Hot metal car truck repair.

Sometimes in steel mill hot metal cars trucks need to be repaired. This is a hot metal car hospital truck its a temporary truck so these massive cars can still be moved around in the shop area while there trucks are being repaired. 

New hot metal cars

D&D Mining & Steel took delivery of 4 new hot metal cars. The following pictures are from the yard and one from the yard tower. With the new blast furnace and electric furnace up and running these are much-needed cars. Each car is different due to being tested in the mill to see which design will best work within the mill.

The cars are a combination of ST&D cars and spouts and Walthers cars. One car is a stock ST&D car while the Walthers car is stock except for the spout. The other 2 cars have the end platform changed out with each manufacturer. The paint is aluminum color.

12-15-16 10:25am Another day of railfanning the KV&O.

12-15-16 10:25am Another day of railfanning the KV&O.

We didn't have to wait too long for the hot metal train to show up. This is a rare train to catch due to it doesn't run on any certain schedule. The power is DDMS RSD-15 #1020 The train consisted of L&N 70 ton hoppers 2 hot metal cars and a cab. This is the normal size of the train but at times an extra hot metal car is added due to customer needs.

Hot Metal Cars Part 1

Well, I have been in the mood to do a little modeling. Must be the weather. I been want to model different types of hot metal cars but only use ST&D and Walthers cars. Past couple days I have sat down and started them here are the results so far. Sadly I ran out of parts to do other types of cars I had planned. 

Pic #1 shows 5 hot metal cars. The 2 outside cars are stock Walthers and ST&D cars. the 3 inside cars are customs.

Pic #2 is a comparison picture of Walthers cars. One I removed the spot to the Walthers car and replaced it with a spot from ST&D The other is a stock Walthers car with no modifications.  This was a very easily done. I started by cutting the spot completely off the Walthers car. Once it was off it took just a little sanding to get the ST&D spot to slide in then I sand the top smooth and glut the heat shield over the Walthers car using the ST&D spot to line everything up. Pic #3 show the car with the spot redone. 

Pic #4 car I took the barrel from ST&D and used the ends platforms from a Walthers kit.

Pic #5 car I did was take the barrel ends of a Walthers car and put them in the center section of the barrel of an ST&D car. I also use ST&D platform ends on this car also.

Pic #6 shows a stock ST&D car in the back and the 2 custom cars I build in the front.

Next is to finish the rails and other detail parts and paint and weather.

Random Pictures

These are random pictures. The first picture we see one of the largest hot metal cars DDMS owns. DDMS I know for having a variety of equipment foreign and domestic. Some of the hot metal cars that DDMS uses came from Germany including the one pictured.

Next picture we see the hot outside of the BOF this is where once the process is completed and the metal is made it is poured into the ladles or ingots here and sent to the rolling mills. There is also to the left of the picture a ladle repair station. The large ladle is one the two that have been replaced

Last picture Helium facility. with helium car being unloaded.