Here's the latest:
The final major component of the blast furnace is on the printer now. That'll give me the furnace itself, the stoves, and the dust collector. Shrinking the model down made for some mishaps in measurements and whatnot so I've had some reprints plus the printer needed a part replaced (no big deal, just lost time).
The benchwork is designed and I'm ready to build it. It's done up in 4' wide sections that will be no more than 6' long. I plan on never moving again but that's not realistic so I think I should be able to dismantle the layout pretty easy. I intend to cut track where the tables come apart and the wiring will follow suit. My hope is that un-drying white glue to remove scenery is small potatoes if your table is simply bolted together.
I found https://www.ohiomemory.org/. RIP the rest of your night if you like history 
I've been researching the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Campbell works to see what's in a blower house, boiler house, skip hoist, open hearth, teeming pit, etc. There are some really impressive pictures on there and I'm so glad I found it because the local industrial museum is tough to get into with the pandemic. This has helped me move forward and start coming up with some basic plans on the other structures for the mill.
The track plan has undergone some huge changes and it looks like I might be having 3 blast furnaces now instead of 2. The top level of the layout (mill level) will be very congested and I'm hoping this makes for more exciting operations. The iron operations take place at one end of the layout while the steel operations take place at the other. I intend to post the track plan once I finish getting it labelled up. I have some concerns about clearances and maybe having too much track but I'm not overly worried because I believe the most important sections are fine where they are. Everything else is negotiable. I'll be starting first with the giant double track main once the table is built. Partially to scratch my itch to run more trains and partially because everything else is located relative to it, the high-line for the blast furnaces, and the helix.
Which is the last update! I'm going to use a screw conveyor to get my coal back down to the coal mine on the lower level. I already test printed a two part screw that has to be glued together. It fit inside the clear PVC pipe perfectly. Then I test printed a piece that connects to the vertical pipe and feeds the screw.
I have found the table grew in some spots that now means I can't reach everywhere on the layout without help. I'm a little worried about that. I know I can use a topside creeper. I think the layout will support my weight if I had to crawl on it. I mostly managed to keep switches within reach. The only three that are isolated can be reached via the helix.
So I've been busy. I don't have many pictures of anything to show for it but I'm trying to cover my bases before I start cutting and assembling. I thought my benchwork design was done till I went to double check some measurements today. Turns out I was way off. I'm glad I double checked. I'l try to get some pictures up at some point.
Here is a link to the Campbell works blast furnaces. This plant heavily inspired my new track plans. The furnaces there were also the original design of the model I printed. I got the blueprints from the museum and scaled them down to 1:48. Unfortunately, they were still enormous so I made scaled them to 75% of 1:48 and I'm going with it so far. Once the table is built and I start laying track, I'll decide if there's any room to make them slightly bigger.
