Action at the Steel Mill. Friday 21-12-1972

And here is the latest track plan of the YVR. Note the sidings on the lower left, Valley Pipe & Forge and the Slag Reclamation.

This is the plan for the talk I am giving soon at the local club that's why more names are in bold type. (so people can see what I'm talking about!)

The original is on a PDF file this is a photo from it.  Roo. 

Hi Everybody.

Good news twice!

First good news, you will no longer have to put up with anymore old " Nostalgia photos" !

Second good news. We have finally installed the new control panel at Valley Forge and wired all the new track at the Slag and pipe works it's been tested everything works, I am now ballasting the area and laying some ground cover I will have some photos soon I might wait till Friday which is our scheduled operation day. The photos should look better as I will snap the action during the day while we are running the trains. The trains won't be staged just for the photos. I am so happy to have this area up and working it seems like it's taken years when it's really only been a few months as we get older things seem to take longer but I don't care we got there!

I say "we" because my good mate Bruce Temperley does the electrics and I do everything else we make a good team. So see you Friday. Roo.

 I will patiently wait for a video of a loaded steel train move. I will patiently wait for a video of a loaded steel train move. I will patiently wait for a video of a loaded steel train move. I will patiently wait for a video of a loaded steel train move. I will patiently wait for a video of a loaded steel train move. I will patiently wait for a video of a loaded steel train move. I will patiently wait for a video of a loaded steel train move. I will patiently wait for a video of a loaded steel train move. …….

Same here!

Ha Ha. Roo.

OK jokes aside.

When Big John arrives on Friday I will try and organise something. Big John fixes computers and everything else to do with them so I will try and enlist him to do something with his fancy High Tech phone.

I'm going I have ground cover to plant, things to do to make everything look pretty for Friday. I'm turning this thing off!  Roo. 

The old nostalgia photos were downright fun for those of us that hadn't seen your previous layouts.

I snapped a couple of photos mainly to see if anything major is missing apart from details. In the first photo that unloader you see over the tracks in the Slag plant is temporary I am building something three times bigger after a photo came to light of a crusher mine will just have the one track. I have every volume of Morning Sun "Steel Mill Railroads" and many more of their books I read them all the time. The tracks on the right lead into the Rolling Mill this is going to have a major change made as well when I get the time...... another large building with crane to load the coils. It's good fun. Thanks.  Roo.

The latest structure is for the Slag reclamation Plant it's for unloading broken up slag from Side dump cars part of a crushing plant here is the unloader before it gets it's cladding. That's 3mm MDF I hand saw or scribe most of it and wear a respirator mask for the dust. A few clamps are handy to hold it together. Sorry it's not much of a photo but sometimes it's good to see how other people build things and what materials they use. I could have used 3mm styrene or even 2mm for this instead of the MDF but it's very expensive compared to the MDF price and I have to keep costs down somehow.  Roo.

It maybe just my imagination here, I remember the steel mills I went to being dirtier than yours.

Other than that, I think you nailed it! 

Looks like a good start Roo! I hope you will post more as you go along!

of course, some are dirtier than others.....

Big Fire!

Thanks Mike. This is the latest photo getting to hot outside and not because of a fire!

 It all fits, now the cladding and the paint, and I assure you it will all be weathered one day this new structure will look all rusty and dilapidated. Now for a shower and a rest and read a Steel Mill book. Ha Ha. Thanks. Roo.

A Train of Brand new Hot Metal cars leaving Valley Pipe and Forge for various Steel mills.

In reality they are Lionel cars converted to 2-Rail and will be used on Hot Metal runs between the Basic Oxygen Furnace at Republic Steel and Valley Pipe and Forge. They are all different because I try to buy them at the cheapest price resulting in all kinds of colours and mills.  I don't get a choice when your chasing price! They will be eventually heavily weathered.

Wonderful cars Lionel at it's best.  Roo.

Fabulous, ROO, really fabulous.

FrankM

Thanks FrankM.

I am having the operating session on Thursday this week due to the Grandaughter getting presented with an award at school on Friday we have to be there, orders from her mother! 

I will try and snap some photos on Thursday's session of the action. Roo.

Roo posted:

In reality they are Lionel cars converted to 2-Rail  Wonderful cars Lionel at it's best.  Roo.

 

I had a few MTH hot metal bottles; I think that the Lionel cars look better, more detailed. The MTH cars had two two-axle trucks under each end.

Dave.

I like them both the Lionel cars seem to have a slight edge on the MTH cars I'm glad they made 12 and 16 wheel cars not all the same. Roo.

Due to the increase in Hot metal traffic I have decided to update the track work at the high line resulting in improved running and an extra dead end siding also the small dead end spur running onto the highline has been lengthened by running it off the slag track. See photos and diagram if interested. You just can't have enough tracks in a Steel mill!

The photo shows the first stage the diagram shows the final stage. The track to the highline nearest the furnace is temporary as two more turnouts will be added sometime soon. It's all working but the control panel will have to be renewed in the future. Apologies for the loco and the hoppers being "on the ground".

While this is going on operations will not be hampered as it is Saturday and train running is Fridays.

 Thanks Roo.

Roo, sure looks nice! But man that sure is a lot of work! LOL

Hi Mike.

Yes it's a lot of work but also a lot of fun. We look forward to Friday's and running trains.

One of the latest projects is 2-Railing six Lionel Metro cars unfortunately the way we have gone about it is beyond most people as a lathe and a milling machine is needed to make up all new powered and unpowered trucks from scratch this is a one of project we will never do again!

One day I'll take some photos we will expect people to laugh and say there is a simpler way, if there was we couldn't find it, we have limited access to talented O scale people and parts over here, so we work with what we have. Thanks mate.  Roo.