What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

[G3750]

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. In the photos, please refer to 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. In the photos, look at the curved section - it's 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. I also put a few photos in the album with a closer look at some of the "strand steel" pilings and wall temporarily in place.

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 to do, but I think it will look much better in the end.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0B5aDWbrGACr1J

George

[chuck]

Do you have any photographs of what the area is supposed to look like? I am having a hard time visualizing it. What are the brown pieces that look like Spanish roof tiles supposed to be?

re foam sheeting. You can sculpt this pretty easily with a foam wire cutter or a "hot wand". Build up the face by using urethane adhesive or "warm melt" glue (much faster). Sometimes vertical stacks are easier to work with. I built up the dolphin heads for my daughters high school home coming float (Under the Sea was the theme) and one of the art majors sculpted their heads/faces using a hot wand. The hot cutter is way less messy than traditional "carving" or rasping. The foam has a tendency to get "charged" and then clog the shop vac.

[G3750]

Do you have any photographs of what the area is supposed to look like? I am having a hard time visualizing it. What are the brown pieces that look like Spanish roof tiles supposed to be?

The area mocked-up using pink styrofoam is Standard Slag. The brown pieces that look like Spanish roof tiles are actually section of strand steel fencing used to line pits of various kinds.

The photos show my first cut at Standard Slag on Panhandle 1. I will be building a larger version on this layout.

Photos: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0BGJDfWGJOStmw

re foam sheeting. You can sculpt this pretty easily with a foam wire cutter or a "hot wand". Build up the face by using urethane adhesive or "warm melt" glue (much faster). Sometimes vertical stacks are easier to work with. I built up the dolphin heads for my daughters high school home coming float (Under the Sea was the theme) and one of the art majors sculpted their heads/faces using a hot wand. The hot cutter is way less messy than traditional "carving" or rasping. The foam has a tendency to get "charged" and then clog the shop vac.

I have no plans to sculpt any any of this. After it has served its purpose, it is getting trashed. I had some sheeting that I used to simply mark the boundaries of Standard Slag. Over the past 2 weeks I have adopted this bad habit of impatiently proceeding down a path without thinking it through. I wanted to avoid that by planning out how the end of my Eastern Approach slope would mate up with the beginning of Standard Slag. That was the purpose of the mock-up.

And finally, here is the Eastern Approach. It's not finished, but I have used the Great Stuff & quilt batting method to create the terrain. Tomorrow it will get paint, ballast, cinders, and some vegetation.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0BGIcgc2Eus3j

George

[chuck]

Thanks for the explanation and the additional photos.

Is there a chunk of table top missing behind the pink curve, aka between the top edge of the curve and the steel mill buildings behind it?

Was the slag pit supposed to go from top of the arch all the way to the flat part on the "bottom"? Or am I reading the diagrams completely wrong?

[G3750]

Thanks for the explanation and the additional photos.

Is there a chunk of table top missing behind the pink curve, aka between the top edge of the curve and the steel mill buildings behind it?

Yes, there is a whole lot of table top missing. That's why I needed the mock-up. I couldn't visualize the area without it.

Was the slag pit supposed to go from top of the arch all the way to the flat part on the "bottom"? Or am I reading the diagrams completely wrong?

Yes, if by "the top of the arch" you mean the track level. The pit will be roughly 6" (24 scale feet) deep.

George

[G3750]

Updated 8/31/2021:

OK!! More forward progress was made today. The hillside in front of the Eastern Approach got painted - it's first coat of the Behr color I use for terrain. It's called Desert Clay. I guess I could have kept it white and let it portray a snow scene (now where are my Dept 56 snow-globes and buildings? ), but I decided to paint it. It will get another coat / touch-up tomorrow.

I like this approach to scenery but it does soak up a lot of paint.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0BG0ehgLJKOult

George

[chuck]

Just picked up O Scale Trains 116 at a LHS. They have Part 1 of Pour Me a River which has excellent photographs AND a complete overview of the layout. Now I get what you were trying to do.

Since the slag pit extends along the north side of the south peninsula you may want to drop the horseshoe part.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Just picked up O Scale Trains 116 at a LHS. They have Part 1 of Pour Me a River which has excellent photographs AND a complete overview of the layout.

Thank you for your support!!! BTW, No. 117 is also out,

[chuck]

Thank you for your support!!! BTW, No. 117 is also out,

I will try one of the other stores in the area. Nankin Hardware & Hobby is an odd mix. Original store in Westland is primarily a Hardware store with a nice sized hobby area, mostly RC. Second store in Farmington has no hardware but it does specialize in RC with a large scouting section and now comic books AND they sell propane for RV's/Grilles. Third store in Ypsilanti is strictly a full service hobby shop, no hardware, no propane. None are what I would call "train shops", I have to travel pretty far to get to P&D (only shop with 2 rail support) or even farther to St. Clair Shores to get to "The Whistle Stop.

I am luck that there is a great plastic kit shop in Ypsilanti as well, The Model Cave. Jon and Melissa have a nice stock of kits (all kinds) and hobby supplies (paint, tools, supplies) and they are really nice people too.

[G3750]

Just picked up O Scale Trains 116 at a LHS. They have Part 1 of Pour Me a River which has excellent photographs AND a complete overview of the layout. Now I get what you were trying to do.

Since the slag pit extends along the north side of the south peninsula you may want to drop the horseshoe part.

Thank you, Chuck!

The horseshoe part of the slag pit is where the Bucyrus Erie shovel worked (in the prototype).

George

[chuck]

I understand your desire to keep as much of the pit available to showcase the shovel.

As I look at the track plan in whole, I see three main areas of interest, the bridge, the steel mill, and the town on the far side of the bridge. The steel mill seems to be getting short changed in terms of viewer access. The south side of the peninsula offers the closest view and that is only for the southern most part. If you were to nip the horseshoe and run a diagonal run to the north east you may be able to get the shovel in and allow viewing of the north end of the mill from the aisle way. It's possible there isn't anything to see there and that's why you put in the horseshoe.

[G3750]

I understand your desire to keep as much of the pit available to showcase the shovel.

As I look at the track plan in whole, I see three main areas of interest, the bridge, the steel mill, and the town on the far side of the bridge. The steel mill seems to be getting short changed in terms of viewer access. The south side of the peninsula offers the closest view and that is only for the southern most part. If you were to nip the horseshoe and run a diagonal run to the north east you may be able to get the shovel in and allow viewing of the north end of the mill from the aisle way. It's possible there isn't anything to see there and that's why you put in the horseshoe.

Please refer to the enhanced section of the track plan in the photos. https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0BJu8EH6kf6Q3

The bridge is, obviously, the centerpiece of the layout. The best views of the steel mill can be seen at the BLUE arrows. They are:

• Arrow #1 which faces Standard Slag and the Weirton Junction Yard. Dumping slag and staging mineral trains for delivery to Weirton Steel are the major activities there.
• Arrow #2 which faces the Open Hearth. Ingot cars will move in and out of that mill, as will hot metal torpedo cars.
• Arrow #3 faces the Strip Steel (Hot Rolling Mill). Slab cars, coil gondolas, and boxcars will move in and out of that building. To the right, mineral trains will enter the backdrop on the way to the mythical blast furnaces.

The town across the river is Steubenville, Ohio. It will be compressed, but feature moderately accurate buildings and streets.

I've not really discussed North Weirton much, but I intend to accurately depict it as well.

George

[chuck]

Thanks!

BRW, what are the dark blue/purple lines near the green number boxes 17 and 10?

[G3750]

Thanks!

BRW, what are the dark blue/purple lines near the green number boxes 17 and 10?

They are the numbers of the particular tables. I have an Excel spreadsheet with the numbers and the lumber on it.

Back in 2017, I ordered the lumber and had them cut a lot of the 2 x 2's that form the framing for tables. The numbers are ancient and I should pull them off the diagram.

George

[chuck]

It's actually the dark blue/purple lines I was asking about. The green numbers were just for specifying the location of the lines. There are also some blue-purple lines shooting off around label 11.