Blast Furnace Recent Photo

Dave-good speaking with you for a few minutes on the phone today.  I'm glad you enjoyed your view from the top of Carrie furnace.  There used to be a "hot metal bridge" that ran from Carrie across the Mon to the Homestead plant.  There would be a train of submarine cars(hot metal cars) of molten steel brought to the Homestead plant for processing. The bridge used to be approximately where the east Waterfront bridge entrance is next to the blue Italian Marcegaglia steel co building is today.  Part of the Italian steel building used to be the old 140 inch mill spares building.

Bill-When I started working at the Homestead works in the early 70's,  there were 8,000-10,000 people working at the plant.  I worked in No 1 Machine Shop(there were 3 machine shops in the Homestead Works)which was part of Central Maintenance-we did the bulk of major repairs/rebuilding for all of the steelmaking equipment of US Steel's plants throughout the Mon Valley.  Our shop was nicknamed "The Big Shop"  As you said-it was hard work but there were good paying jobs for those who would work and by applying yourself,  individuals could work their way up the ladder through apprenticeships and experience.  Unfortunately many of these types of industrial jobs have gone by the wayside.  I started by sweeping the floors as a laborer and after moving up a little at a time,  got on the machinist apprenticeship,  and after 8,500 hours of school and on the job training,  I received my journeyman machinist papers in 1979.  My last day of work there,  I doubled out(worked 16 hrs) and then my foreman told me that was probably my last day(it was).  That was 1983.  Sorry to wander off topic-I could go on for hours.

Nick

I was born in Youngstown and worked on the narrow gauge at the Youngstown Sheet & Tube, Briar Hill Open Hearth. My uncle worked for P&LE used to deliver the molten iron from the blast furnace in the Campbell works. I used to visit with him in the caboose while he did his paperwork.

Digression is one of the best things about this forum! You learn as much from the digressions as the main topic. Also, it's important to keep talking about American manufacturing.

Some of the missing jobs are missing forever. Not because of overseas competition, but because almost everything you see has less parts in it that previous generations. Case in point: look at the hundreds of pieces of precision metalwork that went into making a typewriter (or worse a Teletype Machine). Now look inside a common Inkjet printer. There's nothing inside. There's a couple of steel rods, a stepper motor and a belt. A print head carrier that has a few parts. The ink cartridges have a few parts. Most of these parts are assembled by machine or robot. And then there's the circuit boards, again put together by automated machinery or robots. I'm sure that there were substantially more people making a teletype then a canon Inkjet printer.

The common wall thermostat used to have all sorts of mechanical pieces. Now, it's a just another circuit board and some I/O connections.

Everything is like this.

Carburetors. If anyone has ever disassembled Rochester Quadrate you know what mechanical objects they were. Now you have fuel injectors that are again, built on automated machines. Even when the jobs return (and some are), they're higher skill level that require significant man/machine interfacing skills. That's the dilemma. It's the low skill, manual labor jobs that have disappeared. How many men did it take to put in place one piece of steel rail. Now a bunch of machine operators and hydraulic techs put down miles of it a day. We need to expand the pie... more entrepreneurs and more skills training, and more companies making more things, not looking towards the old line businesses to start hiring more.

Nick,

I always enjoy our conversations!

Dave

A clean job, on one of the most dirtiest, dangerous places around.

I grew up on the south edge of Detroit. They made a little steel here too.

  Some mornings, ash and soot would be near 1/4" thick on your car.

 My Grandfather worked steel since the 30s. Got his ribs broken in strikes a few times, even left state for the pleasure, and worked the US Steel sheet mill mostly, by the time I was born. I've got his silver 3 finger mittens in with my torch gear. 

  He worked afternoons and I remember him coming home early, and in shock one night. His grey clothes dark, T shirt and neck, beet red from his partners blood. He was cut in half standing almost right next to him, by a coil of sheet metal unwinding.

Coils would occasionally fall off flats, or have bands break. While on semis too. The first two-three miles seem to be where it would happen most.

 With the "thunder" sometimes there is a whole lot of damage too. Cars, stores, telephone poles, etc.  

 My buddies dad also fell from a catwalk ladder that got bumped by a loader or truck as he was coming down. Broke his back, but he lived. Couple guys had arm burns, or were missing digits.

  The unfortunate stories are endless really. Dangerous. but it offered such opportunity

 The old USS plant still does a little production now and then. But its "Japanese", or "Russian" owned, and ownership bounces. Its been about six years now, but last I was nearby, the locomotive bells could still be heard every now and then.

Dave,

Have you seen my e-mail to you regarding the Steel Mill Modelers Meet?

Please shoot me an e-mail (in profile).

thanks,

George

George,

Yes I did.  Thank you for the info!

Dave

Starting to repaint and reshape the firemen.

Dave

Very nice work.

Dave it looks better every time. Really coming together.

Looks great.  Love it.  You do good work Dave.

Really nice work! That scene just sucks you in and begs you to look into every corner to make sure you don't miss some amazing detail.

David M,

    Very nice sir, very nice indeed!

PCRR/Dave

Keep at it Dave, great!!