Updated 4/14/2013:
My thinking has clarified a bit on downtown Weirton and Main Street. I will recap.
Here's the area in question - that big "hole" in the middle. Currently, it is open grid bench work with risers, subroadbed and track.
- MainlineRestored002W.jpg (63.12 KiB) Viewed 4027 times
As you recall, the Blooming Mill and the Open Hearth already exist. Construction of the overpass (Crawford's Crossing) is underway. Photo 2 shows the relative placement of the structures. The highway overpass is not yet erected.
- 2011-01-05 006W.jpg (92.9 KiB) Viewed 4034 times
As you can see in the photo, an irregularly shaped plywood table top supports the Weirton Steel mill area.
In Photo 3 (the RR-Track plan of the area), the steel mills are just to the right (out of the picture).
- Crawfords_Crossing01.JPG (171.04 KiB) Viewed 4033 times
Some reworked preliminary thoughts:
- Just like the Standard Slag module (described awhile back in this thread with photos), we are going to make a sandwich. The bottom layer of the sandwich will be a 1/8" masonite board that will extend south from the north edge of the Main Street to the edge of the subroadbed supporting the tracks to the south (unseen past the southern edge of the photo). The masonite board will overlap the subroadbed, sitting on top of it. It will be carefully cut to mate up with the boundaries of the track roadbed. Eventually, ground cover will hide this seam.
- The area south of the concrete wall will be almost 2" lower than Main Street. A 1:48 figure entering the front of the Quality Control Lab would exit the rear of the building at a lower level. The concrete wall lining the south side of Main Street will have a total height of 4" (from the floor of the sandwich).
- Our sandwich filling will be RIBS! Unfortunately, they will be made of wood (1.75"x.75" pine) and will run North to South from the top edge of the module to the just north of the Concrete Wall. They will elevate Main Street. I will space them at regular intervals to add rigidity to the module.
- The top layer of our sandwich will be Main Street (masonite) and a separate section of masonite supporting buildings running along the north edge of Main Street. That section will run all the way north to a vertical scenery divider that separates downtown Weirton (south side) from Weirton Junction (north side).
- As you may have noticed, the bottom layer of masonite doesn't completely cover the entire module floor. That's because we will need to reach the wiring (Lesson Learned from Standard Slag - you can't get your hand into a 2" high cavity to do wiring). But a little of the bottom layer will extend north from the divider to give the Weirton Junction area a foundation. That area will be populated with a small hill, a lot of trees (to blend in with the divider) and the WC (Weirton Junction) interlocking tower.
Hopefully that clarifies the diabolical plan.
Too bad about the ribs, isn't it?
I would love to hear from you about this idea.
George
