What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

[healey36]

A shot of ISG's Weirton Steel facility taken in 2015:



I'm guessing that's just a small bit of what once was there.

[G3750]

A shot of ISG's Weirton Steel facility taken in 2015:



I'm guessing that's just a small bit of what once was there.

And there is even less there now.

All the blast furnaces are gone. The BOP is gone as well.

George

[G3750]

Updated 1/23/2022:

ometimes with reflection comes clarity (not always). I have been wrestling with some aspects of the Weirton Steel Open Hearth mill. In particular, I have been debating changing its size (it’s gotten both bigger and smaller) over the past 2 weeks. The building will have at least 3 smoke units and they need to be reachable for service. Tracks inside and near the structure also have to be accessible in case of derailments or other problems. And I wasn’t comfortable with the placement of some auxiliary structures.

So after much thinking, here are the changes and decisions:

• The Open Hearth has changed from 60” in length to 52” long. Mill width has gone from 36” to 38”, with the 2 extra inches going to the “Lean-To” portion that houses the smoke stacks, electronic circuitry, and power supply.
• The entire mill will sit on a single piece of 5/8” plywood. This will make it easier to transport.
• The number of smoke stacks has increased from 3 to 4. Two are dummies.
• The size of the ovens in the interior has gone from 20” to 11”. There will be 4 (Nos. 14, 13, 12, and 11) versus 2.
• The main roof area between furnaces 14 and 13 will be removable.
• The entire front of the building and the protruding Cinder Yard will be one piece and removable so that visitors can see into both sides (Pouring Floor and Charging Floor) of the building.
• The number of sidings entering the building will be reduced from 2 to 1. That siding will remain along the northwest edge of the building and serve the Pouring Floor. This results in the elimination of Switch #14.
• The area in front of the mill will be cleared of all auxiliary structures, with the compressed air tank structure moving to the front of the neighboring Strip Steel building. The area in front will become a large access hatch disguised by something (probably a parking lot or truck staging area for the Strip Steel).
• The Strip Steel will become a bit less wide. The building will be used to disguise a large access opening underneath it. This will allow me to reach the side of the Open Hearth and service all smoke units.
• The Strip Steel spur track will be moved down towards the southeast edge of the building. That means moving Switch #18 further east (towards the backdrop).

The photos show both the "before" track plan as well as the "after" version.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0mGPCdxksReNp

George

[healey36]

[*]The entire mill will sit on a single piece of 5/8” plywood. This will make it easier to transport.

Transport? Wait, what? Is this being constructed in a modular fashion?

[G3750]

The current thinking is to be able to move it. There are a couple of meets later this year. I would like to bring the mill, if possible. I am designing it to be as self contained as possible.

George

[healey36]

That'll be interesting to be able to move it. I hadn't realized that was the plan. Sounds a bit heavy and unwieldy, though, especially if you have to haul it up out of the basement. Depending upon the size of the base, I would think you'll to have to build yourself some sort of trolley to move it.

[G3750]

That'll be interesting to be able to move it. I hadn't realized that was the plan. Sounds a bit heavy and unwieldy, though, especially if you have to haul it up out of the basement. Depending upon the size of the base, I would think you'll to have to build yourself some sort of trolley to move it.

It will be unwieldy. I did measure and it will fit the staircase. While not light, two people should be able to carry it. Dimensions will be 38" wide x 70" long x 34" high (the stacks). So, a trolley might be necessary or at least a good idea.

We'll see how it all plays out. Fragility is a concern with all that Plastruct truss work.

George

[Rufus T. Firefly]

It will be unwieldy. I did measure and it will fit the staircase. While not light, two people should be able to carry it. Dimensions will be 38" wide x 70" long x 34" high (the stacks).

Unwieldy it might be indeed!

38" wide is quite a bit wider than many doorways - top of your stairs is that wide? My staircase is just under 37" but the door at the top is 30".

70" long is pretty long to get around corners in many houses particularly working around "stuff".

[sarge]

It gets much better if its engineered to stand on the end. Perhaps a box-frame that screws on with 1/4" masonite sheeting to protect the buildings. Stand it on its end after covering, and its under 6' tall (or just over if you want to put some nice casters on the box-frame), 34-1/2" x 37-1/4" footprint on its end.

So long as the doors clear and the scene is fixed tightly so going from horizontal to vertical isn't an issue, might work pretty nicely.

[robert.]

My day job has me as professional art mover. #8 inches wide is a lot to ask for a basement door. You'll need to remove your stair way railing. Removing the railing will give you a little wiggle room. Most house don't have 70 inches from the basement door to the hallway wall. You coming out of your basement and needing to stand it on end as Sarge mentioned . As a fine arts mover. I don't know if i would move somebodies 6 foot long custom built model. I do know if i moved it. It would not be as they watched

[G3750]

Rufus, Sarge, Robert - thank you for weighing in on this.

If I design the stacks to be removable, then the building could be rotated "edgewise" so as to get through a 30" opening. I don't actually have a door to the basement - only the formidable and still impenetrable cat-gate . The base adds 5/8" but without that stacks the height is 26 5/8" high.

George

[G3750]

Updated 1/26/2022:

I finished the last of the major roof trusses (9 in all, each with 38 parts) tonight.

George

[G3750]

Updated 2/3/2022:

It wasn't very glamorous or photogenic, but I spent a lot of the day with a calculator, fraction to decimal conversion table, and my Visio program creating 3 view of an open hearth furnace - top, front (charging side), and rear (pouring side). Along with accurate dimensions, I have found some Plastruct "shortcuts" to creating various prototypical appearances. Tomorrow, I hope to start building the first of the furnace fronts & tops. We'll see how that goes, learn from the experience, and then see if we can't apply those lessons to the next 3.

George

[G3750]

Updated 2/10/2022:

• Work continues on the open hearth - sides for all 4 furnaces have now been cut. I hope to cut the pouring floor sides (backs) and regenerative (checker) furnace sides later today.
• The glue sticks I tried for mating brick paper to styrene failed to hold. Per the recommendation of http://www.thistothat.com, I tried some 3M No. 77 spray adhesive for applying brick paper to styrene; that seems to be working. The paper was produced by the Evans Design program Brickyard 3.
• Speaking of Evans Design, I had a little design session on the phone with them yesterday. In addition to the oven lights, I ordered several other circuits for various mill animations.
• Over on Oscaleyardsale, I picked up 18 sets (8 each) of rather obscure or old Plastruct theater seats. They look a lot like waiting room seats. That's good, because they are going to serve exactly that purpose for all the 1:48 passengers waiting at the Steubenville PRR station.

George

[healey36]

I've been using Loctite multi-purpose spray adhesive for awhile and it seems to work pretty well. I use it primarily for mounting printed graphics on heavy cardstock and matt-board. I haven't had any of that come apart, and some of it has taken quite a beating. The stuff Elmer's markets seems to be the opposite.