Here's a map of the Republic Steel Bolt & Nut Division that sits next to DK Yard on the Clark Branch, circa early 1940's. I hadn't really considered modeling an active steel mill until I really started studying this map. The more I looked at it, I realized it has a lot going on and could generate a large variety of freight traffic on a model railroad. Indeed, I think DK Yard probably devoted a lot of time and energy serving this plant.
There is not a lot of information available on the internet about this plant. It was razed sometime in the late 1980's or early 1990's. Looking closely at the map though, you can see that it is its own self-contained steel mill attached to a bolt & nut factory. Lately I have been researching steelmaking as it would have been done in the 1950's and as I learn about the process I have been able to visualize how the plant may have operated.
It has its own locomotive facility, its own ship-to-shore ore unloading crane & storage dock, and its own power & steam plant. It had 5 open hearth furnaces which would have taken in raw materials for making steel (scrap, ore, limestone, etc). It has facilities for processing the raw steel ingots that would have been produced by the open hearths into steel billets and then in turn would have been hot forged into bar stock to be used in the production of nuts & bolts. The final finished products would have been shipped out again in boxcars to customers around the country. Both the Erie and NYC switched traffic in and out of the plant, with Republic Steel locomotives performing the inner plant switching moves.
I think this industry could become the centerpiece of the layout and could add a significant layer of operations above and beyond what the average layout has. It would also give me a place to park my 750' Great Lakes ore boat.
There is not a lot of information available on the internet about this plant. It was razed sometime in the late 1980's or early 1990's. Looking closely at the map though, you can see that it is its own self-contained steel mill attached to a bolt & nut factory. Lately I have been researching steelmaking as it would have been done in the 1950's and as I learn about the process I have been able to visualize how the plant may have operated.
It has its own locomotive facility, its own ship-to-shore ore unloading crane & storage dock, and its own power & steam plant. It had 5 open hearth furnaces which would have taken in raw materials for making steel (scrap, ore, limestone, etc). It has facilities for processing the raw steel ingots that would have been produced by the open hearths into steel billets and then in turn would have been hot forged into bar stock to be used in the production of nuts & bolts. The final finished products would have been shipped out again in boxcars to customers around the country. Both the Erie and NYC switched traffic in and out of the plant, with Republic Steel locomotives performing the inner plant switching moves.
I think this industry could become the centerpiece of the layout and could add a significant layer of operations above and beyond what the average layout has. It would also give me a place to park my 750' Great Lakes ore boat.
Yes the ore boat has a home! The Republic Steel plant will make a fantastic centerpiece to your layout, should be a great place to switch.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, I just discovered that if you go to Bing search engine and type in "Republic Steel Bolt & Nut Division" without the quotes, this blog is the top listing that appears. Maybe I should add the automatic ads feature now...
ReplyDeleteOf course, I think I am probably the only person on the planet to enter that search.