PRR Panhandle 2.0

Updated 8/15/2021:

I applied plastic wood to the area at the bottom of the backwater.  There's a sizeable crack between the plywood floor of the pond and the fascia.  Untreated, that would definitely leak when I pour epoxy water in there.

Hopefully this will work.  After it dries, I will paint and caulk the area.

My wife says to me (right after I do this), "Maybe you should have used Flex-Seal".

So, I'm thinking yeah, why not?  I can just see their next commercial on TV...

"Phil Swift here for Flex-Seal."

"It's like a handi-man in a can and to prove it, we're going to seal up this pond on a model railroad"...

Well, maybe not. 

George

LOL. You could submit the idea to Phil!!

Updated 8/17/2021:

Accomplishments:

• Wedged and fastened the top parts of the Eastern Approach fascia almost as far as Standard Slag.  Coiled up the push-button wires and mounted them neatly inside the bench-work where they won’t get damaged.
• Began gluing styrofoam pieces onto the bench work in preparation for building scenery.

I’ve also been thinking about the depth of Standard Slag below the top of the bench work.  That is going to be 6” and I have also determined the slope as well as spacing for the components of the slag dump.  That depth is driving the placement of the fascia for Standard Slag.   Here's a look at some steel walls that I made for Panhandle 1 and will reuse here.

The angle of the slag dump has created a bit more room for the Weirton Junction Yard.  I am thinking about expanding it from 5 tracks to 7.  This will be accomplished by cutting approximately 2” off the straight leg of each O64 switch.  Track centers would end up being around 4.5” apart.  There is also a potential improvement to future operations.  More freight cars bound for Weirton Steel could be dropped at the yard and then pushed in by the Weirton Steel switchers, as was done in the prototype.  That will make for more interesting operations as they will have to be careful not to block the main line for extended periods of time.  Should make life more interesting and force engineers to pay attention to the signals (block occupancy).

Here are the before and after versions.

More when I know it.

George

More tracks are better.  What is the material you used to make the steel wall?

@Mark Boyce posted:

More tracks are better.  What is the material you used to make the steel wall?

It's resin.  Here are some photos of Standard Slag as it existed in the previous version of the layout.  We have some upgrades and surprises planned for Panhandle 2.

George

Thank you,George.

@G3750 posted:

It's resin.  Here are some photos of Standard Slag as it existed in the previous version of the layout.  We have some upgrades and surprises planned for Panhandle 2.

George

George, when you say"Standard Slag". is that the Standard Slag Company?  I am from Youngstown in the day only second to Pittsburgh in steel production.  Back then anytime needed filler material before a concrete pour called "Standard Slag Company" for some slag   Is this in fact the same Company?  I thought Standard Slag Company was only local to our area.!?

Ron

@PRRronbh posted:

George, when you say"Standard Slag". is that the Standard Slag Company?  I am from Youngstown in the day only second to Pittsburgh in steel production.  Back then anytime needed filler material before a concrete pour called "Standard Slag Company" for some slag   Is this in fact the same Company?  I thought Standard Slag Company was only local to our area.!?

Ron

Yes, that is the Standard Slag Company.  The company had a number of locations.  They were one of the processors of the slag produced by Weirton Steel's 4 blast furnaces.  That slag was hauled by Weirton's Alco S-2 locomotives about 3.5 miles from the blast furnaces at the north end of Weirton to their slag dump in Holiday's Cove (near the river).  As you can see, Standard Slag used GE 44 & 70 ton center-cab locomotives.

The other processor was Starvaggi Industries.  They used Auto-car diesel trucks to haul their loads up Weir Avenue and then onto "Starvaggi's Mountain" - a huge pile of slag.  My mother recalled playing in that ravine (yes it was ravine before it became a mountain) as a child.

George

Updated 8/18/2021:

Today I played with some smoke units (they're not working correctly yet), watched a couple of Arduino YouTube videos, and applied vinyl spackling to backwater area in front of the stone arch.

I also cut and test fit some of the low-loft quilt batting to the terrain.

The other thing I did was to gather together the trees, vines, animals, rocks, and paint for this area.

More when I know it. 

George

The scene is coming together well.  What is under the arch?

@Mark Boyce posted:

The scene is coming together well.  What is under the arch?

The arch is a natural draw for hobos.  So we have a hobo camp, complete with fire (flickering light and smoke!), clothesline, boxes, hobos, and a wary fox (at the rear) eyeing the scene.

George

The hobo camp looks great!!  In steam days There was one along at Downieville on the B&O about a mile from where I grew up.  It was at the bottom of Bakerstown Hill where there was a water tank and helper pocket.  Trains would stop and take on water or a helper for the hill.  Great grandpa Cyrus Boyce worked at the water tank and saw the hobos hoping to get a lift.

Updated 8/20/2021:

Okay, a bit of set-back last night.  I was in a hurry.  Patience and I have never really been formally introduced, if you know what I mean.  The biggest problem with the “backwater” or “lagoon” is that when I laid out the position of the bridge and the stone arch, I left too little room for it.  It’s a pretty steep vertical drop from the base of the arch to the lagoon’s surface.

I’ve been wrestling with that situation ever since.  Last night I tried to fix it by applying Great Stuff and batting, but I got the layer too thick. 

I ended up ripping out a lot of batting and cutting away a quantity of the underlying foam.  I’m much happier with the look, although the backwater is going to be much smaller than I originally hoped.  Still, it is what it is.

Next, I painted the bottom of the backwater with FolkArt #6352 Nantucket Blue, a chalk paint.  This, along with some gold mixed in, is what I used for the Ohio River’s bottom.

Tomorrow I will focus on finishing the area around the backwater and the steep hillside leading to the Eastern Approach.

More when I know it.

George

Nice recovery, George.  I think it is turning out great!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Nice recovery, George.  I think it is turning out great!

Thank you!  The patient is no longer critical, but not totally out of the woods yet. 

There are a few spots that need some serious attention.

I really like the hobo campfire you have tucked away under the arch - very neat scene!

-Greg

George,

Things are looking good. I never knew the arch didn't have water under it.

Dave

@Greg Houser posted:

I really like the hobo campfire you have tucked away under the arch - very neat scene!

-Greg

Thank you.  Glad you like it.  Googling hobo camps on the internet turned up an interesting fact.  Almost every photo shows a clothesline or two.  So along with the campfire and junk, I decided that I needed a clothesline and O-scale clothes!  I also decided that a smoke unit nearby would give the proper rustic aspect to the scene.

George

@luvindemtrains posted:

George,

Things are looking good. I never knew the arch didn't have water under it.

Dave

I have gone back and forth on the origin and purpose of the arch and what was under it.  At first, I thought it was built to span the bed of Harmon Creek as it dog-legs south to meet up with the "backwater".  But that isn't the case, I think.  The area north of the arch was occupied by houses and industrial buildings (foundries) and railroad tracks.  When Grif Teller photographed the area in the summer of 1952 to prepare for his calendar painting, K4 locomotives stored there on sidings awaiting the scrapper's torch.  The painting shows that area as a grassy field.

And sometime (I'm guessing in the 1920s with the construction of the current bridge), the arch was filled it.  That was probably done to strengthen it and to prevent hobos from setting up camp under it.  That's my theory anyway.

Below are the first 3 photos I took of the Stone Arch.  I approached from the north (to the left) and passed under the bridge.  Looking up, I saw the arch.  But the trees and undergrowth prevented me from seeing inside the arch itself.

Here's my attempt to get a closer look inside the arch - no joy.

And here's the look from under and just slightly north of the bridge.  All those wild grapevines? had just been cut down by NS maintenance crews.  But there's still enough vegetation to prevent a close inspection of the arch.

Finally, in the winter of 2018 I got a look at the interior of the arch.  As you can see, it's been closed up with cut stone.  So the actual date of that event is anyone's guess.

George

You have researched that very well!

@Mark Boyce posted:

You have researched that very well!

Thank you.  I should have spent a bit more time on placement of the bridge model.     

George

@G3750 posted:

Thank you.  I should have spent a bit more time on placement of the bridge model.     

George

If you hadn't said anything, you would be the only one who would ever know.

Updated 8/21/2021:

Third time's a charm, I hope!  Yes, I took another crack at the foam scenery for the backwater.

I believe I corrected a problem at the top right of the stone arch.  All this will get paint tomorrow, followed by turf, briars, and trees.

More when (if) I know it. 

George

Outstanding work George. The adjustments look good. Lots of interest in the scene.

Andy

Mark, upon reflection, positioning of the bridge was always a compromise.  Although I have a very long dimension to work with, the placement required a great deal of finesse because of the shallow 10-11' depth.  In that space I also have to manage the bridge, an aisle, and two O72 curves without creating an "S".  So yeah, every inch counted.

We will make this work.

George

Updated 8/22/2021:

Not much happening in terms of layout work today.  Below is my latest acquisition, a brass yard office / tower that will serve as the Weirton Steel Yard tower.  It's sitting in the spray booth; will eventually get some primer before a final coat of flat black? brown? Still TBD.

More when I know it.

George

Updated 8/23/2021:

Doesn't seem like much, but I struggled with cutting styrofoam to fit the beveled area in front of the track on the Eastern Approach to the bridge.  In this first photo, we are looking eastward from the stone arch.  The first of two styrofoam boards has been test-fitted.  The hole for the second board can be seen beyond the first one.

In this photo, the second board is getting some ballast.  In the early 1950's, PRR maintenance procedures called for straight ballast lines (raked by hand!).  The ballast has been put down on top of white glue; the loose stuff will be swept off and re-used.

Also, our flags and poles have arrived.  In 1953, there 48 stars on the flag.

More when I know it.

George

Hey George,

Here is a video of a model railroad clinic that may interest you...

Bill Neale PRR Panhandle Division

Dave

@luvindemtrains posted:

Hey George,

Here is a video of a model railroad clinic that may interest you...

Bill Neale PRR Panhandle Division

Dave

Dave,

Thank you for posting that.  Bill Neale and I have been communicating about the Panhandle for more than 15 years.  We've been exchanging information and have met several times at the PRRT&HS annual meetings.  He's also visited my layout.  Nice fellow and very knowledgeable.  He and Curt LaRue model the Panhandle in HO and we all conspire together to share information and help each other.  I actually attended that Zoom video presentation.

Bill's version of the Panhandle has appeared several times in the NMRA Annual Calendar as well as special planning publications by (ahem) another big model railroad publisher.

He does beautiful work and has been an inspiration to me.

George

Updated 8/26/2021:

I had another experience that reinforced some of the lessons I should have learned.    I applied ballast to the two long pieces of styrofoam that will form the landscape below the Eastern Approach.  Following the PRR’s maintenance practices in the early 1950s, these called for straight (raked) ballast below the track, with a strip of cinders, and then some slightly uneven green vegetation (turf and or bushes).

I got the ballast placed and thought I was home free.  Applying the cinders - Woodland Scenics Fine Ballast #B1376 (Cinders) – did not go well.  I got the glue outside the area and messed up the clean dividing line between ballast and cinders.  Some tips for doing this better:

• Paint the surface an earth color first. Otherwise you run the risk of pink styrofoam showing through when (not “if”) some earthly material flakes off.  At this point I’m going to have to live with that risk.
• Use something with a straight edge, a trowel or sculpting blade, to align with the boundary.

• Use a syringe or eye-dropper to put glue exactly where you want it. A spray bottle (assuming any of them stay unclogged for long enough) is too messy.  It can’t be aimed precisely.

I also made some progress on the first Albion Catalog House (HO).  It has been cut to show roughly the first 3rd.  It will soon get a coat of paint; I've decided to paint it a yellow.  I've got lots of Satin Strawflower (the undercoat of the bridge piers) left, might as well use it. 

More when I know it. 

George

The progress looks good! And that painting before ballasting is a good tip. Almost makes me think I should do the table tops in grey in my industrial areas and yards.

I painted all my roadbed gray before laying track on this layout.  It's the first time I have don that.

@G3750 posted:

Updated 8/23/2021:

In this photo, the second board is getting some ballast.  In the early 1950's, PRR maintenance procedures called for straight ballast lines (raked by hand!).  The ballast has been put down on top of white glue; the loose stuff will be swept off and re-used.

Also, our flags and poles have arrived.  In 1953, there 48 stars on the flag.

More when I know it.

George

George,

  Lots of little details (following PRR ballasting procedures, how many stars in the flag during 1953, your quest for accurate PRR dwarf signals, etc.) add up to ensure you will have a fine layout.

Tom

Tom,

You are very kind.

Thank you!

George

Updated 8/27/2021:

First, a big shout out and thank you to AlanRail for these wonderful number signs.  I am adding them to some DZ-1060 PRR 7-light position signals.  At the moment, I am looking for the correct font for these number boards.

I am also working on these sections of scenery (apparently forever ) that will go in front of the track on the Eastern Approach.

More when I know it (or actually finish something).

George

Alan came through nicely!

@G3750 posted:

Updated 8/27/2021:

First, a big shout out and thank you to AlanRail for these wonderful number signs.  I am adding them to some DZ-1060 PRR 7-light position signals.  At the moment, I am looking for the correct font for these number boards.

I am also working on these sections of scenery (apparently forever ) that will go in front of the track on the Eastern Approach.

More when I know it (or actually finish something).

George

George,

  Alan/AlanRail was very helpful to me when I had trouble finding headlight lenses for my prewar Lionel steam switchers. His kindness and generosity make him a unique individual. Even the laser cut box he shipped them in is nice by itself!

If you missed it, here is the topic: Anyone Ever Cast Their Own Headlight Lens? | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum (ogaugerr.com)

Tom

Updated 8/29/2021:

The eternal project, aka the Eastern Approach scenery, has taken yet another twist in the road. 

Last night, I decided to stop trying to push a rope uphill.  I studied the 2 pieces of styrofoam that were going to form the landscape below the Eastern Approach.  They didn’t accurately join together, didn’t follow the complex curve of the sub-roadbed very well, and just didn’t look right.  Making them look right was going to take an awful lot of work, and there was no guarantee it ever would look right.

So I did the smart thing (finally).  I asked my wife what she thought.    I asked for the brutal truth and got it (but it wasn't anything I didn't already realize).  Accordingly, I am scrapping the styrofoam pieces and will use the Great Stuff / quilt batting method to form the entire slope all the way from the arch to the edge of Standard Slag.  It turns out to be the easiest and possibly the best looking approach.

To do that, I needed to know how this part of the scenery and fascia would mate up with the pit at Standard Slag.  Here's the track plan.

I had a lot of difficulty visualizing this area in 3-D, so I created a mock-up using some of the styrofoam insulating sheeting.  The curved section is the wall of the pit.  The flat styrofoam is the floor of the pit.  Below it and at a right angle to the existing fascia will be a piece of fascia extending left to right along the floor.

Here's slightly closer look with some of the "strand steel" pilings and wall temporarily in place.

Here's a slightly closer look.  Again, this is a mock-up and everything is not correctly placed yet.

I hope to get the Eastern Approach scenery done over the next few days.  Yes, it's taken awhile to finally sort out what I want, but I think it will look much better in the end.

More when I know it. 

George

George, I think a new approach to the problem of the eastern approach is a good idea!  Mock ups are usually very helpful.

@G3750 posted:

Updated 8/29/2021:

...

I hope to get the Eastern Approach scenery done over the next few days.  Yes, it's taken awhile to finally sort out what I want, but I think it will look much better in the end.

More when I know it. 

George

Better to take your time and get it right, than hustle and get it wrong. Plus I enjoy the extra photos of your layout that get posted while you sort out the business take your time!!