Although the main theme of the Mid-Mon Valley model railroad is steel making and the industries surrounding that, our layout also has other businesses that depend on the railroad.
Corning Glass
Glass production was a big business years ago in the Pittsburgh area, including the Monongahela Valley. The Corning Glass works is one such facility that the railroad serves.
Ashland Oil Company
The town of Floreffe has two businesses served by the railroad, Ashland Oil and J&B Salvage. Ashland Oil is a petroleum distribution site with oil storage facilities. Loaded tank cars of various petroleum products are brought in and unloaded into large tanks. Distribution to the local area is performed with Ashland Oil trucks.
J&B Salvage
J&B Salvage is a small scrap yard located in the shadow of the Ashland Oil Company storage tanks. Although it is not a large customer for the railroad, it rates a dedicated siding with a steady stream of gondolas coming in to be loaded.
West Penn Mitchell Power Station
Steel isn’t the only industry with an appetite for coal. Coal is used to make electricity which the newer furnaces in the mills consume in large quantity. To serve the industries and the homes around the area, the West Penn power company has a power generating station fueled by coal on the banks of the Monongahela River just north of New Eagle, PA. Although the real power plant has been shuttered for some time, it still stands today on the banks of the Monongahela River and on our railroad layout.
Latchem & Monach Brothers – Fox Grocery
Tucked into a corner of the upper layout is a small grocery distribution house. For its small size, though, it turns over a lot of railroad cars of fresh meat and produce for the surrounding community.
