What's New on the PRR Panhandle Division?

[webenda]

Cool before and after views George. Really good shot of hot metal car being filled.

Here is one from an airplane.

Click on thumb image to see larger image.

Were you standing on the blue dot (see large image) when you took your photos?

I notice slag from steel smelters is brown (rust?)



Copper slag is black with tinges of green and blue.

[G3750]

73 years ago, Chinese-Americans protested US sales of scrap iron to Japan, which used it to wage war in China. In 1958, Mao launched the Great Leap Forward, one of the aims of which was to dramatically increase steel production. Now, China makes the most steel of any country, followed by second-place Japan. The US trails both, at #3.

Roy, the tale of US steel making is a sad one, littered with all sorts of blunders, corruption, and stupidity. I attribute it to:

1) Too much power and inflexibility in the unions (yes they were formed for valid reasons but they never got past the us vs them mentality to see the economic danger to the industry)
2) Congress' refusal to defend US steelmaking from illegal dumping and corporate espionage. Good 'ol Congress can be counted on to be lobbied by foreign money and to be too slow to react. Steel joins the list of well-defended industries such as automobiles, small appliances, textiles and electronics.
3) Steel management - a monument to stupidity if there ever was one. Too reluctant to deal with labor effectively, too inflexible to handle the changes, too stupid for not bribing everyone in Congress.

Anyway, that's my take on it.

George

[G3750]

Cool before and after views George. Really good shot of hot metal car being filled.

Here is one from an airplane.

Click on thumb image to see larger image.

Were you standing on the blue dot (see large image) when you took your photos?

I notice slag from steel smelters is brown (rust?)



Copper slag is black with tinges of green and blue.

Wayne,

Great photos! Thanks for posting them!

In 2005 I was standing on the Blue dot when I took that first shot. In 2012 I'm at the point of the triangle.

I will try to do some more "then" and "now" shots later today.

Yes, slag from ion ore will rust and does have some weak magnetic properties. This stuff may have been there a long time or it may have been badly processed, hard to say. The stuff at Standard Slag tended to be a very white, light gray color. The stuff on Starvaggi's mountain (that has been there for decades) is darker, now that I think about it.

George

[G3750]

This first photo is the overgrown area near Blast Furnace No. 4.

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Here's a look inside the Open Hearth (station 13).

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Don't know if you can see it, but there are trees growing in the top of that blast furnace!

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George

[rogruth]

I am never sure what I think and feel when I see pictures like this.I see a way of life disappearing and that may be for the best.I'm not smart enough to know or figure it out.Iron and coal processing were a large part of making our country what it is [some would say was] but that contributed to pollution a great deal.Most of that is cleaned up now and it would be hard to convince people to return to those days.Let other countries pollute their environment and we'll buy stuff from them.There is something wrong with this thinking.

Most of the towns and cities in the upper Ohio Valley have lost a lot of population along with services and other advantages that go with population.There was a time in that area when you probably could find almost anything you needed within walking distance of your house.Seldom did a person that needed a job go without one very long.There were many places to work that are gone now.I suppose that a lot of these will be replaced by a different type of work that we "old timers" will not easily recognize.Computer stuff.Work from home.Etc.

[G3750]

I am never sure what I think and feel when I see pictures like this.I see a way of life disappearing and that may be for the best.I'm not smart enough to know or figure it out.Iron and coal processing were a large part of making our country what it is [some would say was] but that contributed to pollution a great deal.Most of that is cleaned up now and it would be hard to convince people to return to those days.Let other countries pollute their environment and we'll buy stuff from them.There is something wrong with this thinking.

Most of the towns and cities in the upper Ohio Valley have lost a lot of population along with services and other advantages that go with population.There was a time in that area when you probably could find almost anything you needed within walking distance of your house.Seldom did a person that needed a job go without one very long.There were many places to work that are gone now.I suppose that a lot of these will be replaced by a different type of work that we "old timers" will not easily recognize.Computer stuff.Work from home.Etc.

I know, I feel conflicted as well. After all, I turned my back on this way of life in the late 70's and went on to a career with computers (32 years and counting). I feel badly for the towns and my contemporaries who suffered this (perhaps needless) downturn.

Yes, things are cleaner. But I have the sinking suspicion that only economies that make something tangible really ever prosper. Service economies do not lend themselves to long term success.

George

[G3750]

Updated 6/29/2012:

Haven't had a chance to work on the layout for awhile, but the weekend is approaching and I have high hopes! Anyway, despite a lack of work, there has been some activity.

• I did pick up some slag from Scenic Express on the way to my family reunion in Weirton, WV. It looks very good.
• I evaluated the results of spray painting the foamboard. I'm gong to coat it with joint compound first.
• My friend completed 12 castings of the steel piling that will be used in the Standard Slag area.

If I can stay away from the "Honey-Do" list, I might have some progress to report by Monday.

George

[rogruth]

Waiting patiently.

[G3750]

Updated 7/1/2012:

Did make some progress this weekend:

• I managed to sand and paint all 12 steel pilings castings. I used Krylon Ruddy Brown and they look pretty good. If I weather them a bit they will match the original. Either way, they are pretty close.
• Also fired up the Foam Factory and trimmed up the north end of the slag yard. It turns out that I will need 6 more wall castings - I've already asked my friend to make them.
• Figured out a way to make the wall that will go on the north end (needs the 6 steel pilings). I will glue all 6 to a piece of cardstock first. That will permit me to line up all the edges correctly. Then I will glue the cardstock to the foam.

George

[G3750]

Updated 7/4/2012:

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Yesterday I broke out the wall joint compound and iced the cake - or at least that's what it seemed like. Despite having never actually iced a cake (watched many cakes being iced though), it was a pretty smooth process. The slope has been covered now and I will wait for it to dry.

I think it serves two purposes:
1) It fills in all the holes I left in the slopes and terrains
2) It creates a surface that will take paint well. The exposed edge of the foam didn't do well in my spray test earlier.

My next step is to get some card stock and glue the painted steel pilings onto them. I have to say I'm really happy with how they turned out.

Will try to get some photos up.

George

[G3750]

OK, as promised here are some photos.

First, this is the slope of the slag pit (photos 1 & 2). The foamboard has been covered with wall joint compound. It was surprisingly easy to apply (like paste). I used a putty knife, but a set of applicators like Micro-Mark sells might be a good idea. I also used some craft sticks to fill in some of the holes.

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George

[G3750]

Here is a shot of the steel pilings that were cast. I painted them a Ruddy Brown (Krylon). I think they turned out OK. I will be gluing them to a piece of cardboard so that the edges line up correctly before putting them in their final position.

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This is a shot of the "plug" that will come out before the access hatch is removed. The side facing the pit will get a wall made of pilings. I'm thinking about adding a 1" layer on top and having it slope left to right down to the wall. I'm thinking the top of the plug should have a mixture of cinders (around the signal bridge base), some healthy grass, some dead grass (brown) and some slag near the pilings. Your thoughts?

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George

[rogruth]

That sounds good to me.Waiting for more.

[G3750]

That sounds good to me.Waiting for more.

Hey, get your butt over here and help!

Actually spent today in Emmitsburg, MD at Day 1 of a lacrosse tournament in 103 degree heat. Day 2 is tomorrow. This is nuts!

But it could be worse. Just 6 miles down the road in Gettysburg, the Civil War re-enactors are doing their thing in period accurate woolen uniforms. Yeah.

George

[G3750]

Despite Roger not showing up to help , I managed to get some free time this weekend to paint the access hatch. It's a total PITA to take the thing off the layout, get it up the stairs and into the garage, and then hit it with 3-4 coats of gray. The wall joint compound took the paint very well. The wood, not so much. I will have to go over it with a brush and maybe some ground foam. I'm really trying to avoid that painted plywood look for "level" ground. Any ideas?

Photo to follow, but right now the emphasis will be on getting roadbed (Vinylbed), track, and wiring work done on the module. I also need to find some cardboard to use for backing for the steel piling walls.

The same friend who cast the pilings for me brought up a point that's probably worth a discussion here. He mentioned that the wall units would never stack or abutt in a way that hid the seams. In my observation of such walls, they typically never do match up exactly. No one can realistically cast a single prototype piece of steel that large - especially one under stress like a wall. So I am planning to make the wall joints uneven and springle a little slag on them or try to fake a few weeds growing between the wall sections. Thoughts?

George