RE: (erielack) Mahoning Division Yards

[Bradley Butcher <llyengalyn_@_hotmail.com>]

> Leavittsburg was a four track yard located between, and accessed at each 
> end from both the 1st sub and the 2nd sub. The 2nd sub access was via the 
> New Siding at SB or SN. It was used basically as a serving yard for the 
> industries at North Warren and Cortland and also for Kent/Ravenna. Four or 
> five yard crews worked out of there, one switching in the yard at night and 
> the others doing switching and heading to North Warren and on to Cortland as 
> required. The morning local to Kent and the evening local to Ravenna also 
> worked from Leavittsburg.


My thought here was to have Leavittsburg be the west end of my layout. I thought it would be a nice Scene for the Highway bridge over the 1st and 2nd divisions just beyond SN junction would be idea for the entrance for the west end stageing. The 2nd division locals would just be like transfer runs in from the stageing area then.

 

 
> Warren did not have a yard, but ore was set off on the Eastbound side at 
> Burton Street or at Deforest Jct onto #1 or #2 Pipe Line or extension 
> tracks. The B&O then pulled the ore and delivered it to the Trumbull Cliffs 
> Furnace (Republic Steel) at Warren. They also pulled the ore empties and 
> shoved them to the same tracks for the Warren Run to handle. Since the B&O had 
> to drag the hoppers across Pine Street at the mill and again at Pine Street 
> (the depot) and Park and Main for head room, they were worked and had air 
> in them. The Warren Run would then cross them over at Burton Street and 
> put them in the Westbound Siding for further movement to North Randall or 
> Cleveland.


Odd, on the various maps I have dug up it seems to indicate that the Little Republic yard and Trumball Cliffs furnaces were on the PRR line south of Warren & the B&O/EL. I had also seen the name "Pipe Line 1 & 2" listed and wondered at what that term meant.

 
> Mosier Yard at Girard was more of a hopper storage yard than anything 
> else. Empty ore hoppers pulled out of the Joint Yard (Ohio Works) or out of 
> the Brier Hill Works were dragged to Mosier Yard by yard crews using sidings 
> and yard tracks so as not to occupy the main track. Thus, the cars did not 
> have to have air or be inspected.

 

This is unfortunate, from a modelling perspective. I was ok with the idea of a double track main (conventional wisdom holds that model layouts look bigger if they are single track) but to have that 3rd Siding track follow the main down an additional isle all the way to Girard seems unpleasent. Would it Really ruin it if I made those empties run out on the main to Mosier Yard as a hop?

 

> The cars were placed in one of the seven 
> tracks to be worked by the car inspectors. The inspectors would oil the 
> journals, make certain the doors were closed and plug any holes in the car 
> sides with rags, foam, etc. Then, when needed a crew would be called at 
> Brier Hill and take a caboose up Girard Siding, tie it on and make an air test 
> and depart for North Randall or Cleveland. Empty ore hoppers from the 
> Campbell Works of YS&T came out of the P&LE, thus they were already "worked" 
> and ready for further movement. Cars out of Sharon Steel were likewise, 
> worked as there were car inspectors at RO Yard where the cars were held. 
> When hoppers were returned from the P&LE or from Sharon Steel, it was a good 
> practice to recrew them on the main track at Brier Hill and move to 
> Cleveland as they were ready for reloading. Ore, for the most part, was not held 
> at Mosier. The mills wanted the ore ASAP, they wanted 100 to 200 cars of 
> ore "against the dumper" at all times. Ore came from different points, and 
> had different qualities and the plants wanted two or three kinds stockpiled 
> in the ore yard for them to use as required. The did not want to "bank" a 
> furnace account no ore. Banking a furnace means to fill it with coke, put 
> the bell on the top and place it on low heat so the coke glows and keeps 
> the furnace (fire brick) hot. If a furnace cools, the brick breaks up and 
> falls out and that results in millions of dollars to reline the furnace. The 
> Mahoning Divn placed as much emphasis on ore (and coal for coke making) 
> than some railroad place on perishables. 


So for modeling the mills, is it more realistic to have ore cars switched into a dumping yard to stockpile it for the mill to use at leasure or to  have loaded hoppers put right up the the mills for direct loading into the plant?

 

 
> Brier Hill Yard was the switching yard for the Youngstown area. It had a 
> dozen yard crews per day and an additional half-dozen crews worked in the 
> Brier Hill Steel--the YS&T Brier Hill Works. These captive crews were EL 
> crews that used EL locomotives and stayed strictly inside the mill and worked 
> for the mill yardmaster. Ore for YS&T Brier Hill Works was set off by 
> road crews on #1 and/or #2 South Yard east and/or west of the middle 
> (crossover) The South Yard was two tracks that ran along the EB main track at Brier 
> Hill and the ore could be pulled out the east end by the YS&T crews using 
> YS&T engines. Empties came out the same way.


So Brier Hill was set up different then Meadville, where Meadville had eastbound yard on the one side of the main and westbound on the other side of the main?

 

Were there specific EB/WB tracks at Brier Hill and they just had to cross over the opposing main to enter the yard?

 

> This wraps up most of the yard operations between Leavittsburg and 
> Sharpsville. A lot of the main track between these two points had a siding, 
> extension track or running track along the main so the yard crews could move 
> between industries and yards without accessing the main track.
> 
> SMT


So perhaps I should fudge abit and operate it as a single track CTC main and have the other track be the endless siding.
 		 	   		  

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