Initial Steel Mill & City Plan

Center Peninsula of Layout

Above is my initial thoughts for the center peninsula of the layout.  It is essentially two 4x8 tables.  The center is the proposed steel mill location.  I am currently showing a single blast furnace, a BOF, casting mill in the center, and three mills along the center of the table.  There will be a divider running the length of the table that the rolling mills would run along.  The main line would run on a raised berm through the mill and then split from two tracks into at least 4 tracks at the station with platforms under the station.  The city part would be raised but would still be at the base level along the edges.  The city would have a waterfront area, industrial area (maybe with a partial auto plant), a downtown, and some housing suburbs.  I am planning on modeling the station after the Michigan Central Depot.  The city will be loosely based on Detroit (very loosely).  The waterfront will have a area representing Heart Plaza, a scaled down Ambassador Bridge, the Riverfront Towers, and other building found in the downtown.  Between the city and the still mill will be a port, to allow product from the mill and surround industries to be shipped out on the Great Lakes to other cities and overseas.

There are a lot of things I like about this layout, but the mill seems to condensed and busy.  I am planning on adding a few feet to the table, and maybe adding a small cement plant.  Of course this is a imaginary at the moment as I wouldn't be able to fit a single table in my small apartment.  Hopefully in the next year or so I will be in a area that will allow me to create this layout, or at least a portion of it.  Currently working on the overall general plan and 3D models of the Coke works, Coke Pusher, and the Yorktown cruise ship.

Coke Works - 02

Coke Works Sketch Models

Coke Pusher

Coke Pusher

Coke Oven

Coke Oven with Pusher

Coke Oven Complex

Quick update with my mock ups for the Coke Works.  The top 2 show the coke pusher (very rough). and the third is the coke ovens.  As I said before, the plan is to have 35 ovens, that will make is roughly 430' in n scale.  The second picture shows the pusher along side with the ovens.  What is not there is the walkway I am planning for the back side of the ovens, a 4-8' walkway that the pusher will be designed to clear (the walkway and the railing).  Overall I am happy the the scale relationship.  They both seem to work well together and the scale looks right..  The coal storage hopper above the ovens is built at 64' in height from the top of the ovens.  In the previous post you can see what I'm thinking about for a facade.  It'll basically be a exterior exposed structure with corrugated metal siding and exposed cross bracing.  The final picture shows the ovens, pusher, unloading area (small building) and support structures (crusher and washer).  The idea is to have the tracks come through the middle of the facility shown (By-Products will be to the right in the final picture) and will have a unloading area (under the tracks at the small building) and then a loading facility at the end of the ovens.  The coal would then proceed up a conveyor to the coal crusher and fall down to the second conveyor.  This conveyor would then take the coal up to be washed before it is sent to the ovens.  I have seen this in some coke plants and in some other modelers coke works.  I am not entirely convinced the wash tower is necessary and may go with a larger coal crusher facility and forget the wash tower all together.  Another reason to forgo the wash tower is I plan on having a complete coal mine with crushers ans washers on site.  All the crusher at the coke ovens would be for is to break the pieces up and make sure everything is at the proper size.  So far happy with how the coke works is shaping up.  I am starting the 3D model and will be working on that the next few day.

Started on the Yorktown, but I am not liking the way it is going right now.  The hull is not working out right now.  Taking a break from that, may build a 3D model of it, and that should help with building the individual pieces for it.

Still working on the overall layout plan.  I hope to get some pictures of it up soon.  I have the Detroit area with the port and steel mill drawn as a rough draft.  I'm still toying with the idea of adding a 2'x3' area between the steel mill and port for a cement plan.  It'll be easy to fit in the space, but I'm worried it will look out of place.

Planning the Coke Works

Over All Plan

Coke Oven Elevations

By-Products Plans

Starting planning the layout for the coke works.  The plan is to have about 35 ovens.  The top picture is of the over-all plan.  It will take up a area about 3'-6" x 2'-6", and I am planning on having it on a portion of a 4'x8' table (table plan to come later).  The bottom picture is of the By-Product plant layout.  It is based on the plant at the Thomas Coke Works.  Next step is to start drawing in CAD and then create 3-D models of the facility.  I am planning on modeling all the bench-work, track, and building in CAD over the next year so I can work out most of the problem and issues that will arise.

Still working on the drawings for the Yorktown.  Planning on finishing those up today or tomorrow and begin a sketch model on the boat so I can work out any scale and construction issues before i begin the final model.  I also have a couple sketch models of the coke works that I will post another day.

The Start

This is the first entry on my railroad blog.  I will be building a N Scale model inspired by the steel industry in the Great Lakes Region.  It is all very preliminary right now, but the main components of the model will be a mine scene for coal, iron, and limestone.  The cities and towns of Detroit, Marquette, Saginaw, and other various towns around the great lakes region.  This will not be a replica, but a model based on these areas depicting the process of steel from the raw material, transportation to the processing facilities (coke ovens and a sinter plant), the process of a steel mill (based on the USS Great Lakes Works, but it's own design), and various other aspects of each town and industry.

Everything will be limited right now as I do not live in a place that I can begin construction of the entire model.  I will begin smaller elements of the entire model and develop the plans.  The first model will be a scale model of the Yorktown cruise ship, to be docked in the river at Hart Plaza in Detroit (the center piece of the model).  Detroit will not be modeled by the standard of the current city.  However it will have certain elements of the city in it.  I will be modeling the Michigan Central Depot as the main station, part of the Ambassador Bridge, Hart Plaza, and the old warehouse with the Boblo advertisement at the Detroit Port.  The city will contain a light rail that will be street level in part, and then a raised rail in other parts of the city.  The main industrial part of Detroit will be the steel mill (my own design based on the research I have done and studies of existing steel mills), consisting of a unloading area for 2 ships, a sinter plant, high line, blast furnace (maybe two if I don't build a BOF furnace), continuous casting mill, 1-2 rolling mills and maybe a galvanization line, along with all the support buildings and by product processing facilities.  The steel mill will be located next to the port.  The port will allow for a single ship to be docked and loaded with steel coils and maybe cars.  Detroit currently does not have this capability, but I think it would make sense, as a central point in the midwest to export automobiles, instead of shipping loads of cars by truck and rail to the coasts.  I am also toying with the idea of adding a cement plant between the steel mill and port in a 2'x3' area.  I am planning on building a number of ships.  The Yorktown, a small cruise ship on the Great Lakes, a couple dry bulk carriers (one that is self unloading), one container ship to export the steel, the US Coast Guard Cutter Mackinac, and a tall ship or river boat, along with a couple tugs.

Another major town on in the model will be Saginaw, for coal mining and processing.  This is where the coke ovens will be, and the coal mine will be on the same table (currently thinking 4'x8')  The coke plant will have a full by-product processing facility based on the Thomas Coke Works Facility.  There will be 35 coke ovens and have a unloading area and loading facilities (plans coming in the future).

Marquette will be the center of the Iron Ore part.  I am planning on building a iron ore mine and ore dock, with ship.  As well as the town and possibly a old dock built out of wood, or just the foundations sitting just under the surface of the water.

The limestone mine with be a open pit mine and will be based on some of the limestone mines in upper Michigan   There will also be a ship loading area with a conveyor loading system (more later).

That's where I am at right now.  Currently making the drawings for the Yorktown, and hope to begin building in the next couple weeks.  A little about me.  I am a architect and used to have a N Scale layout with my Dad growing up.  My parents have since moved and we had to dismantle our layout (10'x8' "L" shape layout).  I love building models, it is both relaxing and gratifying.  Helps me escape from the real world.   I hope to begin posting some pictures soon.