What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

[G3750]

George,
Great photos as usual. Is the bridge still in use? By NS?

Yes. I have learned that NS has trains over the bridge fairly frequently. I was in Steubenville awhile ago and actually caught one on the bridge.

OH_Waterline_047_.JPG (234.28 KiB) Viewed 6071 times

George

[G3750]

Updated 6/22/2019:

How's that INXS song go? "One thing leads to another"?

OK, so thinking about the hatch lead to my making it into a trapezoid shape. My wife suggested that I make a cardboard hatch template to see if I would fit. Turns out that 24"x13" is the minimum size for me. That prompted me to revisit all the hatches near Weirton Steel. They are marked in light green below.

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I am debating the need for the trapezoid hatch. But the 24"x13" hatch under the Blooming Mill seems necessary. Likewise the hatch at the rear of the Open Hearth. And the one in front of the Open Hearth is also required. I have slightly re-positioned the 2 tracks leading into the Blooming Mill as a result of this analysis.

So we are closer, but no blade has yet hit a table top.

George

[G3750]

More from today (6/22/2019):

Here are some test fittings of track around the prospective hatch.

Track centers on the eastern approach will be 3.75" apart (15 scale feet, which is just an scootch wide for the Pennsy).

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On the curve itself, the track centers will be 4" apart (16 scale feet). Hopefully we will not side-swipe 18" passenger cars.

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In this photo, the ruler indicates the edge of the hatch and its location relative to the tracks.

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George

[rogruth]

George,
Great that you got a shot of a train on the bridge.
I do think that I saw, many years ago of course, two trains on the bridge at the same time, 1940s or 1950s. Before PC.
In those days my aunt lived in Mingo and I always looked forward to spending a few days with my cousin because I could see TRAINS'
The Pennsy must have had 40+ trains a day on the main line with additional 20+ on the River Line.
The steel mill had many trains in standard gauge, a 6' wide gauge, some 3' narrow gauge and, my uncle said a small bit of 2' or 30" gauge.
The W&LE followed along the river to Steubenville to serve the mill there along with the Mingo mill.
The P&WV crossed both on the south side of Mingo.
AND the roundhouse and yards were just south of town.
Great place for a train nut like me.

[G3750]

Updated 6/23/2019:

As Roseanne Rosannadanna used to say: "It's always something."

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So I was about to take the Dremel SawMax to the bench top when I decided to replace the mock-up track with some Ross O72 curved sectional track I thought I purchased in April. I went to the storage bin and discovered:
a) I didn't have any Ross O72 sections (apparently I had not bought any at York this past April; I remember that now )
b) I did have 2 pieces of GarGraves O72 track
c) What I had used for mock-ups was NOT O72! It looks to be O80 or larger.

Fortunately, I discovered this before I did any cutting.

So now, I need to get some Ross O72 curves just to make sure everything is right. By the way, the geometries between the two manufacturers are different. It takes 12 pieces of GarGraves O72 to make a full circle; Ross needs 16 pieces. And since they must mate up with Ross O72 switches, Ross is what I need.

George

[rogruth]

Good that you found that now instead of later.

[chuck]

O Gauge track of almost any type is measured in "strange" ways. Some of the vendors use the center rail, some use the outermost or innermost rail (rare and probably not intentional), some use the outer edge of the ties and some the inner edge. The number of pieces of track to make a circle can also vary which makes mix and match challenging. Center rail makes the most amount of sense but a lot of beginners assumed that O-48 would fit on an 8'x4' sheet of plywood. That only works if the 48" diameter is to the outer edge of the ties.

Glad you caught it before you started cutting. I love the SawMax but it took a while to get used to the initial "kick" on start up. First few times it almost got away from me.

[G3750]

Good that you found that now instead of later.

Yes, me too! It was the difference in number of pieces per circle that caused me to look for the Ross curves.

[G3750]

O Gauge track of almost any type is measured in "strange" ways. Some of the vendors use the center rail, some use the outermost or innermost rail (rare and probably not intentional), some use the outer edge of the ties and some the inner edge. The number of pieces of track to make a circle can also vary which makes mix and match challenging. Center rail makes the most amount of sense but a lot of beginners assumed that O-48 would fit on an 8'x4' sheet of plywood. That only works if the 48" diameter is to the outer edge of the ties.

Glad you caught it before you started cutting. I love the SawMax but it took a while to get used to the initial "kick" on start up. First few times it almost got away from me.

Yes, O gauge track is measured strangely. That’s what happens with a lack of standards.





















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[Rufus T. Firefly]

How's that INXS song go? "One thing leads to another"?

That would have been The Fixx.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHYIGy1dyd8

[G3750]

How's that INXS song go? "One thing leads to another"?

That would have been The Fixx.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHYIGy1dyd8

Thank you. I stand corrected.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

How's that INXS song go? "One thing leads to another"?

That would have been The Fixx.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHYIGy1dyd8

Thank you. I stand corrected.

Just another PSA here on MTJ,

[healey36]

What really depresses me is the thought of trying to wedge my bloated frame through a 13" hatch...ain't happening.

[G3750]

What really depresses me is the thought of trying to wedge my bloated frame through a 13" hatch...ain't happening.

Well, it’s not exactly smooth sailing for me either.

I can’t afford to get any bigger.

George

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I can’t afford to get any bigger.

Well, can you afford to get smaller?