What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

[chuck]

How "deep" is the pour supposed to be? While a 24 hour cure time is attractive, it may introduce issues with warping/shrinking.

[G3750]

How "deep" is the pour supposed to be? While a 24 hour cure time is attractive, it may introduce issues with warping/shrinking.

The pour is probably going to be somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" deep.

[chuck]

The thinner the better as far a cure issues are concerned. In cases where you need to do a thick pour it can be best to do a layered pour with each successive one performed just as the previous one has cured. Some resins release heat as they cure (exothermic) and some need heat (endothermic). In either case a single thick pour can result in warping and/or cracking as the resin sets from too much heat or from too little.

[G3750]

Updated 3/29/2019:

There have been some new developments since I last posted here.

• A test pour of Woodland Scenics Deep Pour - Murky product has been made. It was successful and looks great. Further tests are in progress with coloration and other variables.
• I modified the terrain around the lower end of Steubenville (Water Street) to remove more of the tunnel and model the area more prototypically. Ramshackle houses near the tracks, junk, and appropriate citizens will decorate the area.
• I have decided to put some thin flats of houses near the mill in Weirton. I hope to model the backyard of my grandparents' house as it looked in the 1950s. The houses (flats) will have foreshortened backyards and be separated from the mill by a chain link fence - just as I remember it.

George

[rogruth]

Sounds even than the old plan, George.

[G3750]

Sounds even than the old plan, George.

As time goes by, my focus shifts to the areas that have received less detailed planning. Sometimes things have to percolate before the ideas come or are refined into something better. That has happened with the Steubenville area over time.

George

[G3750]

Updated 4/3/2019:

Today I needed to be in Weirton for a BOD meeting for the museum. I took the occasion to photograph what was left of the BOP and parts of the Steubenville waterline.

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This hillside just below the road (Weir Avenue) was where my grandparents' 2 story frame house stood (the man who built the large ship models). His backyard ended in a chain-link fence. Beyond the fence was Warehouse No. 2. During the war, that building made 8" naval shell casings.

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This photo is of the Market Street bridge and the Ohio River. Water Street (the site of Steubenville's red-light district) is to the right (inland) side of the large brick-faced bridge pier.

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In the 1950's, Steubenville was a bustling center of commerce and industry.

1950 Steubenville.jpg (113.81 KiB) Viewed 4385 times

Here's that same view 60 years later. Times have changed and not for the better.

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As I took the photo above, I heard a train's horn. That was repeated several time. I waited and was rewarded with this photo.

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The train was on the Panhandle tracks so it could only be headed for 1 place - across the bridge. I raced ahead of it and got onto Ohio Route 7 headed north. Traffic slowed me up a bit, but I managed to get this shot.

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George

[rogruth]

Thanks, George.
I remember the old Steubenville.
Every river town around was like that.
Away from the river it was more bucolic
and had a quite different feel.

[G3750]

Thanks, George.
I remember the old Steubenville.
Every river town around was like that.
Away from the river it was more bucolic
and had a quite different feel.

Maybe you could describe it for me a little more thoroughly. Driving around I get a good feeling (memories) of what it was like. I hope to capture the essence of the town on the layout.

George

[G3750]

Updated 4/4/2019:

Previously, I alluded to some changes. Here's a little more description of those changes to the Steubenville area.

Below is the northern half of Steubenville. Changes here are:
1) To the left of the PRR station I am thinking of installing a Wye with the right-most track passing into a tunnel. This would be a dummy, signifying the westward aspect of the Panhandle.
2) I have also shrunk the 4th, 5th, and 6th street blocks a bit.
3) At the left-most bottom of the figure, I have started the curve of the Panhandle towards the east a bit sooner than before
4) I am also thinking about doing something with the area to the east of the PRR station (maybe adding a short freight yard or passenger siding

Steubenville-North.jpg (470.56 KiB) Viewed 4367 times

Below is the southern half of Steubenville. Changes here are:
1) I am modeling the ground more prototypically. I have cut back the tunnel to the left edge of the layout. The ground will slope down towards Water Street, which will be at its correct lower level.
2) The edge of the layout below Water Street will be (implied) the Ohio River. The fascia will be a bit lower and represent the shoreline. Drainage ditches and shoreline will be modeled.
3) I will model part of the Market Street at it passes above Water Street.
4) Water Street will have its houses of ill repute back up into the hillside below 4th Street.
5) Buildings serving as view blocks will be necessary at both ends of 5th Street and 6th Street.

Steubenville-South.jpg (408.09 KiB) Viewed 4367 times

As always, your thoughts are welcome.

George

[rogruth]

Any description will be a ramble for me. But I'll try. Of course this is all my opinion.
The valley towns on both sides of the river were pretty much alike from Moundsville,WV
on the south end to Weirton on the north. In the 1950s populations range from 2500 to
nearly 50,000. They all had a connection to steel and/or coal and were dependent on each
other. The populations were ,and still are, of mixed heritage. Some neighborhoods would be
mostly of one heritage and some would be very mixed. It was interesting to walk, yes walk,
through town and hear the many languages. My best friend spoke mostly English and a little
Italian. His dad was fluent in both languages but grandmother spoke little English. However
the first generation all did learn some English and were proud to let you know it.
It was also possible to find everything you needed for life in the town in which you lived
regardless of size.The two largest towns were Steubenville and Wheeling, WV. During the
time period one fact that was difficult for many to see was that West Virginia was officially
a segregated state and Ohio was not. This changed in the late 1950s with little problem.
The larger towns all had a "red light district" which everyone seemed to know about but never
talked about. There was after WW II a general feeling of prosperity. An aside. Supposedly the
depression was over in the early 1930s. Maybe so in most of the country but not in this area.
In my hometown the steel mill never reopened but the one across the river did in early 1942.
Many of the steel workers from my town walked across the bridge over the Ohio River to work
the mills in WV. I can remember the brightness of the light that could be seen at night when
steel was being poured. Now the depression was really over and if a person wanted to work a
job could be had. Another aside. It is not like that today. Most factories and mines are gone.
The population of most towns is lower. My hometown in 1950 was @ 16,000. Today it is @ 4,000.
But I digress.
The biggest problem in the 1950s was pollution. If you could catch any fish in the river you
couldn't eat them. I never understood why people painted their houses white. Next year they
were gray and the next the paint was peeling. You could see the dirt fall from the sky. You
could wash your car at 10 AM and by noon it needed washed again. But people didn't complain.
They were working and were able to live rather nicely. Everybody did not have a car. Train and
bus travel was very good and reliable at that time. Oh. Street cars and trolley cars were almost
all gone in 1946 and were all gone by 1950. Buses just didn't smell right.
I best quit now.
If you have additional questions or need clarification I will try.
Remember it is all IMHO. Yours may be different.

[chuck]

You could just end 6th at the park. It looks like the real one ends at Logan? I would consider kicking 5th over to meet 4th. Not prototypical but there is a lot of compression going on. On the west side you could put a short length of a cross street to tie it off, almost a "U" turn. Alternate would be to angle 5th south just past the olive area to be more parallel to 6th. I'm not sure how many visitors would be willing to get that close to the back wall to actually look down those streets to there end.

Really nice work on the plan. Comparing the model to the real thing on Google Earth you've done an excellent job of balancing the key points/flavor of the city without torquing the geography/geometry too much.

[rogruth]

More. Steubenville area in the 1950s.
Most schools were built @ 1910-1925. They all had real bells that were rung by a person. All schools in my town rang bells at 8:00,8:15 and 8:25 AM.
The few private schools were operated by the Catholic Church.Until the mid 1950s West Virginia had separate schools for blacks and whites.
Churches also had real bells that were rung at church time and 15 minutes before. Sunday morning could get noisy. Many churches looked like the ones posted by Rufus with the large stone and brick ones in towns and smaller ones in villages and the country. Factories blew whistles for start of shifts and lunch and each whistle would be distinctive.
Corner grocery stores often would be known for having certain foods and the quality of the food. Frozen foods were just getting started so most was fresh. My neighborhood, which was three blocks wide with the Ohio River on the east and hills on the west and five blocks long with a creek on the north and little on the south had eight grocery stores. If they didn't have what you wanted you went to town to the A&P or Krogers. My hometown had at least ten neighborhoods that each had its own ethnicity.
The above was true for the Wheeling-Steubenville Metropolitan area.

George, Let me know if this is what you want and if you want more. You won't hurt my feelings if this is enough. Or too much. Just give a sign.

[G3750]

Roger,

Your memories are very valuable to me. Oral or written informal histories are important. If information like yours isn’t captured it will be lost. I continue to learn from you. Please keep telling us stuff.

George

[G3750]

Chuck,

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. I am generally happy with how the Steubenville area has evolved. I expect additional refinements as I move forward. The ends of the streets are particularly up for grabs.

What has definitely helped me keep the flavor of the area is studying the prototype and injecting selected shots of reality into it.

I will definitely look into your suggestions.

Thank you!

George