scratch-build slag carriers around them, since if it could be done, there'd be enough for a whole mess of them, even in the form of the twin-pot unit in the photo.

The amount of scratchbuilding needed to make just one of them however dissuaded me from such a loony scheme. That and the non-practicality of having that many of these kinds of oddballs lurking about a layout (or even my bare loop) with not even an implied steelmaking infrastructure (and I also have three-packs of both the MTH and Lionel versions).

That leaves me with an impressive teetering stack of the empty cups, awaiting either the motivation to bundle them up for a trip to a recycling bin, or to distribute to someone/s mad enough to experiment with them

---PCJ 

Nev that gantry is amazing.

Thanks Coach Joe.

IT was built out of two HO kits and converted into O scale using Plastruct items.

We had another run on Friday busy time but still managed a couple of photos! 1. Coil train at Rolling Mill. 2. Bruce at Bay Ridge. 3.Big John at Waterside yard. 4.Coil train and limestone trains at Republic Steel. %. This is an interesting phopto shows the variety of trains involved in a Steel Mill this was not staged taken during the session. It shows a Covered hoppers returning from Slag recycling with a load of pellets, Slab train on the way to the rolling mill, Ore cars on the way to the High Line at Republic Steel and finally a loaded coil train Stabled at Republic Steel waiting to be moved to the rest of the world through Bay Ridge It gets busy at times that's what we enjoy, we love it. 

I meant to post this photo, taken today, to show the tracks in the last photo of the previous post.

It might help to understand why it gets so busy you can always look back at the track plan as well.

Funny enough this photo is also interesting as it shows two "Pup" scrap gondolas waiting to be picked up at the Rolling Mill and the unfinished Slag processing plant with Side dump hoppers at the unloading plant on the left.

Getting back to the above photos this photo shows all those tracks now empty waiting for the next session. Thanks Roo.

Nev how high off the ground is your layout table-top?

Coach Joe. To answer your question the layout is 48inches or 1220mm high. Thanks Roo.

Hi Everyone.

I have never been a person that has believed in "self praise" as everything I've done in my life has been the hard way what with little education and my parents passing at a young age but last Friday or yesterday I had a very well known modeller and railway person in (West Aust) drop in to look at the layout he ended up running Bay Ridge and Valley Forge as Bruce was missing that day leaving only Big John and myself running the layout, so the extra operator was just what we needed, anyway the visitor's comment after five hours of running was and I quote "It runs like a Swiss watch" Thank you Simon.

OK that's over with no more pats on the back. Here are a couple of photos taken this morning did not have time during the session yesterday for photos the last photo is the new Bay Ridge control panel ready to be wired I picked it up from the engravers during the week. thanks. Roo.

Good for you, Roo !

Great comparison shot of the Bay Ridge control panels.  Makes it easy to see the changes.

ROO,

You've done a great job capturing the look and feel of a Steel Mill.    I've worked at Ford's Rouge Steel Mill as the Operation/Equipment Maintenance Foreman both at the Slabbing and Hot Strip Mill.  There are a few things that can increase the believability of your Mill complex:  

1. At a real steel mill every square inch of the place is heavily covered in soot, oil and dirt!
2. The buildings are heavily soot covered.  The color will be a rusty dark orange.  (In real life when the plant released these emissions on a weekly basis, it would fallout onto your car.  If you didn't wash your car within a timely manner and with a brush, this stuff would eat away at your cars paint and pit the metal surface!)  
3. There will be many gondolas and cars of various types being beat-up and sagging pulling and carrying stuff around.
4. The steel mill employees will be wearing the green fire-resistant pants and Jacket and be very dirty from the grim that they been working in all day.  
5. The foremen have a dark blue uniform but not fire resistant.
6. Everyone needs to be wearing a helmet, but the Salaried Employees helmets will be typically white and the hourly yellow.
7. The track in many places will be bent and misshapen and barely within gauge.
8. Crossties will never look new but will vary in condition from bad to worse to missing!
9. Very high heat needs to be pouring out of some areas of the layout where the steel making operations are occurring.
10. Nary a plant grows on the property with the exception of a weed here and there.
11.  Loud noise from sirens, horns, bells on equipment that is moving around.
12.  Broken pieces of equipment, iron bars, bolts, nuts, steel rods, crushed rusty barrels, rope, etc strewn in odd places or in piles or along the track or against a building.  Just anywhere.  Make as untidy as possible.  But make the article look as useless as possible, as anything on the ground or within the building that is in good shape left unguarded will be stolen!
13.  Beat-up rusty dirt laden cars in the employee parking lot as you would be crazy to drive anything but one there.

Hope this helps!  

Kazar, your description reminds me of being there. It's tuff to write things without sounding like your criticizing his work. I do remember the overall look being like you describe. I got dirty just delivering parts there.

 I think that it was a very dirty era at these places that when totally captured on a model, can look very monochrome.

Engineer-Joe posted:

Kazar, your description reminds me of being there. It's tuff to write things without sounding like your criticizing his work. I do remember the overall look being like you describe. I got dirty just delivering parts there.

 I think that it was a very dirty era at these places that when totally captured on a model, can look very monochrome.

Engineer Joe,

You are so right, my intent was NOT to coitize ROO's work as he's done a marvelous job capturing the various operations. 

Instead I was more or less poking fun at what the real deal is all about.

I forgot to add in my initial list the mill needs to STINK like a bunch of rotten eggs as the plants emissions were horrific at times.  

I was thinking about the steam era and the steel mills back then. It must have been real bad with the addition of the soot from the steamers.

Hi Everyone.  Thanks for your contributions Ron, Coach Joe, Engineer Joe and Kazar.

Kazar, you have some interesting suggestions and I will eventually use them, as you might have observed we run the layout every Friday and I try to do some work on it every week I realise the Mill needs lots of weathering and am looking forward to that phase of the construction trying to find the time is one of the problems I have other interests and a large family but I will get there and I do appreciate you taking the time as well as the other members to contribute to the thread I've never regretted changing the layout to a Steel Mill it's been a challenge to say the least which is why I call it "The last Great Project" ! Thanks Roo. 

Hi Everyone.

We had our weekly operating session today (Wednesday) instead of Friday due to other commitments. We tried a new system not sure if I liked it, anyway I have two weeks to consider it as the other two blokes Big John and Bruce won't be around I'll still be home till next month when I have a walk planned in the middle of winter rain and cold but that's the way things happen at least a positive thought no snakes or other walkers around!

Here are the only photos I snapped yesterday one shows an Ore train entering Republic Steel yard while an empty ore is sitting waiting, the coil train is loaded and ready also,the second photo shows lots of engines one for the Hot Metal, one for slag, one does the switching on the High line and the EL is waiting to match up to the Coil train soon bound for Bay Ridge. Lots of action the way we like it. Take care. Roo.

Roo,

I really look forward to your posts and I like the clean look of the mill. I've also toured steel mills and true they are filthy and noxious. However your plant allows one to appreciate the railroad and its operations.  IMHO, weathered, it would all fade into a continuous mound of rust and crud.

Keep up the great work.

Ron H

Thanks Ron but sooner or later I am going to weather things but not to severe.

Now to another project I have had in my mind for a while... expanding the Rolling mill. (The Bayridge rebuild is held up waiting for some special trackwork from England) still two weeks away. 

The Rolling Mill expansion does not require any baseboards and not a lot of extra track just a large building that you can see into and the trackwork set into concrete it's actually where the coils will be loaded so if your interested sit back and watch the transformation. The first photo will be what it looked liked then after that all the photos will be about changing the area the crane is gone and one siding moved over to fit under the roof.

Now before you say "but, but". where are all the details going to go if the shed is full of paved track. Easy answer is seeing I have to pave the track why not add another one just in case in the future it is needed easy to do now while the plaster is still wet! The new track will be covered with details but will still be wired for use in the future. Actually the track work is held up for a couple of days waiting for another turnout seems to be the story of my life ! I have cut the styrene for the building so I can show the progress on that at the present time.

Hope you enjoy looking at it changing as I do building it stay with me.

Thanks Roo.

Update already. Here is the styrene cut ready to glue together I hope this turns out OK, after me going public with it before it's finished!

The building is 42 inches long 18 inches wide it's 10 inches high because I want to run a full length gantry crane inside and maybe outside the interior I hope to detail it that's why the aisle side will be left open.

Thanks Roo.

ROO,

You are doing a great job!  Keep it up and you'll be able to roll your own steel.

Thanks Kazar.

Here is the first stages of the Coil Loading building that's 3mm styrene sheet my favourite for large structures. Thanks Roo.

The progress with the coil loading building is moving along slowly, next up is the gantry crane. I am pleased with the building so far it is all nice and square been doing it in the house on a small bench risky but it's to cold outside in the workshop I'm a wimp!    Roo.

Roo, you work is looking great! I would also bring my projects into the house to work on, but now that I have the train room behind the garage. I don't have that option per the CEO! LOL

Thanks Mike.

I have reached a point with the Coil loading crane where I don't want to go any further YET. I have finished the basic parts including the hook but no paint at the moment.

Today I am replacing a Turnout for once it's easy to get to this turnout is about 25 years old and is giving some trouble in the frog when little four wheelers run across it the SW's have no hesitation but the little critters do so I looked further and found the frog rails which are set in plastic are not always live. It will be ready for this weeks running session in fact it should be finished by tonight. (Tuesday). Anyway here are some photos of the crane.

If you look to the rear of the Coil loading shed across the aisle that's where I'm installing the new Turnout that's the Blooming Mill where ingots are rolled into semi finished shapes for further processing.

Take care. Roo.

Looking good Roo! Is that overhead crane scratch built or is it a kit? Looks great!

Thanks again Mike. Yes that crane is scratch built almost everything else is as well, if I do find a kit suitable for the layout I usually bash it sometimes O Scale scratch building is easier than O scale Kit building just my opinion now if the manufacturers built all the HO kits in O scale I might change my mind!

The photos are of the new turnout installed waiting for the Ballast crew all wired up and working. I removed the Blooming Mill building while I was working there.  Roo.

Everything is back to normal the little "critter" that handles the Ingot train back and forth from the BOF to the Blooming Mill now glides effortlessly across the new turnout on it's four wheels.   Roo.

Looks good Roo, I really like the scratch build idea, cause it makes you use your imagination and is cheaper! LOL

Nice work Nev, and ready for the running session just as you said.  The coil loading facility and the crane are coming along nicely.

Well Friday has come and gone another great day of running trains.

I've moved out of my little area today and taken some photos of the action around Bay Ridge, Waterside, Valley Forge and then back to Republic Steel.

All the photos are new and taken while we were operating the layout nothing was staged for the photos. The bloke facing the camera in one of the photos is Bruce who works with me on the Railroad the other bloke Big John is in another photo with his back to the camera he is a great operator and good friend. The first photo shows Bay Ridge in a temporary mode where we stage trains this will be developed in the near future with othere tracks added and a passenger station.

Roo.

Roo, you and your crew put the FUN into model railroading!

Dan Weinhold

MORE "fun" today about to pour some concrete. Show results tomorrow ! Fingers crossed.   Roo.

Oh man. Now I'm going to need more coil cars. Maybe even somewhere for them to go?

Love the look of the RR. Your switches looked like the Peco ones I had in HO scale. So I had to go look them up. I saw 2 codes of rails for them.

Some "action" photos it's all good "Fun"? More soon otherwise the plaster will need a jackhammer this has only taken an Hour so far. Roo.

Things are moving along smoothly. The plaster is still damp but then it has been raining all the morning and we are in winter time. So far it has been about 100 minutes. The important thing about a job like this is to have everything ready and more throw in anything you think you will need even a couple of good wood chisels you can sharpen them after the panic is over I am showing you some tools I use and after the theatricals there is a photo of where I am at now of course I don't have to mention the feeders that shopukld have been soldered in at the start and of course the track paving has to be painted and the Turnout paved over I wait till the rest is done then take my time for the turnout when I am at a more relaxed state and my Blood pressure is back to normal. This is also the time to smooth over any Gouges or mistakes hopefully there are not many. I have a portable Vac cleaner somewhere amongst the tools I am using that is handy don't let the missus see you using it.  The beanie is not necessary as you are going flat out for an hour and soon warm I just forgot to take it off the heater is not on I don't want the plaster to dry to quick.. Roo.

OK. The track is cleaned and free of plaster the next stage was to place the Coil Loading building over the Plaster or concrete slab to see how it sits.

There is a couple of small High spots detected once these are leveled out and the building sits level the next stage is to carve the ends of the track for the wheel stops and if I feel like it patch a couple of potholes, after that its painting but not right this minute it is still damp maybe tomorrow morning. The whole thing has taken about three hours apart from the turnout. I know there are other ways of paving track and I have tried them all over the years but I still come back to the old Plaster of Paris hard to teach an old dog new tricks I guess or maybe this is just the best way! Ha Ha. Good job for a wet Sunday. Roo.

Great work Roo. Working with plaster is stressful no doubt. Just trying to get the mix right before it sets is enough in itself.

Looking forward to the finished product.

Bob

Roo, great work with the plaster. looks really nice.

-Tom

Roo, the paving looks great! You look like you might be having a little to much fun playing in the mud, but that's ok. Having fun is what its all about!

Can't wait to see the next post.