add to my list

Nice job Bernie. Just enough to start the drooling process. 

I'll need to add this new book to my wishlist. After moving to the greater Cleveland area, I think I've found a local prototype to model in HO scale. Part of the scene includes two steel operations, so I'll need to get up to speed on this aspect soon.

Eric

still two steel mills in Cleveland

 Eric,

Great to hear from you. Did not know about the Cleveland move. Go check the steel mills there. Lots of good heavy metal action.

BCK

Just based on the photos

I will add it to my wish list when it comes out.  The bottle car looks especially good - can you tell us what scale it is?

New Book of the Way?

Bernie,

You have a new book coming out on the steel industry? That's interesting. I'll get it when it comes out even though I don't model that industry. Hopefully you'll sell it through Alkem just like you did your previous one of which I have an autographed copy that you sent me. Keep up the good work.

By the way, how is your Civil War era layout coming?

Irv

HO Scale bottle car

 The bottle car in the photo is HO scale.  The book shows HO and N Scale hot metal and slag cars.  It has a little bit of everything, but in general is an introductory volume.

ACW layout has been on hold...

 while I finished up the book. I hope to get cracking on it again soon.

I do have a back log of projects to catch up on though.

For this book, I plan to take preorders on my website. I'll post more info when it is available.

Thanks,

BCK

Cleveland Steel

I plan to do some prototype exploring around Cleveland this summer. It's amazing what was here at one time. In addition to steel, there were extensive petroleum and chemical operations, manufacturing of just about anything, and typical coal, lumber and oil dealers. The part of Newburgh that draws my attention had the large American Wire & Steel and Valley Mould and Casting plants. Just down the track there were some small town kind of industries like coal dealers, wholesale grocery, retail lumber, and a team track. Not what you would expect next to a couple of heavy metal operations, but it was all there along the Wheeling & Lake Erie line.

Seems if you threw a stone anywhere around the Cleveland area it landed in the middle of a different industrial complex.

Eric

The de-industrialization of the US.

Bernie,

What you are seeing didn't just happen in Cleveland. It happened all over. There are parts of NYC that looked very diffrent even 50 years ago than they do today. What with taxes, the cost of labor and the rise of unions, insurance and government regulations, businesses found tha they could not compete and so they either went out of business ore moved elsewhere. Some of those locations were still in the US. Many weren't and now that trend still continues as clerical, financial and other jobs are being exported overseas. No one in Washington DC ever bothers to look at the root causes of this because is the number one reason why the economy is such big trouble. People who are unemployed can't buy anything and even have trouble payong off the debt they have accumulated. Rather than sending money to Chrysler, GM and the banking industry, that money would be best spent ins solving the unemployment and debt paying problems the government has created or allowed to happen.

If you ever come to New York City, I'd love to give you a tour of just what happened to NYC since 1950.

Irv

I'm looking forward for the release of this book

On my upcoming layout I will model a Steel Mill in N-scale. Right now I'm trying to gather as much information as I can find on Internet for this Mill. Hopefully this book will be released in the beginning of 2010 and not in the end. It would certanly be a very good source for my project.

A winner!

Bernie,

Having seen your meticulous attention to detail elsewhere I fully expect this book to be a winner! Thank you for taking the time to collect and share this wealth of information (plus your usual gorgeous eye-candy).

Charlie

Yes, it should be Spring 2010

 It is now scheduled for an April 2010 Release.

N Scale steel

I'd be happy to review any plans you have now. What era? What aspects do you plan to model? Will it be an integrated mill?

Also, I plan to offer for sale some detailing parts for N and HO steel mills. So please keep an eye on my web site for latest status.

http://www.alkemscalemodels.com

N Scale steel

Well this can be a long story

I will try to keep it short for the moment.

Sounds good

 I look forward to seeing your blog as you progress.

Looks Intriguing

Bernie,

Very nice job!  I'm hoping to peruse a copy now, when released - while I'm not focused on any specific industry, this could probably explain a lot on traffic flows on lines like on the RF&P, especially the coil traffic, usually staged by the Possum Point Power Plant, near Quantico.  Best of luck with its success!

P.S. No, I won't lick the car - you first! )

Norm

coil cars at Possum Point

I didn't know they staged coil cars by Possum Point. How about some pixs?

Storing, not staging

Bernie,

I bet those coil cars are being stored at Possum Point while the steel market remains down.  I saw an endless string of coil cars sitting on the CSX branch line from Jessup to Columbia MD, and I know there isn't any kind of steel rolling activity in Columbia!

A lot of short lines that otherwise wouldn't have any business at all, are making a killing on renting trackage to Class I RRs to store their seldom-used cars [such as coil cars and auto racks] so their classification yards won't be clogged with 'dead' rolling stock.

Storing, not staging

And why shouldn't they? Those cars have to go somewhere when they aren't being used and it isn't a good idea to scrap these cars when they might be needed at some point in the future. Besides, the scrap value of the cars is probably much less than it should be as well. Why convert a loss into an even bigger loss and then compound it by having to over pay when the market for the materials these cars would carry comes back?

Frankly I don't see things changing before 2012 anyway.

Irv

You're right but I still wants pix!

I don't doubt that they are there, I just want to see 'em!  I once got a private tour of the Possum Point Power Plant with John Cook, who was building a NTRAK module based on that plant, so  I am curious to see where they put the coil cars.

The book is at the printers!

Yeah.  Should be out in April.

 Is your book come out now?

Is your book come out now?

Bernie's Book

It is out and available where ever you buy your hobby stuff.

Irv

Available here too

Alkem Scale Models, Bernie's company website, has the book available online as well.

Signed Copies

If you want a signed copy of the book, you can order it from my web site. I have plenty in stock. I also have copies of my earlier Kalmbach book on track planning.

Thanks,

BCK