Blast Furnace Recent Photo

Dave,

Very nice work.  I don't think the stoves are too flat.  But I have a couple of questions:

1. Are you planning to put ladders and platforms on top of the stoves?  Or connect the stoves with a catwalk?
2. Is that the final placement of the stoves in relation to the furnace itself?  Usually you see them all lined up together.  Of course, you have to deal with whatever space is available.

Again, your blast furnace looks absolutely spectacular. 

George

Dave,

  If you need any pictures of the real thing, the furnace is still standing in Warren at my old plant. Apparently this is all coming down sometime in the near future. It sits pretty close to the road so you should be able to get some nice up close pics.

Jeff

Here Dave, let me save you a trip. 

Enjoy!

George

Very nice modeling.

Dave,

It looks great.

On the stoves I constructed, I had a ladder and common platform. I also had a common duct pipe for the blast air to the furnace. I kept the pipe pretty level with where it surrounded the furnace.

Alan Graziano

David

It appears that you did not put down roadbed.  Did you use that approach everywhere and are you satisfied?  I was considering doing the same thing myself

Great job Dave!

Please keep the photos coming as you make progress

Dave

Dave,

Although I know nothing about the steel industry I love the industrial look of your structure. Big and rusty just goes with railroads.

Glad you still like the caboose, I have 4 of those still unfinished from a year ago. When I get to cutting out styrene I sometimes go a little crazy.

Malcolm

I agree and certainly understand space limitations  .  The mills did do anything that fit / worked.  For example, two blast furnaces at Weirton share a cast house.  This wasn't meant as a criticism by any means.

I applaud you for doing an O-scale blast furnace that doesn't look like it was shrunk in the spin cycle (HO).  The proportions of the "kettle" to the cast house are pretty good.

George

Former NE1 caboose 1966 stored on the Union Railroad. The car still wears its full Bessemer paint and markings. 

George,

No criticism taken my friend!  

Mark,

That's the one!  Thanks for the post.

Malcolm,

I will see if I can scrounge up a blueprint.  I know where one is.  I just have to get a copy.

Dave

Nice work Dave  Can't wait to see the mill tonight.

Malcolm, I too would be interested in one of the BLE offset bay windows and maybe someday another EJ&E painted for the Bessemer.

A few of my most cherished trains thanks to good friends  

Really like the weathering / paint job on that "torpedo" car!  Very realistic looking!

George

Hi George,  That's Dave's handy work on the hot metal car along with the RS3

Kurt

most convincing industrial setup! One comment it looks too new or unused!

The structure and the surrounding area and track bed need to be dirtier. More ash, rust and dirt and any other filth you can find.

Furnaces are places you do not want to go to unless you are suited in a full body protective clothing with a mask.

Looks really good so far Dave. 

My mom and I picked my  dad up every night at midnight at the main gate in front of the steel mill in Homestead when i was kid....I distinctively remember all the amber color lights and flames all around the place..If a train was passing you could only see hundreds of legs through the rolling cars, waiting to exit across after their  shift.

I  enjoy your projects ..this one brought back some memories

..Thanks for sharing

Dave looks like good progress on your project. You need to check out this link.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...15#22970455098062815

It says somethin about a scheduled delivery for Mercer Junction.

Member

You can be just about 100% certain that Dave will take care of the additional weathering needed to make it conform to the wonderfully filthy mills I remember as a boy. 

My uncle worked for and retired from Youngstown Sheet & Tube, Campbell Works, and one of my pal's dads worked at U.S. Steel's Brier Hill Works.  In our last couple of years in high school, we used to drive down to pick up his dad after his shift ended and thousands of workers streamed across the footbridge over the tracks.  Many headed straight for the bars scattered along Steel Street and Mahoning Ave.

Yep, "filthy" is the word and the desired look.

And Weirton had more than its share of bars and restaurants near the mill gates, as well.  Many of those bars ran numbers, too, I'm told.

George

My friend Kurt came up on Sunday and helped me with the Bustle pipe.  It, along with the tuyeres and conduit are copper.

Dave

Dave

that is fairly awesome!

WOW Dave it is really looking outstanding. My train with the raw materials is almost there to get you started with some test shots.

When you get a chance please post a few more pictures. Thanks for sharing your work with us.

Looking pretty good, Dave!!!

George

Looks very good Dave!

Hi Dave!! Great awesome work! Here's a couple old postcard pics. I remember the glowing slag "mountain" on route 51 south where the Century 3 mall was built. I'd be in for an offset bay caboose!

Dirty and Filthy?  Nah!!! 

One of the best bosses I had during my working days was a guy from Youngstown S&T. At 50 years old he got laid off and made one of those life changing moves....went to school and became a computer analyst. We worked together 3rd shift for a bank and I feel like I know the steel business from all his stories about working there. These guys were old school hard workers that didn't mind getting dirty.....they worked hard and as you say some drank hard.....but I think we are less as a whole with fewer of them today....

BTW....fantastic work....I love heavy industry modeled!!!!

A question.  Wouldn't the crew of those get pretty hot that close to that much molten steel?  I would think they'd use some sort of "stand off" car...or cars...to separate them from one another.

But then again, I've never been to a steel mill so maybe............

Allan sounds like they hit my grandpa's beer garden  the Polar Bear.

I remember the Polar Bear very well!  Just a few blocks up Mahoning from the Steel St. intersection.  A very typical steel town beer joint, and always jam-packed on payday.

Allan actually the same block but the corner on other end.  The Dollar Bank and Isaly's  on the Steel St. end Stambaugh's in the middle.  The was one lonely house in that bock everything else commercial.  Spent many of hours there and at the connecting restaurant Lucille's.  And of course many hours in Isaly's looking at those big chucks of chocolate.

Dave..i can smell the sulfur up here in Pville....well done..merry christmas,,john

dave, that is just excellent modeling. not too many are willing to tackle something so large and detailed in o scale. just a super job. of course, when if you're modeling in HO, it's a bit easier to model the entire industry like these pics I came across online, (http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/9392) but your model in o scale has to be that much more impressive. great work! 

jerrman

Pete,

Your tag put a smile on my face this morning:

'Boynton Beach, FL. 1035 miles south of Pittsburgh, PA.'

In all of my years of traveling, I have run into many pockets of Pittsburgh people throughout the country.  It's great to see that the city never leaves the person.  I am honored to be part of that culture.

AMC Dave,

I agree with you on that!  Men were men for sure back in the day.

Thank you all for the nice comments.  It keeps me going!

Dave

Here's a recent aerial of the area today:

The bustle and tuyeres look great!  Nice work. Looks pretty accurate to me.

The tueyers are missing from this furnace, but you can see the holes underneath where they connected to the furnace.

WOW, thanks Allan.  Looks like my Grandpa's  and Lucille's building are still there.  I need to get back up there at least one last time.

Dave,

Looks like the furnace is close to firing up!!! The Hot melt cars look like are being staged for some test shots. GREAT JOB!!

Dave, Thanks for the kind words. I meet a lot of 'Burgh people down here! We still bleed black & gold! Next time I'm "home" I will be sure to visit!! Maybe next summer.