Questions on Steel Mills and Rolling Mills

[Rossford Yard]

Getting close to my layout expansion, and am trying to model the IHB near the lakefront, with an oil refinery and steel mill, circa 2000 or so.

I have all the main books on the modeling subject, but am still unsure of one thing. They all show tracks going into rolling mills, but I am not sure if those are just for receiving the ingots from the Electric or Basic Oxygen Furnace, or whether coil cars, flats, etc. filled with outgoing product would also go in those huge buildings.

There was a thread last year on "excuse for coil cars" which suggested a transload facility, and really I am not as interested in switching ladle cars, etc. as I am the outgoing traffic.  I understand mini mills or even Foundries that take partially finished steel to make real products might be an option that fits my space.

Thanks in advance to anyone who knows the answer to my questions.....

[nkalanaga]

Kentucky Electric Steel, now Steel of West Virginia, is an electric mini-mill, although it no longer produces its own steel.  It received carloads of scrap, and shipped mostly sheet and plate for the auto industry, although it can also produce shapes.  Now, I assume it receives sheet and plate steel, and reprocesses it, as it has to get its steel from somewhere.  It's nowhere near a primary steel mill, so it can't be getting hot ingots, or molten steel.

In any case, no hot metal going in, and I never seem to see "coil cars" there, although the covered gons probably carry coils.  So, I would assume, that the cars coming out of a rolling mill would carry finished products.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Finished products, like coils, plate, beams, etc aren't coming out of furnaces.

Usually they're coming out of the shipping side of rolling mills, finishing mills and general shipping/warehouse spaces.

I'm unfamiliar with the details of the specific mills you're talking about, but it's all about the same.

Raw materials go in, there are numerous steps in manufacturing and processing served by the internal plant railroad, and then finished products are interchanged.

There are a few notable exceptions, but they are notable in their rarity.

[John]

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https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=steel+mill

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[Wlal13again]

USS Failrless Works in Fairless Hills PA still runs a large galvanize shop on where the mill was..  Coils in and coils out.  It`s pretty good sized and is made up of structures that you would expect to see at a steel mill.

[Rossford Yard]

Thanks, all.  After the post I perused many shots of the mills near Lake Michigan.  I see a lot of small yards to store scrap steel, and some coil cars laying around, but it actually looks like most coils get laid on the ground somewhere, and maybe get loaded from there, still not sure.

In any event, modeling the outbound end of rolling mills or finishing mills with some distant mill structures on the back ground seems like the way to go at the moment.  USS Failrless Works might be a good example so it looks like an old steel mill, but operates like a modern one.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

In any event, modeling the outbound end of rolling mills or finishing mills with some distant mill structures on the back ground seems like the way to go at the moment.  USS Failrless Works might be a good example so it looks like an old steel mill, but operates like a modern one.

That's pretty much THE way to model a steel mill from a class 1 perspective. There ARE lots of moves inside the plants, but the majority of what is "general system facing" is just the interchange yard.

Even Bethlehem Steel was like that in Bethlehem.
The LV and then Conrail ran right next to the plant, but most of the interchange was actually done at a yard at the top of a rather ugly grade.
https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/photos/emdx-7002-bethlehem-pa-3-31-1993

http://www.brokenbushandroundtop.com/bethlehemsteel/ironhill_page.html

[amato1969]

Even Bethlehem Steel was like that in Bethlehem.
The LV and then Conrail ran right next to the plant, but most of the interchange was actually done at a yard at the top of a rather ugly grade.

Absolutely!  There are several great Mike Bednar articles (TRP Magazine) that detail ops in and around Bethlehem, PA.

  Frank

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Absolutely!  There are several great Mike Bednar articles (TRP Magazine) that detail ops in and around Bethlehem, PA.

  Frank

Yep. He actually used to be the Yard Master at Florence Yard, which was where the LV interchanged with the PB&NE (Beth Steel's plant railroad).

I just came across this. It looks really great. Make sure to check out the various yards in the map.
http://carbonacea.blogspot.com/2019/02/bethlehem-steel-blast-furnaces-virtual.html

[John]

In case anyone needs a blast furnace, I've decommissioned mine ..

[Ed Kapuscinski]

In case anyone needs a blast furnace, I've decommissioned mine ..

Building some Amazon warehouses?

[John]

Building some Amazon warehouses?

 

But there is a home depot distribution center that is rail served ..

[Ed Kapuscinski]

 

Or, honestly, now that Rapido is doing centerbeams, those two distro centers (Home Depot and Atlantic Forest Products), might be great fits.

https://www.railpictures.net/photo/757860/
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/754032/
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/751713/
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/733633/

[John]

Or, honestly, now that Rapido is doing centerbeams, those two distro centers (Home Depot and Atlantic Forest Products), might be great fits.

https://www.railpictures.net/photo/757860/
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/754032/
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/751713/
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/733633/

I think so .. did they just repurpose the Belt Line locos?

[Wlal13again]

Absolutely!  There are several great Mike Bednar articles (TRP Magazine) that detail ops in and around Bethlehem, PA.

  Frank

I got to see it all the time in the heyday…