Steel Slab dimensions

[Steadfast]

Hi all,

 

I'm starting to think about making loads for my BBAs and BAAs. I want to go for the hefty slab you see being tripped through South Wales. (OK that pic is Bristol, but it's come from Llanwern)

 

I'm struggling to find dimensions for this sort of product, which I believe goes for rolling into coil, hence the trips from Margam to Llanwern.

 

Is there a standard industry size, or does each steelworks work to their own standard?

 

Looking at Evergreen, I'm thinking their 1.5mm x 6.3mm or 1.5mm x 7.9mm may be suitable for N? That'd be 9 inch thick slabs, around 3 or 4 foot wide. The stanchions on my BBA are around 8mm apart.

 

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

Jo

 

[Fat Controller]

Not up-to-date with semi-finished steel, but I suspect the basic principles haven't changed since the days of Ingots. The size of the slab, like that of the ingots that preceded them, would be determined by the size of the finished sheet required by the customer. In the Ingot Mould Foundry my father worked in at least one Draughtman would be dedicated to working out the mould sizes to give the size of sheet required.

TATA may have something on their web-site; it would be in their interest to get the customer to use stock material.

[guzzler17]

This document gives good dimensional information

 

https://britishsteel.co.uk/media/359331/british-steel-slab-brochure.pdf

 

The only question that now needs to be asked is how turn sheet plasticard into a good representation of slab steel e.g. which paint gives a good metal finish?

 

Nigel

[Hal Nail]

1 hour ago, guzzler17 said:

e.g. which paint gives a good metal finish?

Just do a search on weathering 16t mineral wagons?

 

Personally I would use a black or red oxide type primer then cover roughly in games workshop "typhus corrosion" and artists burnt umber, then partially  scratch and rub it back off. 

[Philou]

For a 'metal' finish, you could buy in Aldi/Lidl, a pack of cheap assorted acrylics in large tubes, and one of them is called aluminium - and has a dull metallic sheen to it when applied. Looking at the slabs in the photo above (and coils) the colour is more grey than metallic - perhaps even gunmetal as it seems (to my eyes) to have a blueish hue to it. I may have to redo my coils as they're perhaps a tad too metallic:

 

 

The coils were made with rolled paper strip and glued with a dab of 'Pritt'-type glue followed by brush painting.

 

The paint I used was from the 'Crealando' range that came from Lidl.

 

Hope it helps.

 

Philip

[Steadfast]

Thanks for the posts ref the real steel, that pdf is exactly what I was after. Looks like my Google-fu wasn't up to scratch. Seems like pretty much anything goes size wise! I'm intending it to be Tata Margam originated steel, but I'm sure it won't be a million miles off what British Steel turn out.

 

As for the model, I'm probably going down the road of a technique called non metallic metal, using oils. In N scale, the metallic look of the steel slabs isn't noticeable, it's more the colour and patina. Modellers using NMM on figure painting get some incredible effects, including replicating polished steel like on swords or armour. Slab doesn't have the sheen that rolled coil does either.

 

Here's a pic linked from Flickr showing the effect, its quite blue.

 

 

 

Jo

Edited July 16, 2023 by Steadfast

[guzzler17]

Lots of colour variation on those slabs. 

 

Interesting loading on wagons 2 and 3 (BDA or BEA).  Looks like extra height bolsters at one end of each one so that the slabs can be overlapped.  Saves the need for barriers / unproductive train length.

 

Might put those on the "one day" projects list.

 

Slab length seems to be uniform but width varies on a couple of wagons.  The first BBA seems a bit underloaded compared with the BAAs before and after it.

 

I really must get back to finishing my BBAs.

[hmrspaul]

Some of these BBA have various slab, not very "metallic" looking, often a grey https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/bba

Similarly for BAA https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/baa

 

PAul

[Fat Controller]

On 16/07/2023 at 18:33, guzzler17 said:

Lots of colour variation on those slabs. 

 

Interesting loading on wagons 2 and 3 (BDA or BEA).  Looks like extra height bolsters at one end of each one so that the slabs can be overlapped.  Saves the need for barriers / unproductive train length.

 

Might put those on the "one day" projects list.

 

Slab length seems to be uniform but width varies on a couple of wagons.  The first BBA seems a bit underloaded compared with the BAAs before and after it.

 

I really must get back to finishing my BBAs.

I believe the BDAs and BEAs with  a pair of taller bolsters at one end carried the TOPS code BFA.

[jim.snowdon]

On 16/07/2023 at 17:08, Steadfast said:

Slab doesn't have the sheen that rolled coil does either.

It won't - it's covered in iron oxide, aka 'mill scale', acquired as it cooled down from red hot after the rolling had been done. Hot rolled strip coil will suffer the same way, but not cold rolled strip, which is cleaned before being rolled.