Article: “When SIGs Collide”

Note: Bill Wolf recently announced he was stepping down as president of the Steel Mill Modelers SIG. Read his 2017 piece about his plunge into the world of miniature mills. Don’t miss this tale of ambition, anxiety, and humility!

When SIGs Collide by Bill Wolf

Yes, collide! I am no stranger to the Layout Design Journal. I picked up my first copy at the Scale Show in Timonium, Maryland in 1992 and became a member shortly thereafter. It is also important to note that I was a NMRA member at the time and had no idea of the material that was available through the SIG’s to help me focus my interests. I joined the Operations SIG and the Industry SIG as well. Then there was the inspirational book by the late John Armstrong, Track Planning for Realistic Operations, you just cannot get enough information sometimes! I retired in 1991 from the Army and now, at last I could begin working on my model railroad. I have been a Model Railroad Magazine junkie since high school.

So armed with all of this wonderful information I decided to build a model of the Western Maryland Railroad in HO scale. And so it began, the trial and error technique of building an HO version of the “Proud Mary”. I made all of John Armstrong’s’ templates with which I was able to attack the drafting board with literally endless ideas and concepts taken from the various WMRR books and the WM Historical Society’s The Blue Mountain Express publications. Time to explore and field trips followed with an abundant number of notes and photographs. When this was all said and done given space and my talent constraints, I realized that I could not convince my wife to live in a warehouse.

Then back to the drawing boards for a more realistic approach. I did some significant scale compression and decided to anchor both ends of the layout from Port Covington in Baltimore to Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Not bad! Space would allow for minimal elaboration in between. That is what is known as scale compression! 

And so it began. I was now building a railroad empire in the basement. My goal was to have Allen Keller stop by and produce a tape of my modeling efforts. Talk about dreaming. I had no idea of the various skills required to build and operate such a system. My hat goes off to those who have accomplished this feat. Some of us not only have done this once but twice and there are those who have built even more. 

What is more pleasing than a visit to the brick and mortar hobby store? I am fortunate to have six within an easy drive. I needed some Walthers Code 83 turnouts and I took Vicki (my wife) to Tommy Gilberts’ in Gettysburg, PA. While I was lost in looking at various modeling supplies, my wife made some other discoveries. Hidden in plain sight was a poster announcing Ashland Steel Mill models from Walthers. She suggested to me, “You should build a model of this? You used to work in one!” Indeed I had as had my father and both grandfathers as well. 

The passion I have for modeling the steel industry grew to the point where I am now serving as the President of the Steel Mill Modelers SIG. I became very intense researching and building models of the plant where I was employed at one time, Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point Plant. At one time this was the largest steel mill in the world. Plenty of material there! So I decided to build an integrated steel plant in my basement. These are immense plants that take raw materials, iron ore, coal and limestone and turn it into finished products for their customers. I must say that has become a huge project. And I found out through my research that both the WMRR and Bethlehem Steel were mutually supporting. A perfect fit! 

So began the madness of trying to replicate the mill on my layout which I named “Tidewater Steel”. The layout is on two levels which further taxed my already limited skills as a model railroader. This might have become a “Layout Too Far” if I allowed it. So the first level (elevation 34”) is dedicated to the Western Maryland and the top level (elevation 54”) real estate went to the steel plant. The levels are connected by a two track helix 38” radius with a (4 ½ turns) maximum grade 2%.

The first level would contain industries that supported the steel plant or used products made at the plant. Bethlehem owned the Ida Mae coal mine in the Fairmont District of West Virginia. This was the longest single haul WM train on the system. The “Bittenger Quarry” another Bethlehem owned mine in Hanover, PA. WM also hauled lime stone and dolomite to its rail barges at Port Covington in Baltimore, MD. Gray’s yard was accessed by the WMRR on Sparrows Point via trackage rights over the PRR. Having a cement plant was important for several reasons. It looked cool and used covered hoppers which I enjoy seeing on the layout. But, there is more to this story. The Leigh Cement plant in Union Bridge, also on the WM route used coke breeze, a by-product of making coke from coal and crushed slag a waste product of making Iron. Not to mention it consumed fly ash from the coal fired power plant at Williamsport, MD. And the plant kiln used coal delivered by the WM. The steel making process consumed vast quantities of scrap from various scrap yards on the east coast. So I was to have Baltimore Scrap sending scrap to the plant and receiving inbound loads from the staging area. 

To consume products produced at the plant some industries were needed. American Can Company and Crown Cork and Seal would consume tin plate made in the Sheet Division of the plant. Steel coils, slabs and tin plate shipped in reefers would be sent to off layout destinations via the staging tracks. Coke breeze would be shipped in covered hoppers to the Williamsport power plant and the Lehigh Cement Plant in Union Bridge, MD. 

The top level is home to “Tidewater Steel” a freelanced layout based on Bethlehem Steel’s plant at Sparrows Point, Maryland. I enjoyed my initial introduction in heavy industry as a third generation steel worker at this massive integrated steel mill. Real estate is always an issue for heavy industry as well as the modeler. So it is! Tidewater Steel acquired the top level of my plant. 

An integrated mill uses raw materials, iron, coke (coal) and lime stone to make iron. The blast furnace converts the three basic elements into iron. Tidewater will be home to three such furnaces (H, J, and K). Iron is then combined with scrap to make steel in the basic oxygen furnace. From the BOF the steel is poured into a continuous strand caster to make slabs, blooms and billets. Slabs from the caster are transferred by rail car to the Hot Strip Mill, reheated and rolled into coils of steel for other applications. No 11 Slabs would also be sent in unit trains to Burns Harbor plant in Indiana (Staging Track). 

The whole steel making process has a ravenous appetite for raw materials brought in from around the world. Iron ore arrives by ship from mines in Cuba, Venezuela and Sweden. Off loaded and put into an ore yard adjacent to the blast furnaces. Coal is delivered to the plant by rail from Beth Mines in Kentucky and West Virginia. Barges also are used to bring coal in from Norfolk, Va. and car floats from Port Covington in Baltimore, MD. Coal is then off loaded and stored in the coal yard where it is sorted, blended and baked into coke at the coke plant. Lime stone makes its way to the plant on the Western Maryland Railroad in unit trains from the Bittenger Mine (Beth owned) in Hanover, PA. Scrap, a key commodity to make steel, is shipped to the plant by rail (Baltimore & Ohio; Pennsylvania RR and the Western Maryland RR) from numerous suppliers on the east coast and stored at the plant. All rail traffic, with the exception of rail float traffic, was transferred to the Patapsco Back Rivers RR’s Grey Yard north of the plant. The PBR is the interplant RR owned by Beth Steel that owned this yard. PBR picks up the trains at this point and moves them to the various destinations in the plant.

Having a slag dump and its processing plant is necessary to handle the enormous quantities of waste known as slag. Slag is a by-product of iron making and used as fill in expanding the plant into the Patapsco River (more real estate) or is sold for railroad ballast, aggregate in making cinder blocks, road fill, roofing material and even fertilizer. A two vessel basic oxygen furnace mixed iron and scrap to produce steel for a continuous strand caster. The caster produced slabs, blooms and billets. One of its by-products was also slag. This process also required vast quantities of scrap and numerous additives. And finally a hot strip mill to roll the slabs into coils of steel. 

Well you get the picture! I had a kit bashers and model maker’s paradise with track and structures everywhere. Don’t forget to wire the layout! So I was in my own little world enjoying everything that I thought the hobby offered. I would suspect that you have fallen into this trap as well. I had a well thought out theme, limited space, time and plenty of enthusiasm. 

I made every attempt to understand this unique hobby completely so I could better serve the members of the Steel Mill SIG. I had resisted attending an operating session as I thought this was the last thing to learn in my quest to master the hobby. Then I visited Dave Moltrup’s “Moltrup Steel” plant for an operating session. I was not going to operate on his layout. I felt as a neophyte I was not qualified to just jump in with the experienced crew. Dave Moltrups’ beautifully constructed steel plant helped serve as an inspiration. We all need these experiences for new ideas and motivation. But, I made an observation as I watched the operators make his steel plant come alive with activity and purpose. The operations crew was having a great time! I was missing something, a dimension in the art of model railroading. 

With basic knowledge and a desire learn more, Eric Craig invited me to attend an operating session at Ken McCory’s massive railroad. This time I had Eric to show me the time of my life. It takes a large crew to operate this steel plant. I joined the crew as the engineer while Eric handled the car order cards. And he assisted me with the locations of the sidings and car destinations. Truly this was a fulfilling experience for me with another piece of the hobby starting to fall into place. 

During my drive home my mind was spinning with ideas that I gleaned from that experience. I actually wrote in my idea book twenty-one learning points from that night. Material perhaps for another article! The overall lesson to be learned from these two experiences was that I had not taken the time to appreciate the interdependence of all of the disciplines if my goal was to a fully operational model RR. I just knew that there was something missing and I needed to find it and quickly.

I decided that I needed to stop and bring in a consultant. 

Logically, you develop a scheme for your railroad, hit the drafting board to design the project and then you build it so that ultimately you can operate it efficiently. What I experienced with the operating sessions was the confluence of purpose and design. That was it! I realized that I needed to reach out to get assistance in design so the actors on the stage can perform well. Frantically, I thought who do I know that would help me with design? 

This is precisely where the collision occurred. Alas the reason for this article. I did not “Call BDO” but called a person who I have known casually in the past. I called Travers Stavic of the layout design SIG. I described my situation, he patiently listened and I requested his assistance. This action on my part was a real departure from the past. I never had anyone look at my work before. Lunch would be provided and that sealed to deal. 

With a great deal of anxiety I greeted Travers at the door to our home, introduced my wife and then down to the layout. He came prepared as you might expect, for work, with his own pencil, graph paper and camera. Together we took a plant and system tour of the layout. Now he could see first-hand the scene that I had described to him on the phone. I informed him that certain areas were not negotiable or off limits if you will. I hate to destroy track work that I have already installed for obvious financial and time investments that were made. Even though there is something good in the smell of fresh cut wood and the enjoyment one receives from building the bench work. To do it again is not on my drawing board. 

Travers was silent for what seemed like an eternity. This increased my level of anxiety, like waiting for the grade on an exam. He was busy eyeballing, reexamining parts of the layout, sketching and collecting his thoughts. In my mind I was sure he was thinking of a diplomatic  diplomatic way to present me with bad news thus, giving me the opportunity to rebuild an operational layout in the future. Now came the moment of truth. Travers spoke and Bill held his breath! You need to have a classification yard to handle the plant traffic. Providing me with a brief tutorial on how classification yards function and its key components. You need to extend the top shelf area that was 12” from the wall to a width of 20” giving me the room to install the yard. This 12” shelf allowed me at 6’2” to have a better view of the bottom level. This required re-routing track and destroying the four expensive turnouts that were already operational. Not bad for starters. Two of the non-negotiable down the tube. And then the final blow. Remove 16” off of the island that supports the BOF plant (it had been less than one year since I added this space to accommodate the BOF). This is a common flaw with steel mill modelers, build the plant and forget the serviceability of the track. 

Leaving the plant behind us, we went up-stars for lunch. I enjoyed Travers conversation at lunch but, I sat there with disappointment in my gut. There was no way that I would follow those recommendations. I guess that goes to say that if you can’t take criticism don’t ask for advice. Being a hard head by nature I was not going to destroy my work and thanked Travers for his expertise and suggestions. As he drove away I realized that I was not emotionally prepared for differing opinions. He blew up my well thought out plans and careful construction. 

After several months of rethinking Travers recommendations and reflecting back on my own career as a consultant I came to the inevitable conclusion. Why ask for advice if you do not plan to follow it! The inevitable happened. I followed Travers recommendations. I extended the piece of the layout in question to 20”, removed existing track and turnouts designed and installed “M” yard.  I am currently examining how to reposition the BOF model to remove bench work for more isle space. Indeed another modeling challenge. What I now have is a functional track plan to support “Tidewater Steel”.  

If by now you haven’t had the feeling that this is a massive, complicated rail operation to support the plant, consider that we haven’t discussed shipping finished product to the customer. It is not my intention to make you an expert of steel making but rather an attempt for you to understand modeling, design and operational possibilities before you. That is the point of my article. The SMMSIG, LDSIG and the OPSIG are truly interdependent, under the NMRA umbrella. These special interest groups support the hobby best if the synchronization occurs between the disciplines. Yes there is some overlap that naturally occurs between them. After all the industry you model creates the need for transportation to move materials. The type and quantity of rail cars and frequency of service is driven by each plant’s unique demand as the railroad’s customer. The railroads assist the material flow engineers at the plant with the design of the servicing track plans. Enter the railroad operations staff. Now it is time to schedule and manage service to be provided to the customer. You cannot ignore the other disciplines completely. Let me ask you, are all of the SIG’s mutually supporting? All are actually and inescapably reliant on the other. This is the conclusion I arrived at by involving other SIG’s in the design of my layout. There might even be a benefit from involving the OPSIG early on in design and construction. 

Thanks to Travers Stavic for your keen insight and coaching. Tidewater Steel is a better story after incorporating your appropriate and timely recommendations. Stop! Think! Consult! And Listen! Each of you needs to be willing to reach out and seek consultation. You will enjoy the music if all of the instruments are playing the same song. Happy modeling!!!