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HO Scale Entry 4Lower Susquehanna Works
Title: Lower Susquehanna Works Scale: HO and HOn3 Theme: a freelanced steel mill its in plant operations and interchange Locmotives: 4-axle switchers, 0-6-0's, and 0-8-0's on in-plant standard guage, F's on the susquehanna branch, and 4 wheel diesel critters on the narrow guage line. Minimum Radius: 18" Maximum Grade: 26% on the kickback trestle (pink trackage on plan) 5% anywhere else Minimum Turnout: #4 Operations: Most traffic comes from the Susquehanna branch (a prototype railroad or your own freelanced line) out of the lower staging level. Once on the main level the trains cross the through truss bridge over the yard then come around to the interchange yard. Here the engines are fueled turned and given a new train to take back to staging. Coal is taken back up the branch to the coke works for coking. The resulting coke is then hauled farther up the branch to the ramp to the hi-line above the helices. The ore and limestone are taken through the same route. All three end up at the ore yard where the loads are emptied into storage and sorted for charging by giant bridge cranes. The ore yard itself would be a swing-down section for access during operations and can be locked up in place to offer panoramic veiws of the charging side of blast furnaces A and B. Hot metal from the furnaces is taken to the lower level in bottle cars to the bessemers or open hearth. Here the conversion from steel to ironn takes place. The resulting hot steel is teemed into ingot molds which are allowed to freeze or partially solidify in the molds. The molds are then stripped off in the stripper yard. The still hot ingots are then taken to the soaking pits to be reheated for shaping into steel. Many support structures like the gas producer house and mold prep are also included on the plan for varied operations. This is where the actual operations on the layout end. Further operations can be simulated by the small standard guage staging yard on the main level and the small narrow guage staging yard on the lower level. The layouts operations should support at least three operators if not more (although anymore would be a tight squeeze in this small space.) Scenics: The plan offers spectacular scenery that is a change of pace from most layouts. This layout is set in a heavy industrial area where instead of mountains, towering blast furnaces are used, and instead of a sparkling lake you get an ocean of of Iron ore and limestone. The layout also offers a chance to try some interesting lighting effects tosimulate the pouring of hot metal and slag. The drop down ore yard allows for easy access during operations with a unique veiw from under the ore bridges, or it can be locked in the up position for incredibly deep scenes for photography. The rolling stock used in the mills also looks much different than what most line haul railroads use so it just provides another distinguishing point from normal railroads. The differences between an industrial steel mill layout like the Lower Susquehanna Works and most layouts are what would make a layout like this interesting to build operate and photograph. |
