I live right outside of birdsboro and i have been trying to find information on the armorcast buildings. i have not found what i am looking for. on monday i am going to take a trip to the abandoned facility and try and find documents like blueprints and what not because i want to model this multi structure industry i will be taking a camera with me and plenty of spare batteries and since i know a way in from the local walking trail i can use the excuse i didnt see a no tresspassing sign. i will post whatever pics i take on a photo site but of course i will be taking a few needed tools to get through locked doors. i will have enough stuff that when i am done i will have a full documentary on the building and will donate my findings to the library
birdsboro armorcast to be modeled
- Thread starter Lab Rat
- Start date
rusty spike
New Member
=If you get caught you can always model z guage in you cell....
ha ha ha. do you have any idea how big this building is. it is the size of a mall and it has underground tunnels to another building a few hundred yards away plus there are overhead cranes and walkways it will take many visits to get all the photos i want. sherman tanks had been made in this building at one time along with all kinds of other things
what i am looking for will take me deep into the heart of the building and maybe to unknown hieghts of the building. if i can get there i will take pics of the roof but i think i will just use google images. what i am really hoping to find is old pictures of the facility in an office or in one of the file drawers on an overhead crane
dude you dont know the half of it lol i will be having an adventure the only thing i have to worry about is drugies homeless and the owner cause the racoon stays to herself
Well, entering a building while in possesion of burglary tools is a big time felony in most states. I realize you'd like to get pictures but you'd be a lot smarter trying to get permission from the current owners. At 19, you're an adult, and getting arrested means you have to dance with the guy with the most cigarettes. Trust me, going to jail isn't all that much fun.
Irongrave
Member
have you tried using bing and goggle earth as well. those are great tools that don't involve trespassing. along with newspaper articles when they built it. There are other ways of doing it then trespassing if the owner dosent want you on there. It cant hut to ask for permission tell them what your planing on doing with a well written document. I have done a lot of photo work on private property and have always asked before hand, its amazing what doors might open if you ask. I have been surprised a number of times myself when I've presented what my plans are to some one.
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West Virginia Midland Man
Member
And that kinda dance you don't wanna do. Not only that, sometimes, they make ya dance whether ya want to or not.
Not only that, there is no guarantee that the building is internally stable. Underground tunnels might not be safe. You're a grown man, you can do as you like, but Google Earth sounds like a good idea and you don't have to meet Ben Dover and Peter Poker and all their freaky friends.
Good luck with your model!
nwdrummer379
Class of '11
Have fun going through that place! Do you know what the smaller building on the north end of the property with the two huge fans on the roof was used for?
you did some research of some ort to be able to ask that question lol.
i will try to find out this is a series of building some of them are obvious others are not cause they have been remodeled for a new use i will look into what it was used for.
as far as structurally sound the only time i am leaving the floor is to climb up to the cranes there are a few in each bay of the building and they are on a track and i know the stairs are sound i have climbed them once when i was allowed in there but the person that let me in is no longer allowed in themselves. and the last time i checked the tunnels wer flooded but they should be sound because years ago my dad had to clean them. as far as going down in them if i see water at the bottom i am not going in. also if i dont see a way of getting back out i am not going in but i will be walking around the main floor and in the offices and labs taking pictures if the x-ray room is still there i will have to check it out
i will try to find out this is a series of building some of them are obvious others are not cause they have been remodeled for a new use i will look into what it was used for.
as far as structurally sound the only time i am leaving the floor is to climb up to the cranes there are a few in each bay of the building and they are on a track and i know the stairs are sound i have climbed them once when i was allowed in there but the person that let me in is no longer allowed in themselves. and the last time i checked the tunnels wer flooded but they should be sound because years ago my dad had to clean them. as far as going down in them if i see water at the bottom i am not going in. also if i dont see a way of getting back out i am not going in but i will be walking around the main floor and in the offices and labs taking pictures if the x-ray room is still there i will have to check it out
West Virginia Midland Man
Member
Is it an old defense plant? You said something about Sherman tanks being made there. Those tunnels might be air-raid shelters.
the facility was a foundry and had been making all kinds of different things. i was just outfitted to make tanks at one time. the tunnels are just conveyor systems to transport sub asemblies and parts from one building to another without being seen. i cant go in today like i had planned because it rained yesterday and i have the biggest feet in birdsboro. size 18. i will try and contact the owner because i would love to go in legally and maybe he has some of what i am looking for. from what i understand he is dismantling the building by hand a little at a time. the building is in two townships and it is violating many many codes in both. it is way to damaged to repair it and use it again. and most if not all of the power lines for the over head cranes is gone. there is four of these cranes per bay and multiple bays. and the bays are at least half a mile long. this is a huge building and will take me a long time to explore the whole thing.
ok guys i met the owner of the property in person today i was gonna go snooping around for the pics i wanted but thank god i seen him on his way in cause i found out that everyone found on the property is going to court for tresspassing. so i am lucky he got there before i did cause i was gonna go in about the same time he did.
instead i went acrosse the street to the birdsboro steel complex and started taking pictures and getting messurements. this complex will be huge even when put to scale. it will actually be several feet long and probably three foot deep and it is multiple buildings. while i was there today i noticed spots where buildings used to be but were torn down they actually connectect two building but not any more my representation will include what is not there to take pictures of as well as what is there because i want it to look how it did when it was still an establishment
instead i went acrosse the street to the birdsboro steel complex and started taking pictures and getting messurements. this complex will be huge even when put to scale. it will actually be several feet long and probably three foot deep and it is multiple buildings. while i was there today i noticed spots where buildings used to be but were torn down they actually connectect two building but not any more my representation will include what is not there to take pictures of as well as what is there because i want it to look how it did when it was still an establishment
Jamie, you lucked out. It's not worth jail time and a criminal record just to gets shots of any building for a model. For the Birdsboro Steel Company, don't neglect your local libarary. They often have books on the company's history and lots of old newspapers with pictures too. Just remember that there's no law against having some errors in your model. There are lots of laws about entering private property.
the property i am working on measuring out is fenced off but there is a gate at either end that is never closed plus a you are here sign at the main entrance so i would imagine that its not private property. but with me lucking out it put me in a position in town that i happened to stop at a roll off dumster and find two boxes wrth of trains when i found the trains i found i worked over that entire dumpster to see if there was any more
Jamie, most state laws are that any property that's fenced is private unless there are signs indicating otherwise. I wouldn't rely on the lack of posted no trespassing signs as a legal defense if you're arrested.
Sounds like you had a good day dumpster diving though. BTW, that's also illegal in most states, since items disposed of in a dumpster are considered the property of the company that owns the dumpster. If the local constable is having a bad day, you will have one also.
Sounds like you had a good day dumpster diving though.
BTW, that's also illegal in most states, since items disposed of in a dumpster are considered the property of the company that owns the dumpster. If the local constable is having a bad day, you will have one also.