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Harsco
Fireman
USA
1107 Posts |
 Posted - 03/06/2008 : 6:03:53 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by MarkF
Don't worry Rick. IT will be painless. Just count backwards from 10, and you awaken, it will all be over and the trains will be running again! 
Hmmm...a trip to the dentist might actually be preferable!
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Harsco
Fireman
USA
1107 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 07:57:35 AM
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Significant progress this weekend...Doctors Steam Nut and Mark F performed "Layout Enhancement Surgery" and added a 30 inch extension to the peninsula which is needed to provide a bit more space for an expanding Division Street yard.
Here's Steam Nut measuring up the patient:
After the usual assortment of surprises and "WTF's", the extension was grafted into the end and the Homosote/plywood replaced. Here's Mark F starting the re-laying of trackwork:
An over-all shot to illustrate the change; notice the end of the backdrop, which will not be extended:
Prior to the surgery, I had replaced most of the malfunctioning crossovers on the mainline as well as built the extension section. Once the track was re-laid the following day, we began to lay out the future Division Street yard, which will serve as the drop-off and pick-up point for a Harrisburg local as well as marshaling yard for the Harsco shipping department:
Another view:
Across the aisle, and due south of Division Street (timetable east) will be the Harsco BOF complex and maintenance shops at Maclay Street. Using photocopied templates, we laid out the proposed trackage needed to receive bottle cars from the Herr Street main plant as well as slabs for the soaking pits; building shown is the Trix BOF. This is where having experienced operators helps tremendously; both Steam and Mark look at trackage from the perspective of having to run a train, something I am woefully lacking. Having their input now instead of later means less pulling up and re-laying of track when I discover things aren't working out the way I had envisioned.
A close-up of the proposed track arrangement:
After reconnecting the buss and power, we ran trains...lots of trains, to check the results. Here's RS-11 7653 rounding the curve at the end of the peninsula:
A SW-1/S-2 lashup brings a local past the Harsco main plant....
...and into the tunnel under the PP&L plant:
At this point, the next order of business will be to buy the necessary turnouts and for Division Street and Maclay Street. Running lots of trains helps point out any defects in the trackwork, or in my case, the rolling stock.
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Edited by - Harsco on 03/10/2008 08:00:32 AM |
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Steam Nut
Fireman
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 10:22:07 AM
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| See we said it would be painless. |
Steam Lives! |
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Bbags
Administrator
USA
13054 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 11:03:26 AM
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Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks like some serious work was accomplished.
Amazing what can be accomplished in a short period of time when you have helpers that know what they are doing.[:-thumbu][:-thumbu] |
John Bagley
Modeling the Alaska Railroad in HO in Wildwood Georgia. |
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Brunton
Engine Wiper
USA
389 Posts |
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Rick
Administrator
USA
17866 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 12:09:34 PM
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| Nice job guys. I'm looking forward to the next installment. |
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Steam Nut
Fireman
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 2:49:54 PM
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| Stay tuned, I had my ruler out the other night and the wheels are turning. |
Steam Lives! |
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Harsco
Fireman
USA
1107 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 4:53:33 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Steam Nut
Stay tuned, I had my ruler out the other night and the wheels are turning.
I better order another case of nitro for the chest pains..... |
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mikeLV
Crew Chief
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 7:13:22 PM
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| Great job guys! Looks like your getting a lot done! |
Mike |
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MarkF
Engineer
USA
9329 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 10:02:15 PM
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Definitely a fun weekend, and yes, a LOT got done! I think Rick was a little apprehensive when Bruce first proposed this project (as was I), but once Bruce got to it and the saw dust was flying, there was no turning back! I came back Sunday to finish laying track. Once that was done, well, an afternoon visit turned into a visit that lasted to midnight! As you can see from the pictures, we laid out most of the trackage in the various areas, including Division Street yard, which is really a small yard by all standards, but an important place that will see a lot of action.
We're getting there Rick! |
Mark
See my homepage at http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/
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Harsco
Fireman
USA
1107 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 8:42:07 PM
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Another work session the other night...and lots of progress.
Steam Nut performed the unheralded yet vital job of dropping and connecting feeders in the staging yard while Mark F finished up the Division Street Yard (after diplomatically "re-adjusting" the few tracks I had managed to install before being nicely waved off). Here's a couple of shots:
Afterwards, he ran a couple of trains through to check the results:
Funny thing is this is a yard that wasn't even on the radar screen but developed as a result of extended discussions between the three of us. Before then, I had some vague idea I would run a transfer from Enola (staging) to serve the few industries I thought I'd have space for. Funny things is now I have suddenly added another ten possible switching points..with more left to decide. Mark adamently persisted in espousing the idea of Division Street being a kind of "mini-classification" yard and he's absolutely right. Several building flats and associated sidings will be located against the backdrop.
Meanwhile, I was somewhat gainfully employed across the aisle at the future Harsco BOF complex at Maclay Street, running possible trains in my head and deciding on a final track arrangement that would allow for inbound shipments of molten iron, scrap, and fluxing agents as well as movement of slabs from the Open Hearth and ingots from the BOF to the adjacent yet-to-be built Soaking Pit. Here's the final result:
A close-up of the BOF (a now discontinued Trix kit) showing the track arrnagement. The ladles are sitting where I will need to cut out pits for loading molten iron into them.
Overall, another great night accomplishing a lot of stuff that brings an operating session that much closer. As Mark suggests, I'll run lots of trains around the next few weeks to hunt out and eradicate (hopefully) any track work issues that may show up.
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Edited by - Harsco on 03/23/2008 8:46:19 PM |
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MarkF
Engineer
USA
9329 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 11:59:22 PM
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| Wow Rick, you obviously spent most of Easter Sunday downstairs and got a lot more done! The BOF area looks GOOD! We're getting there. Amd it's almost April! [:-eyebrows] |
Mark
See my homepage at http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/
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Harsco
Fireman
USA
1107 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2008 : 07:01:28 AM
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Yeah...the "completion fever" hit yesterday and I spent most of the day putting in the track arrangement for both the BOF and the Central Shops building...which means that the Maclay Street complex is now "done" except for the buildings, etc.
I guess the next target is the branch...relatively easy trackwork for that. Need to start thinking about Capital and State Streets! |
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MarkF
Engineer
USA
9329 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2008 : 6:52:36 PM
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| Well I can begin the branch up to the coke works! Bruce can engineer the bridge. |
Mark
See my homepage at http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/
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Harsco
Fireman
USA
1107 Posts |
Posted - 03/30/2008 : 07:23:51 AM
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More progress shots......
The first three show the new skirting that the lovely Mrs. Harsco graciously purchased and installed last weekend. Black to match the valance, it hides all the wood, tools, and other supplies that normally accumulate during the construction phase. A lot of my stuff is now neatly hidden from view....just ask Steam Nut (LOL).
These next shots show the results of an afternoon cutting out DPM templates and moving them around to come up with Harrisburg Grocery, a warehousing company. I wanted to capture the look and feel of an older style building built around the early 1900's. I really like this method since it's difficult for me to visualize on paper or in my mind how something will look on the layout. If I could find the right kind and color of markers, I'd do it up right. Another reason this works so well for me is that it helps locate siding tracks BEFORE I actually build the %^#$ thing....don't ask me why that's important.
Lastly, I continue noodling around with the soaking pits. Since the building is located on the very edge of the layout,it practically screams to be either left open for display or modeled without a roof. I plan on building the two "pits" inside complete with cover remover and soft yellow lights to represent the tremendous heat they put out. For those who aren't familiar with the term, a "soaking pit" is a huge oven used to heat the ingots to just the right temperature for rolling into whatever shape you want. The tricky part for steelmakers is getting it to a point where it's still solid enough to hold itself together, yet soft enough to be rolled. As the photos will show, I still can't decide on which smokestack style to use.
With warm weather coming and its resulting time diversion, I feel as though the clock's ticking for getting the rest of the layout up and running. Although Steam Nut and Mark F keep chanting "April's coming" for an operational session, that's unfortunately a pipe dream. With what we've accomplished since December though, a series of "benchmarking" sessions may be in the offing to formulate the mill operations, since most of that trackage is in. Combined with the staging yard, we could begin this process sooner than I ever expected! |
Edited by - Harsco on 03/30/2008 07:27:41 AM |
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Harrisburg Terminal Railroad (HTRR)
