If you are modeling a steel mill, a magnet is used to unload the scrap trucks. This allows the non-ferrous metal to fall through. Some of the cranes with magnets are mounted on rail cars.
An overhead crane with chains is used to pick up rebar or flat bar to load outgoing trucks. To be realistic, be sure that incoming and outgoing trucks have plenty of room for turns.
Sue
Hey Guys,
Like I always say, "you can count on MR forum members to answer just about any question thoughtfully and to the fullest. Thank you all for your input.
Ken,
Those pictures you posted are an inspiration. If nothing else, I will be sure to have puddles of oil and water everywhere.
At this point, I think I will definitely use my overhead crane, a front-end loader and will consider the Walther’s 25 ton crane someone mentioned. And per Dave-the-Train, I will definitely have a dog on a chain and an office. I’ll post some photos when I’m finished.
Thanks again guys,
Mondo
Seeing as you like oily puddles I’ll add the original start of those notes I posted earlier…
Junkyard Scenery
The Junkyard thread got me thinking. (A bad habit I know. I really must get out of it).
Scenery can be done at least two ways:
This is not a criticism of those that use the first method. It does work. I just like to plan things. In fact I’m so good at planning that I have far more plans than realised layouts… but when I do get down to laying track I have a program all worked out…then I still end up changing things.
So anyway, back at the junkyard.
Dave-the-Train, We are planners, too. All those little details that help things to come together. Sometimes we will alter our plan as all the contours come together. We used 3rd planIt to design the layout. It allowed us to actually run locos on the layout while it was still on paper.
In reference to the scrapyard, in trucking we get to see first hand how steel mills handle incoming & outgoing freight. It seems that you always yield to the switchers.
Sue
Ken,
Great photo collection
I built this using Walther fence, Boller 2.00 crane and bulldozer, Rix yard office, AIM garage amd plenty of junk painted rust.
It might be interesting to model a scrap yard attached to a mini-mill.
Here is an overhead photograph of Tamco Steel and its scrap yard.
Sue
Where did you get the 3rd PlanIT programme please? Did it take long to learn / install?
Do you drive a truck… if so What? Pic please? Personally I always give way to any machine that’s bigger/heavier/more solid than me… I dent easy. [B)]
Chuck
Nice Yard. Bit small [8D] What are the buildings at the back please? Are the apartments Walthers or a backdrop? They look really good. [:D]
Eric
We’ll have him building extensions to the layout into the whole house…[(-D]
Thanks FJ![:)]
Eric - those are excellent arials of the mini-mill! [tup]
I have a few shots from the window of a tour bus, of the scrap metal receiving yard at an electric melt shop. [The company didn’t allow cameras inside the mill unfortunately]
The first shot is an overall view of the yard, with most of the scrap ‘baled’ like hay:
The next shows some more of the machinery. That’s an electromagnet hydraulic-arm crane on a self-propelled rail chassis, loading scrap into a bottom-dump EAF* charging bucket:
The 3rd is a close-up of the previous image. If you look closely you can see the specially-outfitted flatcar the charging bucket sits on, the seam dividing the two sides where it opens to dump, and the flopped-over bracket with the center hook “eye” (for the overhead crane):
Sorry about the ‘grainy’ appearance, these are from prints that I scanned-in. They were shot back in 2003, during my “pre-digital” days.
Chuck - nice yard! I have a spur on my layout that serves a scrapping business, but due to severe space limitations, most of the machinery is “off layout”. All I could fit was the spot where gons are loaded with shredded scrap for the mill further up the pike:
Can you give us a guide on how much space different length trucks need for turns… turn arounds, 3 points and back against dock…PLEASE!
Don’t know why I didn’t think to ask you this before[:D]
Here’s a way to get some “scrap” cheap. Get a container and some work gloves and go to a real scrap yard or anywhere there’s a rusted out car or truck. Rub your gloved hand under the fenders and scale flakes of rust will fall to the ground, or into your container. When you’ve collected enough this stuff can be spread around on the ground, piled up or heaped in gondolas. It simulates rusted out boiler plate or sheet steel. A small amount can be left in an empty gon to represent a not so thorough clean up. It’s easy to collect a l.ot of this stuff and it really looks convincing.
xs
This is a good idea but be careful of what you’re doing. I used to work around old junk cars, and I can gaurantee you that there are a lot of sharp pieces that will go right through a glove. Look before you rub, and still wear eye protection. Also watch out for the ‘natural’ residents; some of them might be a little peeved if you disturb them. Snakes and furry creatures are something that I find missing from a lot of layouts, but would fit right in with a scrapyard. Something else that would be appropriate would be old faded discarded signs, advertising on junk pop machines etc.
Dave - that is not my layout - that is a friends I built the junkyard for. Those are the Earl Smallshaw tennamant row from Walthers Cornerstone.
Hey xs,
Please look at www.johnnysjunkheap.com and you’ll see that his junk looks great and you don’t have to worry about your hands. Handling real rust can cause problems if you get cut because or tetanus etc. Johnny’s junk is only $6.00, including shipping for enough junk to fill around 4 gondola cars. His stuff is chopped up plastic that he’s weathered with paints and chalks to look rear rusty. So, it is harmless to handle and looks great.
Hope this helps.
Mondo
Dave-the-Train,
You should find 3rd PlanIt info at www.eldoradosoft.com. It seems like it did the self install which was rather simple. We found that most of the applications were staight forward. A detailed manual came with it. If you are used to dragging and rotating items, you should catch on quickly.
Yes, I drive, but that is not my real profession (I am a dental hygienist). I got my license so that I could help with the driving when I go in the truck with my husband.
Glad to hear that you yield to trucks. Some people never watch to see how much room it takes for a turn. If you make a right turn from the right lane, it will take 2 to 3 lanes of traffic on the street that you are turning onto to avoid driving on the curb. That is why drivers sometimes merge a little left when making a right-hand turn. It makes more sense to make a left-hand turn into a customer’s yard.
As far as turning radius, the wheel base on the truck, the length of the trailer, the axle configuration, and overall length the truck and trailer will determine what you need. What era are you modeling? Have you purchased any trucks yet? Are they just day cabs or do they have sleepers? How many axles are on the trailer and how many axles are on the truck? Where are the axles on the trailer? I assume that the axles on the trailer are together, it would be too detailed to find a model with a spread axle which is usually about 10’.
Sue
Great Answer ! [:D]
[quote user=“gear-jammer”]
Dave-the-Train,
You should find 3rd PlanIt info at www.eldoradosoft.com. It seems like it did the self install which was rather simple. We found that most of the applications were staight forward. A detailed manual came with it. If you are used to dragging and rotating items, you should catch on quickly.
That sounds okay. I’ll look for it and see if i can get it past my Norton Antivirus [V]
Yes, I drive, but that is not my real profession (I am a dental hygienist). I got my license so that I could help with the driving when I go in the truck with my husband.
I suppose that i shouldn’t say that my mouth feels like its had a truck driven through it every time i come back from the dentist ? [:O] Wish I could find a partner that job shared like that… do you let him loose on your customers?
Glad to hear that you yield to trucks. Some people never watch to see how much room it takes for a turn. If you make a right turn from the right lane, it will take 2 to 3 lanes of traffic on the street that you are turning onto to avoid driving on the curb. That is why drivers sometimes merge a little left when making a right-hand turn. It makes more sense to make a left-hand turn into a customer’s yard.
It’s real weird around where I live now… the (car) drivers are either diabolically bad or seem to understand trucks and stuff and give them room. My van is fairly distinctive… I think the local truck and bus drivers have got to know me. They let me out of turns so I can’t be doing to
Thanks also for the other answers [:D]
Tetanus is only one thing to be wary of Wyles Disease is horrible and endemic around rail track/facilities. We are required to notify our MDs that we are “at risk”. It’s spread by rats. Rats are pretty much a feature of scrapyards… though I’ve never figured out what they find to eat there… now anywhere with grain… Grain warehouse I worked at we played rat cricket… 2 men… 1st prods sack, second takes a swipe: 1 point for a hit, 2 for sending airborne, 4 for bouncing of grain bins, 6 for bouncing off co-worker…100 bonus points for bouncing off Fred the Foreman. We had so many rats we didn’t have pigeons. Ah! The Good Old days! Happy days!
Um… also recalled that when burnt/cut steel scrap has deep blue ends with black and spelter on the adjacent surfaces. Scrap cuts are rarely very straight. recently i’ve seen scrapped rail shortened by being sheared… leaves a very irregular end… usually a long angled break in the web between vertical breaks in the head and foot.
Thanks again all [:D]
Dave-the-Train, In Washington state, dental hygienists do anesthetic and fillings as well as traditional dental hygiene. The practice act has allowed that since 1970.
Back to trains… (trucks)
If spread axle trailers are turned too sharply, the tire on the inside of the front axle will scrub the inside side wall ( Shortens the life of the tire)
We have a 48’ spread axle trailer. The wheel base on the truck is such that we can haul 60’ rebar or beams. That is a fun load because when you turn left, the bar on the front of the trailer goes right. You should see the looks. If you are not careful, you can take out signs or power poles. The overall length of our truck and trailer is 72’. I am not sure if that length was legal in 1980 in California. What part of the country are you modeling?
I tried to look up your trucks in the new Walthers catalog. The only spread axle that I saw was a chip truck. I saw lots of vans though. Your box trucks will not need much room.
I will do a work up for you. lf I knew how to do attachments of photos or sketches on the thread, I could send you some senarios of backing.
Sue
I’ll add to this:
Modern trailers are up to 53’, scrap haulers use anything 40’ and up. Spread axle trailers are rare in scrap hauling (at least around where I live), because the non-spreads can be had for less money. Not only that, but frequent u-turning a spread axle will end up with chewed up tires. A modern tractor trailer will measure anywhere from 55-70 feet, can be turned around in as little as the length of the trailer + maybe 5 feet, but will need extra room for the tractor to swing around to back straight. The terminal where I work has 110’ from dock bumper to fence, and we run all 53’ trailers.
53 foot trailers were not legal until the early 90’s (forget the exact year), 48 footers were the mid-80’s, 45 footers were mid 70’s, 40 footers were early 60’s, 32-35 footers were mid 50’s, 28 footers were late 40’s, double 28 footers were, uhhh, not exactly sure, early 70’s maybe, and 20 footers (trailers, NOT containers) were late 20’s, early 30’s. For flatbedders, both 48 and 53 foot trailers are very common, but van and reefer trailers are generally 28 and 53 feet only (except by special order, and usually at extra cost.) The reason for the 48 foot flats still being so common is that you can allow the load to overhang, and some states have restrictions on 53 footers, higher tolls, and you have a wider, longer turning radius on one.
I modeled one scrapyard using old brass rail for fence “posts”, aluminum foil shaped like old roofing tin for the “fence siding”, and used all sorts of model railroading scraps for the “junk”.
My local scrapyard is a fairly busy place, and they can afford some newer, more modern equipment. They have a forklift with “rotary forks”, used for picking up and inverting items, they have a Bobcat (an old articulated, center pivot model) with forks and grapple bucket, an old Cat D5 tracked front end loader with clamshell bucket, 3 or 4 large tracked cranes, 1 or 2 with electromagnets, the others with grappl