Scratch / Kit bashed HO scale Kress scrap box carrier {photos included}

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slagpot

Member
Jul 11, 2006
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Beaufort,SC
Hello all,

After many hours at my work bench {3 hours} yesterday and last night. My newest carrier is done ! I made a tepmplate to go by should I make any more of these carriers. This being my second scratch build of a kress carrier, it didn't turn out to bad, the cab is a little large to scale. I didn't have a model ruler to go by....all done by hand and eye or by the skin of my teeth.

Enjoy the photos.......

Patrick
Beaufort,SC
Dragon River Steel Corp {DRSC}


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Dragon River Steel Corp {DRSC}

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jim currie said:
look great :thumb: scale ruler or no scale ruler
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You're right about that, Jim. These things come in a variety of sizes, and about the only thing on them that gives you any sense of their size is the operating cab. The slab carriers where I used to work had 2 flights of steps to the cab and were rated, I believe, for about 135 tons. The railcars that they replaced (ex-steam loco tender beds) could carry 160 tons of hot slabs: the advantage of the Kress is that it can deliver the load where there are no tracks and it can do it right now, as opposed to waiting until 15 or 20 cars are loaded and a locomotive finally shows up.

Wayne
 
Thank you all for the kind words. I'll be working on another type of kress carrier soon...speaking of which. Doc, which type of kress carrier did you operate, the four wheel or six wheel design ?

The kress straddle carrier of the six wheel design is what I'm looking into. But it looks to be much more of a challenge to build than the older four wheel design. I'll have to find some good photos to go by on this next carrier, {kress slab carrier }.

Once again thank you all for your kind words.

Patrick
Beaufort,SC
Dragon River Steel Corp {DRSC}
 
MilesWestern said:
:eek: WOW!! Those must be HUGE!! :eek: Do you have a picture of the real thing?
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Hello Miles,

Nope couldn't find any pictures of the real machine. I got a hold of this drawing for this machine out of a 1970's book " Iron and steel yearly proceedings". The drawing itself was very small, I used the copy machine at work and blew up the drawing. I know this though....these machines were real and used in mills around the world. Kress favors the elevated pallet carrier design now,although a brute of a machine, it doesn't look as mean as the old style, such as this model.

Thank you for the kind words also...

Patrick
Beaufort,SC
Dragon River Steel Corp {DRSC}
 
slagpot said:
Thank you all for the kind words. I'll be working on another type of kress carrier soon...speaking of which. Doc, which type of kress carrier did you operate, the four wheel or six wheel design ?


Patrick, I didn't operate a Kress, but I believe ours were the four-wheel type. They could carry six slabs, usually 25 tonners, although they also used them on 35 and 40 ton slabs. The operator backed up with the aid of a TV camera, straddling the slab pile. The clamping arms would lower, then close on the pile of six slabs. The operator would then lift them into the travelling position, and deliver them to the slab bank or the mill. They were able to straddle a pile twelve slabs high (about 10') and could pick-up or deliver 6 slabs to or from the top position, or the ground. Hot slabs usually went to the slab bank: hot means freshly made, right off the caster, at about 2000 degrees or so. Since most slabs require scarfing (clean-up with a large torch) and sometimes slitting (with a track mounted torch), depending on their final destination, cooler slabs were usually brought from the bank for these procedures. Scarfing torches were operated by a man standing on the slab, and slitting torches were placed on the slab and tended by an operator. The usual maximum temperature for this was about 300 degrees.

Wayne
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doctorwayne said:
slagpot said:
Thank you all for the kind words. I'll be working on another type of kress carrier soon...speaking of which. Doc, which type of kress carrier did you operate, the four wheel or six wheel design ?


Patrick, I didn't operate a Kress, but I believe ours were the four-wheel type. They could carry six slabs, usually 25 tonners, although they also used them on 35 and 40 ton slabs. The operator backed up with the aid of a TV camera, straddling the slab pile. The clamping arms would lower, then close on the pile of six slabs. The operator would then lift them into the travelling position, and deliver them to the slab bank or the mill. They were able to straddle a pile twelve slabs high (about 10') and could pick-up or deliver 6 slabs to or from the top position, or the ground. Hot slabs usually went to the slab bank: hot means freshly made, right off the caster, at about 2000 degrees or so. Since most slabs require scarfing (clean-up with a large torch) and sometimes slitting (with a track mounted torch), depending on their final destination, cooler slabs were usually brought from the bank for these procedures. Scarfing torches were operated by a man standing on the slab, and slitting torches were placed on the slab and tended by an operator. The usual maximum temperature for this was about 300 degrees.

Wayne
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Hi Wayne,

I must have mis-understood you from your other posting. Still an impressive under taking moving hot slabs from one part of the mill to another. Sheez the guy that has to cut the slabs, poor @%#$&*!, thats one tough job !

I plan on building a BOF structure and caster building, equipted with a turn arm for switching out ladles. The structure will be about four feet long by two feet wide and three and a half feet tall.A down comer pipe made from 1 1/2 PVC, instead of plasti-struct tubing. Also with out buildings a power house and odds & ends.

Take care....

P.S

Have you ever thought about maybe giving an forum class on weathering ? Your modeling work is some of the best I've seen...hats off to yaz laddie. I could use some tips on weathing.

Patrick
Beaufort,SC
Dragon River Steel Corp {DRSC}
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Good luck on your BOF/caster model, Patrick. Many years ago, I started a model of a blast furnace, working from a (partial) set of blueprints supplied by my employer. The furnace and cast house occupied an area of about 4' x 4', the stoves about 1' x 2', the gas scrubbers and baghouses another 2' x 3', and a stock house at 1' x 4', all in HO scale. I built the furnace shell, most of the casthouse (including the casting floor and runners and part of the slag pit, all cast in Hydrocal) The furnace shell was built-up from sheet styrene. Since styrene strips and structural shapes were not available, the cast house was constructed with basswood "H" columns and "I" beams, and sheathed with basswood corrugated siding. The brickwork for the lower floors was brick paper, while walls used the material from Holgate & Reynolds. I constructed the skip bridge from basswood shapes and steel rail, while the skip cars were styrene. While I knew that I would eventually run out of space in our one bedroom apartment, I ran out of money before that happened. Unable to finish the model, it sat for many years, slowly deteriorating. The one cast house crane that I'd started was converted into a more general-purpose type, and is in use on my present layout. I gave away some of the parts to other modellers, and scrapped quite a bit. What's left, other than the crane, are some walkways and handrails, and a bunch of large roof trusses, all built-up from basswood shapes. I also have a few photographs (not digital) that I may post when I get a scanner and a new computer.

Wayne
 
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