Re: PC: Re: steel mills, modeling, and other fun

[John Riedell <jonlin@xxxxxxxxxx>]

David Benn wrote:
> 
> Greetings from Japan!
>                                   First contribution from this newbie, been
> reading intently for some time now and the beginning of this thread stirred
> thoughts of home with the mention of "Mifflin".  I hail from Mifflin
> county, Milroy to be exact, the end of the Milroy branch that I will model
> someday anchored to the Middle Division at Lewistown.  Lot's of memories
> there from way(???) back in the late 1960's (that puts me at 37yrs).  There
> was and is a steel mill served by PRR through today's Conrail on the
> xMilroy branch, now the Lewistown secondary I believe, actually located in
> Burnham, PA.  Standard Steel, a division of Allegheny Ludlum when my father
> worked there years back.  Surely many of you know about this mill, I
> believe they supplied drivers for a steam locomotive manufacturer (sorry,
> child of diesel) during the reign of steam.  In the 70s and early 80s, and
> I've not heard to the contrary, the also were/are a major producer of RR
> wheels in major competition with Bethlehem Steel in Johnstown.  I remember
> returning from Philmont Scout Ranch in 1972 on the Southwest Limited from
> Raton NM to Chicago and somewhere W of Kansas City we derailed the last 5
> or so cars of the train.  One of the Scout Masters, Chuck Cruikshank was
> very quick to check the stamp on the inside of the wheels to see if by some
> terrible fate they had been manufactured by "the Standard".  The also
> produce axles.
>    The Standard also produces allot of "rings" for jet engines, Saturn
> rockets(no, not any recently) and other high tech applications with some
> very specialized alloys.     They make their steel from scrap, brought in
> by a wide variety of gons, stage it all in various heaps, and move around
> the plant with a fleet of really decrepit gons.  In my high school days
> they used some old switcher power that got some RF press attention and now
> have converted over to remote control ops.  Outbound product is/was shipped
> in gons, with on site racks from made from wood to fit the particular load,
> especially for the larger rings.  Boxcars were also used.
>    Also on the Steel mill thread, there was a large limestone quarry in
> operation until the Agnes floods of 1972 with a huge crusher, washer,
> sizer?, and loader.  That's the operation that most inspires me from my
> youth.  Every evening when I was visiting my grand parents in Naginey, out
> from Pittsburgh for a month or two in the summer, the routine was wash for
> supper, then to the back porch to sit and wait for the days train.  God if
> I could remember the type of diesels used, but blank other than 3-4 units,
> probably from early GPs to say GP30/35s.  They would bring a string of
> about 60 or so hoppers for the next days loading.  H43s I believe, with the
> large yellow dots (sorry, that's what sticks in my memory).  They would cut
> the cabin on the fly on the small concrete bridge in the pasture just
> behind my Grandparents house, move up to the lead tracks that were elevated
> on the other side of the county road (small, but paved!) and split the
> string into 2 cuts.  They might also have a boxcar or two for the two grain
> mills up in Milroy at the end of the line where there was a "Y" behind the
> Lutheran church on the south end of town, one leg of which border the local
> elementary school yard.  End of line.
>    Next day, the loading ops were equally fascinating!  2-3 cars, with a
> brake wheel rider, would cut them and move with gravity under the
> crusher/loader, then down another 50 yards to the scale house, then cross
> the county road again, and after some moments of silence a loud bang would
> shutter the woods when the came to rest against the cut being assembled for
> pick-up that evening.  God I love railroading!
>    The limestone, I'm fairly certain was headed for the sprawling Sparrows
> Point plant of Bethlehem Steel just outside (SE) of Baltimore.
>    More information may be available in a RP article that Todd Treaster,
> another local from the county got published several years back.
> 
>    Well, too long, not enough details, let me know. I could spend some more
> time putting together some more info on the subject or just shut up and let
> it pass.  I'd love to hear from someone with knowledge of ops on this
> branch though, or even the Bald Eagle secondary, especially the Bellefonte
> area.  My grandfather spotted cars for what has been know at some time as
> Centre Limestone over in Pleasant Gap until his retirement in the early
> 70s.
> ----------
> > From: Derrick J Brashear <shadow -AT- DEMENTIA.ORG>
> > To: PRR-Talk -AT- dsop.com
> > Subject: steel mills, modelling, and other fun
> > Date: Saturday, October 25, 1997 12:27 PM
> >
> > Lesse.... I'll try to get all of this into one post instead of posting
> > piecemeal.
> >
> > First of all:
> > What steel mills were on-line customers of the PRR? I'm not looking for
> > comprehensive, just a list of "ideas". I assume the Lukens mill in
> > Coatesville has been there a while, even if not always owned by the
> > current owners...
> >
> > Edgar Thompson in Braddock/North Braddock (though I can't think where
> > there was a direct lead, if there was one)
> >
> > There were a bunch of Bethlehem mills around Johnstown...
> >
> > The USS Homestead and Duquesne Works, and the McKeesport (National Tube)
> > plants....
> >
> > I know there are others, not just in PA but elsewhere, especially around
> > Chicago and Gary, but I'm drawing a blank.
> >
> > Also:
> > Anyone have an HO Walthers SW1 decorated Pennsy to sell or even trade?
> >
> > And, good luck Jerry with your new addition... hopefully all with go
> > well...
> >
> > -D
> >
> >
> >
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Hello to the group-
I also was going to mention Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation, (in
Brackenridge, PA) which was served by the former Pennsylvania RRD, Penn
Central, and now being served by Conrail. Allegheney Ludlum STILL has a
few of the old light blue Center Cab diesels (1920's or 1940's are when
they were made--not sure yet) pulling their hot cars from shop to shop. 
We saw that this past June.  Conrail delivers all the scrap up from
Pittsburgh,and Conrail also takes scrap from the from the big mill into
Leechburg, which is across the Allegheny River from Freeport. The old
timers call Leechburg 's mill  the "Bagdad" works.  I grew up in
Freeport PA, and most of all my relatives either worked for Allegheny
Ludlum, or the PRR.  I don't know if this will help or not.  Thanks for
letting me add this!  I just remember watching the engines change, while
I was growing up, from PRR brownish red, then to Penn Central black,
then to Conrail blue.  We all used to sit and watch the trains, and hear
them screaming in the valley every night, along with the mill whistle at
midnight for shift change.  Our lives revolved around those mills in the
day.  Now, my railcrazy husband has me going with him looking at the
trains, and knowing what SD45-2's are, Big Boys, etc.etc.  It has been
fun so far.  Hope this helps.  Sorry so chatty
Lynne Riedell (John's wife)