Northbrook Steam Heating Plant - boiler and light kits arrive

Norm,

You do absolutely amazing work.   I look forward to updates on this project.

Nice work !! Beautiful model.  Best looking power plant that I have seen.

Did Northbrook not generate enough passenger traffic so you demolished their passenger station?

Looks good; an inspiration.

Jan

Beautiful work Norm. I like how the scene flows. Not over populated with other structures. 

Norm,

The building looks great. I really like the stairway pit.

Alan Graziano

Gorgeous Norm!

Peter

Thanks you guys. Nice seeing you @ York Randy! Jan, you're right, this scene took out the station which was supposed to be temporary anyway until I could figure out what I wanted to do here. I like this setup better, and with NB interlocking 'daylighted', I have some good photo opportunities in this spot.

Very nice Norm!

Of course your work is very inspiring as always, Norm, but I just noticed the stairs going down and the details you added, looks great and realistic. Can't wait to see the finished product as you always seem to add details the many overlook.

Thanks for sharing.

Charlie

Norm:

Excellent concrete work. How did you do it?

Joe

Alan Graziano posted:

Norm,

The building looks great. I really like the stairway pit.

 

Alan Graziano

I'm curious about the stairway pit since I plan on using something similar for an underground track crossing. Is that an actual hole or 'smoke and mirrors'? If it's an illusion it's a good one and I'd like to know how its done

Thanks

Joe

For your info, there are  under track tunnels at Sewickley and  New Brighton you can check out.

jim pastorius posted:

For your info, there are  under track tunnels at Sewickley and  New Brighton you can check out.

Thanks I will ..Maybe the original hot dog shop is still there

Joe, the concrete is carved and painted Masonite. Dobermann, the stairs are in fact 3D, kind of a last minute brainstorm when I came across the stairs in my junk box of plastic scrap. I built the stairwell out of basswood scraps and the PRR railings were pulled off the station I removed from here.

It's funny you guys are talking about the Beaver Valley area of PA. I had friends in Monaca and we used to chase trains through that area in the 90s. I hope it's evident that the scenery of that place influenced my layout efforts.

What an inspiration!  As Peter (Putnam Division) wrote, the building is gorgeous.  The other thing that caught my eye, especially in that first overhead (O scale drone?) shot, is how amazingly good your track looks.  Even though I can see the center rail, it's like it's not there.  That trackwork looks superb, there's something about it that makes it look even more realistic than a lot of 2-rail trackwork I've seen.  Just great work all around.  Thanks for sharing.

WOW!

Great job so far Norm. I can't wait to follow along with the rest of the project. 

Great work NORN!!!!  As others have said love the stairway pit.

Norm:

If you mind revealing, what is your paint scheme to get the concrete look? I use masonite also. I start with black then red oxide then dark gray followed by light gray. Your concrete however looks more realistic than mine.

Joe

Joe, I use Krylon khaki camo paint for my concrete. I follow up with latex or acrylic washes and some light drybrushing to finish it. 

I wish I had more progress to post. I am still waiting for the boilers and lighting kit. After that gets put in, I will do the final detailing for this scene. In the meantime, I am working on a little junkyard scene for Beercan Hollow. This will be the main building (another Krylon khaki job):

Are the walls from a kit ??  Looks good.  Have you ever seen the old power plant by the sewage plant in Beaver Falls along the CSX main line??  It is built at an old canal lock.  I will send you some pictures. Looks like your kind of place.

Just beautiful workmanship! 

Norm,

I love the way you weathered the power plant. Wonderful ! The staircase adds so much drama to the scene. I really want to climb down those stairs and see the coal being dumped into the bins. Do you plan to add some electrical apparatus on the end opposite the sub-staircase? Is there some prototypical machinery that would be associated with the transmission of power?

Thanks,

Eliot

Jim, that is a Banta Models kit. Never did see that plant. We used to check out that flyover in New Brighton and that big antique store in Beaver Falls.

Eliot, thanks man. I am not finished with the weathering since I still have some minor details to add. I will be adding an electrical service at some point. Since this a coal-fired boilerhouse for steam heat, the electric service will be used mostly for lighting and ventilation, and maybe a bit of material handling.

I like that  Banta kit. There is a steam heating plant in downtown Pittsburgh, been there for years. Originally it burned coal, possibly delivered by rail.  In the earlier days there was a RR trestle that ran  from the PRR bridge to the point  which ran right past the steam plant. For a long time it provided steam heat to many office buildings  in the  area.   I have spent many hours taking video and stills at the flyover at new Brighton.  will be in that area and try to get some new photos of the old power plant.  It is tough because it is fenced off, the river and  the RR tracks.

Here's the one I remember in PGH:

http://wesa.fm/post/venturing-...ands-cloud-factory-0

Love it-

Is there an easy way to make the smokestack produce light smoke?

No that thing is solid plaster!

Norm,

There is a number of items to add to your steam plant.

1.  You need a way to get rid of the coal ash from the boilers.  Perhaps some for of conveyor to deliver it to the outside and dump it into cars.

2.  A water supply.  Is that a river down the slope to the right?  A pump house on the bank of the stream with a pipe leading it to the plant.

3.  Insulation clad pipe.  I have memories of aluminum sheathed pipe snaking its way outside (maybe with an expansion loop) before diving into a tunnel.

4.  A boiler on a flat car.

Those are just some thoughts.  Many colleges and factory complexes in addition to downtown  were served by small central steam plants. 

Jan

Jan, here's a link to what I envision going on in my little plant:

http://www.coppercountryexplor...f-a-boiler-house-p2/

Bob's boiler kit represents this tank style boiler I believe. I plan on using two. They will be hand fed and cleaned like shown in these photos. I'm not sure how much piping I want to model. Water and steam delivery methods not being visible will be justified by (unseen) steam tunnels. If I'm ambitious enough, I could model some concrete access vaults near the building and even further down the tracks, sort of like the basement access steps I put in. An ash pile outside by the tracks with a portable conveyor and a waiting gondola will represent ash removal. It will certainly give me an excuse to buy one of those St. Charles Model Works kits.

Interesting link on the coal fired boilers.  Before the advent of commercial electricity they were very common to power industry and street car lines. We have an old power plant in our township that was used by an interurban line. Sometimes there was a coal mine next to the boiler plant.   Sawmills and  iron and steel mills had the early ones which also supplied power to the local population.  This model will give you something to work on !!

Norm.

I would just like to tell you that I have been following your work for sometime now and have enjoyed every minute of it.

You show great imagination and this combined with your artistic talent eventually produces some great work.

Your the man!

Thanks for posting all those great photos and describing your work.

Roo. AKA Neville.

In West Australia.

Hey thanks a lot Neville! 

Another first rate project.  I like the random cracks in the concrete. Were the cracks carved when the blocking was done?

Matt, I use a utility knife dragged sideways for carving the expansion joints and making cracks. I also use the same tool to make spalls and carve depressions for the manhole covers. The cracks are generally done when I do the expansion joints but I might go back to add a few more for effect here and there before doing the wash over everything. 

Norm, I see that your blog is down. What gives? Are you making a change?  You had a lot of nice work on there.  I'm doing the farm house and I was looking for some pointers.

Bill

Bill I deleted it along with my old website. I hadn't updated either in a long time and would rather just post here when I have the time and feel like sharing something. I still have a YouTube channel but dont spend a lot of time on it.

Let me know what building you're interested in. I still have all the photos somewhere or can take some new ones for you.

I should be getting my boilers for this building this week.

Boilers and lights going in...

Always great to see your work!!!!