2015 Steel Mill Modelers Meet

In the past, they have had train shows at Oglebay.  For those with an interest in steel

mills, certainly around Pittsburgh, with its many interesting railroads of the past, this

sounds like a must.  If somebody did one of these for stations, other railroad structures, grain elevators, mining including coal, shaft houses and stamp mills, I would want to show up.  While I can search out and walk around many of those I list, I can see why steel mills would be one of the most difficult, impossible?, to access, and difficult to understand, as might be petroleum refineries and chemical plants with mazes of piping.

Thanks for posting, I plan to be at Oglebay that weekend for another event and will try to drop by.I certainly agree about Oglebay-great place, great people. I have been in many steel mills as a salesman plus working in one during the summer and they can be daunting. especially the old ones, long gone.

Access can be difficult, as you note.  Steel mills are dangerous places and liability insurance is expensive.  In this day and age, steel mills operate on small margins and every penny counts.

On the other hand, you have places like Weirton Steel, where great views of the buildings are (were - much of it is being or is torn down) available from the street.  All of my photos of that mill have been taken from publicly available locations - no trespassing whatsoever. 

I like your idea regarding specific types of railroad-related structures or industries.  You might have to combine buildings into categories to get enough critical mass, but it might work.  For example:

• Trackside Structures - would cover stations, signals, roundhouses, diesel service facilities, etc.
• Railroad Industries - grain mills, refineries, other types of manufacturing except steel.

George

You might want to pre-register, as I do not know their policy on walk-ins.

George