PRR Panhandle Year in Review - 2024 | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum

Friends:

We find ourselves at the end of another year. Time to look back and recap the progress we've made. I confess that I am blown away by how much was achieved in 2024.

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We started the new year with the completed, but bare bench work of the Weirton peninsula. Other than the long westbound Staging Area exit track, there was nothing but wood from the Weirton Steel divider to the end of the peninsula.

These were the major efforts undertaken in 2024:

Weirton Steel Yard – This area was the logical first step. With the mills (or their mock-ups) in position, subroadbed (foam replacement for Vinylbed), track, and turnouts were installed. I realized (to my dread) that the turnouts behind Weirton Steel might require diagnostic debugging and maintenance. That prompted the change from DZ-2500 to Tortoise switch machines. It also cemented my decision to install Tortoise switch machines for the rest of the layout; previously laid WSX yard tracks were lifted and re-installed with the new Tortoises. I got the very difficult mainline switch No. 36 fitted with a Tortoise. This was a very contorted effort from below and ultimately required freeing the fascia to install the switch machine. Feeder wires were dropped and connected to the buses for Power Districts 8 and 7. Despite the rework involved, this was a win-win scenario.

Below is Switch No. 36 on the Westbound mainline (right most track). Another accomplishment was the interlocking of the two signals shown below. They now display the correct aspect when either the track ahead is occupied or the turnout is thrown against them.

Work proceeds on track in the vicinity of Switch No. 35.

Switch No. 13 (wye) in the foreground with No. 14 (Open Hearth spur) beyond it. Further north is Switch No. 15 that connects to the mainline and Switch No. 16 (Blooming Mill spur and north end of the Loads/Empties track).

Below is the area behind Weirton Steel. Switch No. 33 is in the foreground. The marginally useful access hatch (cut before the mill was planned) is handicapped by the Open Hearth. Staging is visible through the divider.

Below is a typical under table installation of a Tortoise switch machine.

A larger access hole was cut behind the Open Hearth, allowing me to reach derailments and refill smoke units inside the mill. Various issues in the Weirton Steel Yard issues surfaced and were corrected. For example, I discovered that the Blooming Mill needed more height to allow cars and locomotives to clear its entrance. A low spot in the yard was corrected and an omitted wire for an insulated rail was installed. I stored away a few ground scenery ideas to use when the mill and Crawford's Crossing are completed. It also became clear that to test the Weirton Steel Yard tracks, I would have to finalize the locations of all the signals in the area. Ultimately, I ended up installing them as well.

This view is looking up through the new access hole at the rear of the Open Hearth. The tail-wheel of the mill is visible at the top of the photo. Yes, the board upon which the Open Hearth sits has a tail wheel to allow me to move it to the edge of the layout for removal (should the occasion ever arise).

Here's the same area from the previous photo. The new access hole is clearly visible now.

Work proceeds installing Tortoise switch machines for Nos. 13 and 14.

Another look at the area from the opposite side of the layout.

The notch in the foam roadbed and the hole in the bench top for the throw wire is clearly visible on the left side of WSX Yard lead. The 2 smaller holes on the right side are remnants from the previous machines (would have held wire bundles). They will be covered over when I lay the styrofoam sheet down.

Weirton peninsula & mainline track – The mainline from around Switch No. 36 to its connection to the Weirton Steel Yard and access to the Staging Area was the next major segment to be completed. The curve at the end of the peninsula was super elevated and Z-Stuff sensors and cross-bucks were installed. The crossing works great in either direction. The track is straight and allows large trains to operate smoothly. A custom double-headed signal from Integrated Signal Systems was installed to protect the yard and Staging area entrances. Feeders to the buses of Power District 5 were connected.

This view is towards Staging with Switches 17, 18, and 19 visible. The blue painters tape is holding the switch points in place. The Tortoise machine will be installed from beneath the layout and its throw wire will be inserted into points mechanism.

Switch 10 is in the foreground. Roadbed is in place for the mainline and the diverging route to Staging. Switch 9, which will diverge to Staging is not yet installed.

Visible at the near end of the mainline straight are a pair of feeder wires. At the far end is Switch 9.

Working our way back from the straight we see the beginning of the curve around the peninsula (left). I used these clips to position the track, thereby placing the roadbed properly.

Weirton Junction Yard – The yard and the Standard Slag dump track were another major accomplishment. The bench top was cut and fitted to accommodate the curves of the tracks. An engine pocket track was modified and attached to the innermost yard track, creating a run-around track to enhance switching operations. Power District #6’s bus was connected to all the feeders in the yard.

Left-to-right: Standard Slag dump track, Yard Tracks 1, 2, 3, the runaround track, and the Mainline.

Signal / Interlocking Towers – Initially, I had intended to install pushbuttons in the fascia near each of the switch machines. But after some consideration, it occurred to me that I should approach this operationally. If I were to recreate the towers in the area (Weirton Steel Yard, Weirton Junction, QN) and group the switches accordingly, I could assign operators to each. The resulting tower control panels would feature toggles, track plan, and LEDs indicating the selected turnout direction. I investigated the use of the extra contacts on each Tortoise switch machine; one set was used to drive signals and another drove the LEDs on the panels. Neal Schorr (@PRRMiddleDivision), Bob Bartezik (@Bob, and @Dennis-LaRock kindly eased my learning curve. In all 19 turnouts were converted. The Weirton Steel Yard tower will control switches 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 32, 32, 35 and 36. Weirton Junction (WC) tower will control switches 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The Steubenville area tower (QN) will control switches 1, 2, 37, 38, 41, and 42. Below are photos of the rear and the front of a control panel.

Block Occupancy Signaling Circuits - Each of the PRR signals in the bridges at opposite ends of the river now correctly detect the presence of trains in the block beyond them. The circuits use DPDT relays, capacitors, and resistors to eliminate relay chatter and improve reliability. The first curved section leading to the bridge (O72) was replaced with an O64 segment.

Electrical Upgrades - My electrician friend diagnosed the the Open Hearth’s flaky lighting performance as a power issue and I replaced the power supply with a larger one. During testing, the smoke unit malfunctioned and nearly caused a fire. That caused me to eliminate the smoking aspect of the smokestacks (for now). I also purchased and installed fire extinguishers in the train room as a precaution. My electrician friend installed a whole-house surge protector to protect the house and the layout from power company mishaps.

Staged Projects - these were other projects that were prepared (staged) for work but not completed.

New, better roof for Weirton Steel Open Hearth – After completing the main elements of this structure I worked at building a roof for it. I finished this in late 2023, but I didn’t really like it. There was a bit too much waviness in the ventilator. I think it turns an excellent model into a mediocre one and detracts from my accurate mill interiors. As a result, I decided to re-do the roof. New roof panels (Plastruct 91512) as well as long underlying support sections were purchased and painted. I am part way through this effort and might get it done before the end of the year, but it’s probably going to drag into very early 2025. This series of photos shows the roof replacement in progress.

Weirton Junction / City of Weirton Divider – this 2-sided backdrop will separate the wooded Weirton Junction area from the urban intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue, County Road, and Main Street as it comes down off Crawford’s Crossing. After some design work and tweaking by RailroadBackdrops.com, the photo of Pennsylvania Avenue (taken back in 2017) which anchors the entire project, has been added to the City of Weirton backdrop and is ready for installation. The other side is simply woods and trees. A vertically mounted 2’ x 14’ x 1/16” section of Masonite will hold up both backdrops. The backdrops have arrived, been straightened, and await installation on the Masonite. This top photo shows the planned footprint of Main Street as it reaches Crawford's Crossing. The yardsticks indicate the section where the road climbs up to cross the tracks. The section of highway between the mills will be level and elevated when complete.

Below, Crawford's Crossing is to our right and out of view. Visible are the footprints of the MAB (Mill Administration Building) in green, lower Main Street in purple, Pennsylvania Avenue in brown, County Road in yellow, and upper Main Street in pink.

Here the backdrops being straightened out.

Crawford’s Crossing highway overpass – this is an automobile bridge (Weirton’s Main Street & Route 2) that bisected the mills and intersected with Pennsylvania Avenue and County Road. It’s a unique intersection for which I have 1950’s era coordinated traffic signals. I studied a number of prototype photos of the area, designed the bridge, and acquired the lumber necessary to construct it. I also painted some of the masonite that will form the roadway (photo below). Photos and test-fitting of building footprints have also been put down on the benchtop. I am still waiting on the 3D printing of the correct bridge guard rails. Because of limited access, I must complete this project before the above mentioned staged efforts.

Below left is one of the 3D printed sample railings. We are awaiting a much larger quantity of them. On the right are all 32 bridge shoes that I painted and assembled for this structure.

Slag Dump Animation: I spent some time on slag the dump animation writing C code, but I was stymied by the horrible LED board documentation (lack thereof) needed to hook it up to an Arduino for development / testing. I may end up buying a different board. I did locate my supply of rusted steel wall segments for Standard Slag. These are veterans of Panhandle 1.

Emergency Stop: My electrician friend designed a hard-wired emergency stop button system. I am in the process of installing it - 3 of the 4 stop buttons, conduit, and wiring have been installed. The locations on the layout for the Start / Stop Button and the junction box have been identified. Realistically, that won't be done until the Steubenville bench work is completed.