The view from my window at work is about a 2x4 block area of the former Bethlehem Steel Lebanon, PA plant. Two blocks straight ahead is the double track Norfolk Southern main from Reading to Harrisburg, so I spend a lot of my work day watching trains. I was looking out several weeks ago and the thought jumped into my mind that a lot of the old factory buildings looked a lot like the building that Pola marketed as the "Oceanic" factory. Hmmm, if I had two of them I could add a story to the building and it would look a lot like some of the building on the BS property. A couple of days later, while browsing e-bay, some guy had two of them glued together to make a long building. Bid 5 bucks and got it. They were really slapped together, but I managed to pry apart the pieces without too much damage.
The business I decided to model is the Keystone Spike Corporation, which is housed in the ex-BS spike shop building. This was bought when BS closed the plant. This is not meant to be an exact model, but the building is similar and quite representative of the buildings still on the property.
So now we have a railroad spike manufacturer to provide the SVRR with a boxcar load once or twice a month.
NOTE: Wouldn't you know, the day I started this model, I crossed the tracks on Lincoln Ave. and discovered that NS had torn out the siding and paved the road. No sign of activity there since. I think maybe the real Keystone Spike has gone belly up!
Joined: 2006-12-18