I used hang out in BRD whenever I played WoW. It was just that cool. (Playing with DF way before I started with WoW, so the dorfiness of the place really struck me).
Stopped playing with WoTLK though, so no idea if Cata changed it.
I remember soloing at lvl 60, making a stealth run to the Black Anvil (with my engineer warlock) so I could make a Dark Iron rifle for my friend. And nearly dying to the boss elemental who guards the anvil (Lord Incendius?).
Sure, BC came out a couple of weeks later and he never did get to use that rifle, but hey. Stuff of legends and all that.
Ironforge is pretty DF dwarfy as well - magma forges, large iron statues, open magma pit in the center of the military ward...
A 98% of the fortress population seems to serve in the military.
Why. Why would you ever need that kind of soldier to citizen ratio. What a waste of resources.
It's because of all the thieves and ambusher squads that keep getting in. Not enough cage traps.
I didn't even know the forge and anvil were different things. Probably because nobody actually bothers with the stuff anymore. I don't see any blacksmiths doing any smelting mid dungeon run. And really why bother? BC Greens you'll get in 5 levels are better by far and you'll probably get more than you know what to do with without even trying.
I kept going back to BRD/MC specifically to mine dark iron, trying to get Thorium rep up on my enchanter alt. There are some nice low-level enchantments available among the old-world factions (low-level enchant = can be placed on heirlooms) that sell well on the AH. Also, loremaster.
Plus it's great fun to act as tour guide for guildies' alts - not a lot of people left who know the BRD map layout by heart.