I am constructing a small version of a steel mill in a corner niche on my HO train layout. I need to find some track plans for some ideas. How to layout the building. I remember Walthers had some sort of plan for their Ashland series.
If you have a copy of it, Model Railroad Planing, 2008 has a place for a Steel mill in it. I was a 4x8 foot plan but, would be a good starting place for you.
Bernard Kempinski wrote a neat article, “Super compact steel mill,” in 1999 Model Railroad Planning. See this link for Bernard Kempinski articles, and; the coming April 2010 release of Kalmbach’s, The Model Railroader’s Guide to Steel Mills, at 96 pages – worth pre-ordering if you are really into steel mills.
Bernard wrote a 2-part series about Alkem Steel (named after his spouse) in the N Scale Magazine issues of March/April 1998 and May/June 1998 (note the cover). One of his favorite techniques is adapting HO Scale steel mill structures to N Scale – so the “scale of the mill” literally dwarfs the N Scale trackage – just like the prototype. These two articles are very informative, and can be obtained over eBay.
How much space are you talking about when you mean a corner niche?
Thanks. I don’t have that issue but will try to find on the web.
Thank you. I will look it up.
It’s a space about 28" x 60" rhat will come straight off the corner curve using some wyes. Not a big space but, plan to use fake building fronts and some backdrops to create a sense of depth. Considered using a electric furance concept , based on the space, to create a metal scrap mill instead of a blast furance.
Something you may consider is a rolling mill. Steel slabs come in aboard either gondolas or specially equipped flats. They go into a big nondescript building and coiled steel comes out the other end.
My Walther’s Ashland Iron & Steel occupies a space of about 3’x6’. The first photo shows the Walther’s Ore boat, at the dock with two manually operated Hulett unloaders. There are four tracks under the Huletts and one to the rear. Behind the Huletts are two tracks to the end of the Rolling mill,one through track serving both the Blast Furnace and the Rolling Mill. Two tracks approach from the opposite side of the Blast Furnace to feed the skip on a ramp (with double-slip switch to allow full and empty cars delivering iron ore,iron scrap, limestone, and coke to the Blast furnace. There are three tracks entering the molten iron end for bottle cars, and slag cars. The pas-through slag car track connects with the track on the other end of the Blast furnace. There are two tracks and a road serving the Rolling Mill for removal of finished products on flat cars and trucks On the same peninsula is a coke retort and gas plant. Another major Coke and Gas plant, and a limestone quarry are located on other parts of my 24’x24’ around the room layout. Note the slag being dumped into a slag pit at the end of the pass-through slag track. Slag cars and bottle cars can be sawed, easily, to permit tipping the ladles and bottles. It so happens that ten tracks merge to a single track that spans the river, (that are electrically and manually operated), that serve a pass-through staging yard, and pass-through tracks from the ore gondola ferry, and mainline. On another harbor, is an ore boat being loaded from elevated 18 bin chutes. Since the Iron Mill has it’s own short switcher, (and ore cars are short), one can use sub-minimum radius curves. The buildings,of course,have to be weathered, to give the grimy appearance. Click on the photos to enlarge them. Then, click on the photo series to the left, to see other parts of my layout. Bob Hahn 
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Thanks Bob for the info and pics. Very helpfull info. Looks great. I think my steel mill for be more geared towards ‘mini mill’ operation for the 26" x 60" space I have. Will include a rolling mill, electric furance and misc building fronts to create a scrap metal processing mill. question I have what two colors did you use for the buildings? Looks like a car primer red & grey.
Hi Joe1965, To answer your question as to the colors on the structures. The gray is the original plastic color and the red is Rust-oleum “Rusty Metal Primer”, from a spray can… The Rolling Mill, Blower Engine House, the Blast Furnace,and the ore boat still require a lot of weathering to make them realistically grimy . I plan to have fluorescent yellow-orange paint on ribbon, that is pulled by a mono-filament thread, down the troughs and into the bottle cars and slag cars. They will be illuminated with a 6 inch tube black light, to make the “molten iron” glow in the dark. The scrap iron piles are commercial “scrap piles”, but if you want to build your own “scrap piles”, you can use cut up sprues,and a lot of things like snaps and junk from a sewing basket and extra pieces of plastic from kits, glued down and sprayed with the “Rusty Red” Bob Hahn
Thank you!