# Petroleum Coke Unit - ongoing build



## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

This is the first of two; destined for the Pennzoil refinery. ARCOs will probably be a bit larger. 
I had wanted to do the superstructure 100% brass, but couldn’t find 1/16th strip, so styrene invaded. 
Still a long ways to go, but you get the idea in the photo below. The coke bins will be made from shaving cream cans joins bottom to bottom, a total of 6 (three bins). Each horizontal brass beam will support a floor. One of those vertical beams has holes drilled at each ceiling point for LED wire routing. I’m not certain but each floor will probably get 8 LEDs, but one or two for each stairway.








I still have to start the upper section which sits atop what is shown. I’m not sure what it’s called so I’m calling it the “derricks.” It’s an open structure that holds what one can compare to pressure washers for inside each bin. That will be an additional 8 inches or so (it’s 16 inches tall right now).
Still need to finish a stair platform and some railing, plus weather the base structure. 
Speaking of which; that is wood laminated with layers of styrene.

And inspiration photo

















With my luck, 2 months before or after I finish it Walthers will announce a kit. Lol
Anyway, it’s a SLOG of a build… Hoping to get the bracing and floors done soon so I can get the framework painted this Spring/Summer. Slow going on the bins, I am working on emptying #2 of 6. 😩


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## Trackjockey05 (Jun 30, 2020)

Off to a good start, I used to work in the petroleum industry so structures like this interest me, ain’t that the truth about getting halfway through a build only to have a manufacturer announce a kit for what your building, I had 3 GP40p-2’s in various stages of progress when Athearn came out with theirs


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

I went to college very near the Standard Oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana and there were a lot of railroad tracks and equipment in the industry. I love the idea of incorporating a refinery into a layout, very cool.
I don't know if you ever saw those fake fire lamps that would use a orange/red lights and a fan to blow a cloth flame?
See LED Fake Fire Flame light









...I was thinking you could incorporate this idea into the gas burnoff towers on your layout...THAT would be so cool to have a animated flame in the scene!









Nevertheless, I like your refinery idea....lots of potential. 
I'll be watching your progress....thanks for sharing!


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

@SF Gal, ya know that’s one aspect that I haven’t thought about much. I have seen those LEDs used for campfires etc. I was never a fan of the cloth really… Always made me think of bicycle handlebar streamers. But it’s an element that I need to assign a brain cell to.

My layout will actually have 2 refineries, both semi-accurate replicas of real places. Sadly both prototypes are gone now. One of them, ARCO Eclipse Works, is a bit more of a historical “what if” as it suffered a catastrophic fire long ago. A couple of interesting facets about mine though; due to layout height the top of smokestacks are above eye level, so you realistically look up to see the smoke etc. And whereas most model refineries are ballpark around 2 to 4 square feet, mine are 40 square feet each. Roughly 5x8. This makes each refinery essentially a self-contained switching layout.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

It’s starting to look like something. Blessed is the North West Short Line Chopper III.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

I got the base weathered and stairway finished. Waiting on weathering the top until the superstructure is painted & permanently affixed, for blending reasons. 
I also realized that I hadn’t shown the interior, if you can call it that. While the arch is designed to clear hoppers, due to track limitations hoppers will be loaded via conveyor and/or front end loader.
The “interior” pet coke pile is just foam painted black with cinders dropped on while still wet. The nails serve as handles.













































This last photo is about eye level for me (5’10 or so)


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## Raege (Jan 7, 2022)

Cement weathering looks good and like the coke pile. The height is sure going to catch anyones eye a real center piece model. How will interior coke area be weathered? Is Coke a dusty material?
What color paints did you use for your cement walls? 
Thanks for sharing eye candy on your progress. Look forward to seeing you convert the shaving cans


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Raege said:


> Cement weathering looks good and like the coke pile. The height is sure going to catch anyones eye a real center piece model. How will interior coke area be weathered? Is Coke a dusty material?
> What color paints did you use for your cement walls?
> Thanks for sharing eye candy on your progress. Look forward to seeing you convert the shaving cans


I hit the Like instead of Quote lol Makes me look narcissistic lol 
Thanks. This one is actually going to be against a wall, probably to hide background photo duplicity.
The inner area won’t be, or need to be weathered. It’s not lit and heavily shadowed, but a good view in to it won’t be possible. 
Pet Coke is EXTREMELY combustible. Just sitting in direct sun too long can cause it to ignite. There are strict regulations on storage & transport as a result. An outdoor storage pile for example needs to be doused with water every so often.
Because of that, and it’s normal given nature as a sediment of impurities, it’s typically more slimy/mucky… at least based on my expectations. I’ve never handled it personally so it's an educated guess. When dry though I’d assume it’s more coal-like, but dusty or chalk-like I can only suppose that it is to some degree.

The cement wall paint color is Rustoleum 2X line Satin Fossil (#334067).


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## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

Wow that looks awesome so far can't wait to see it done!


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

I got the brass superstructure painted. Along with 1/2 of the first silo. 
I somehow didn’t realize that I missed several areas. No matter though… I had nothing to do tomorrow anyway, until now.


















Starting to look “ok.” Still needs piping, stairways, figure out the upper power washer derricks. And it’ll get ballpark 40 LEDs. So it will light up like a christmas tree.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

It’s been quite a while since I posted progress on this.

And what a trip today developed into. I mean mind-warp city.

The super structure framing is done, including paint.
And I had cut floors for level II, III, and IV. Each being tailored to to beams of the structure framing. All the little notches, measured out, trimmed. Each floor labeled, along with which was the top side, and front edge. I got all the holes cut out.

And I had all three floors test fitted at the same time.

Mind you floor II will only fit as floor II, top up front to the front. It won’t fit if turned 180 or inverted, or as floor III.
Each fit where it was supposed to go. Holes for piping are different on each, so I can tell which is which, which is top, and front. Again. Each fit in it’s proper place. Each is unique.

Time for paint.

Now that they are dried, I went to put them in. Floor II not only doesn’t fit where it’s supposed to… and did a few weeks ago… But to see if I’m losing my marbles, I checked it against all possible locations and orientations. The notches do not align in *ANY *configuration!

What. The. Frakk?

So I checked Floor III against it’s proper location. Same thing. I checked this floor against all possible configurations. Nothing.

What the?!

And it’s not like microns worth of paint difference. The tailored notches are off, in some cases by 1/8th inch. *REMEMBER *they all fit perfectly when test fitting them all just a few weeks ago.

I’m a bit miffed/steamed/PO’d. I have no explanation for this. Well; there’s one, but so outlandish it’d mean Rod Serling was outside my house this morning. It just doesn’t make sense. Like glitch in the Matrix “solid brick wall where a window used to be” kind of doesn’t make sense.


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## Raege (Jan 7, 2022)

I thought I heard a silent scream earlier. You don't happen to have a neighbor/friend named Gaius Baltar who helps you do you?
That stinks I'm tired just thinking about making all those cuts


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

No on the neighbor, and no on the silent part. 
One of those moments I recognize though: time to walk away & come back to it some other day. Maybe things will somehow fit again? I don’t know. I’m not sure Einstein would know. But I blame him. It’s like I woke up in a parallel universe, and I know how that sounds.
On the other hand, last night had me wondering if perhaps the wife of the original owner of this house is haunting place after all? I never bought into that crap, but last night…. There’s some seriously weird sh!t going on around here lately.


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