Detroit Steel Mill Trains: Ford Dearborn Works

[@vacuumtube1954]

Good morning. Cool video you have here. I worked in an iron foundry and these videos bring back memories. Drone footage is great ! Very well done my friend. Thank you.

[@michaelabalos595]

I remember growing up in Southwest Detroit Patton Park area and the sky would glow orange at night from the hot iron blocks from the the Great Ford Rouge plant in the sixties and seventies.

[@chopperjoe6592]

Cool vid! I actually work there and maintain the locos. Eight of twelve were shipped to Dearborn after they closed the Ashland, Ky mill. They become like family members after 22yrs 😂

[@missyd0g2]

My father worked for Ford and we took a ride on the ore ship William Clay Ford in the late 1960’s.

[@leonardbartholomew5021]

You caught a few glimpses of the Marathon Petroleum Refinery in the background. Spent 41 years there but only caught a few glimpses of railroad ops in the Ford plant. There was a TOFC yard between the East and West sides of the refinery and i managed to get some stills of the switchers in 1977.

[@kurtboginski507]

Spent lots of time in the Rouge complex. A dangerous and dirty place. But very interesting with all the things going on.Thanks for the aerial veiw.

[@jcolby7177]

My dad was a millwright when it was the rough and then severstal. I would hear stories all the time about how he would fix things and help re-rail railroad loads. Thank you for this I remember touring when I was a kid

[@farmerdave7965]

As a former worker at the last fully integrated steel mill west of the Mississippi river, I approve of this video. I worked in the hot end. Two BOFs. Three blast furnaces.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Was that "last fully integrated steel mill west of the Mississippi river" the works near Provo, Utah?

[@farmerdave7965]

@@WAL_DC-6B yes

[@J3scribe]

Steel mills are mind boggling operations. This is a fantastic video capturing the feel and action. Thanks!

[@SamLovesTrains]

Thanks for watching! Appreciate it!

[@1940limited]

Nice there's still some industrial activity in this country. We need a lot more of it.

[@thunderbird1921]

Really cool to see the hot glowing stuff in that one "submarine car"!

[@ShawnCalay]

This is cool, i worked for a railway for 21 years. Now im a expediter, i have been here, delivered parts for this facility and the locomotives

[@SamLovesTrains]

Thank you! Very neat.

[@murphyjulian7393]

Great video! I really enjoyed the overhead sights of the trains and the mill. I had seen a drone a few months back flying over by the old Rouge powerhouse that is being demolished right now. I thought it would be interesting to see that footage from above although we do get to see the demo from across Miller road.

[@torchandhammer]

I had seen the Paul R. Tregurtha before. I didn't realize there was another family member! Apparently, they're known as the King and Queen of the Lakes.

[@philipperiopel1911]

Interesting elevated abandoned rail yard!

[@giovannicardillo8395]

I agree

[@bob_._.]

It's called the "high line" used to transfer materials (ore, coke, limestone) to the blast furnace. At one point you can see the bins underneath where they'd dump.

[@alyriohenry9481]

​@@bob_._. Can you tell me if what appears stopped on the elevated section at 07:43 is a cargo vehicle or if it is just an abandoned building?

[@bob_._.]

@@alyriohenry9481 It's a rail vehicle, on a set of wide-gauge tracks (two standard gauge tracks to the left. Used to transfer iron ore into the open bins just beyond, from where they will be loaded into the blast furnace. There'll be six or eight different grades of ore which can be mixed in various recipes to produce iron with a range of characteristics.

[@Scaletrains]

Thank God for drones! Nice video, Sam.

[@SamLovesTrains]

Agreed! Thank you!

[@shawnpowell5876]

Great video of this MASSIVE steel mill that resembles a model railroad layout. The placement of the track is perfect to have access to each part of the plant. To see that steel through the top of car definitely looked like hot lava. Thanks again SLT for sharing this video with us along with your PRICELESS time and effort. Cheers from Laurel, Delaware.

[@SamLovesTrains]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@alfrednawrocki8061]

​@@SamLovesTrains Great video !!! Drove past this massive plant many times as I grew up and lived in the west side of Detroit 1947 - 1986. Then moved to Florida.

[@shortliner68]

Nice to see the mill still going strong. I remember when Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point mill outside of Baltimore was busy with trains coming off the PRR, B&O, and WM going every which way. Unfortunately, that's just a memory now.

[@liann3881]

I had a school field trip here back around 1970.

[@haasebahn]

Lot more green than you'd expect at a steel mill

[@thomasmackowiak]

Thid is an interesting video of the engines moving hot metal cars in Cleveland Cliffs' Dearborn Works steel plant, Sam! From the drone footage the plant almost looks like it is part of a model railroad layout. I have seen at least one video of the Lee A. Tregurtha being loaded at the ire dock in Marquett, Michigan. Thank you for making the trip to Dearborn, Michigan to record this video! (24 June 2024 at 1841)

[@AKawalski]

Sam! Another awesome video! I was waiting for another one from you. These are industrial symphonies and you are a maestro! Stereo spatial sound too! Epic!

[@SamLovesTrains]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!

[@AKawalski]

@@SamLovesTrains I did, I did! Keep up the great work mr

[@cp368productions2]

Said to see that high line mostly abandoned, looks like the one track on the right is still used though, no weeds and coke sitting there between the rails.

[@DMUSrilanka]

Nice video ❤️✌️

[@paulbergen9114]

Once again some fantastic footage. That virtually is a city within the Detroit area one can't help but wonder how long it would take to walk the circumference of the plant. That unique in and out of the building and the track in between the two buildings sure makes it interesting along with that abandoned Highline. No doubt that structure was built in the earliest days of the plant. You passed over one of the bottle cars that was just glowing Orange its so bright it just stands out so vividly. It's actually quite a small engine house and when you swung around for the head on photo that unit was one of the special ones Ford ordered for the plant. No doubt someone still grumbles that a GM works at a Ford plant. Again many thanks for bringing current pictures and details to light.

[@SamLovesTrains]

Thank you! I love getting those above angles to look into the torpedo cars. I went back to Gary Works the other day and got a shot of some torpedoes there with a lower camera exposure. It let me actually see the molten iron bubbling inside!

[@railroadjim]

Wow! Terrific video and I enjoyed seeing the top of the blast furnace, as well as all of the other shots, including the hot metal cars being moved.

[@csxtfarmer]

Great video of the Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Mill in Detroit, Michigan, Sam.

[@SamLovesTrains]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bradleyjanes2949]

Great video TY very 😎

[@pinkostv]

You should film the nearby Great Lakes steel mill before it’s torn down

[@how_to_hallagon1]

Every model railroaders wet dream

[@bentrail]

Very nicely done. Thanks for sharing

[@SamLovesTrains]

Thank you! And thanks for viewing!

[@njunderground82]

6:00 Kind of surprised those trees don't get scorched! Great video though!

[@electrictractiontrainsandt3063]

It is amazing to see 🇺🇸American steel works/ factories in operation! The trains and Laker add to the scene! Great stuff!👌👍

[@SamLovesTrains]

Thanks!

[@jamesburnside3023]

Excellent

[@onenickthomas]

Well done!

[@jondietzen4342]

Overcast skies made for great filming. Nice job.

[@SamLovesTrains]

Certainly! Thanks.

[@aarsairliners]

Great Video!

[@randylearmonth4047]

Wonderful video

[@woodencoasterfan]

What kind of cars is the yarder pulling at the 2:12 mark and are they just restricted to the Rouge River plant? I’ve never seen those type on the open rails before.

[@murphyjulian7393]

Those are the bottle cars with molten steel inside, rarely see the open rails

[@flynlr]

kinda sad as there are 6 blast furnaces in your video of which only 1 is active now. so much offshoring of steel production will probably bite us in the rear someday

[@Dog.soldier1950]

Steel demand has fallen way off since 1970

[@The_DuMont_Network]

Already has. A BIG bite in the ass.

[@ATF1985]

Same a zug island

[@morpheusduvall]

It’s switching over to EAF mostly

[@ff1733]

There was never 6 only 3 furnaces and only one active

[@Steven_Williams]

Outstanding video Sam! Had no idea that this mill still existed.

[@SamLovesTrains]

Thanks. Not many seem to film this mill!

[@319E]

Very good!!

[@acdii]

To think, at one time all those plants and more were operating 24x7 all to make cars, or tanks, during the war. Henry Ford really had a great imagination in order to do what he did.

[@1940limited]

He was an industrial giant and a genius.

[@donaldkormos5529]

Thank you!!!

[@robertbaraszu5462]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@maybesomeday2596]

I wonder what's changed in the process that they no longer use the High Line.

[@handyandy2112]

I work at this Blast Furnace, cool to see it in this video. The old highline was abandoned back in the 80's in favor of conveyor belts. At 0:39 you can see a large tube running diagonally to the top of the blast furnace. Inside the tube is a conveyor belt that sends the raw materials (iron ore pellets, coke, limestone and scrap metal) to the top of the furnace where it is dumped via a rotating chute. In the old days the train cars would dump on the highline into hoppers which would in turn dump into a "skip hoist" which is an open bin on diagonal rails which would rise to the top and dump. The newer process is much more precise and environmentally friendlier because it's all enclosed and the dust removed by a baghouse. A lot of dust is generated during the conveying process which used to be released to the air. The highline was constructed with old school concrete about 3 feet thick. A little further south the maintenance shops and offices are still located underneath the highline.

[@1940limited]

@@handyandy2112 Thanks for that explanation. I was wondering what the purpose of that abandoned line was and why it's no longer in use.

[@rand49er]

The place where Mustangs and F-150s are "born."

[@centraliowarailproductions2810]

Nice catches!

[@steppanoreed]

Unloaded taconite there many times. Always something going on to watch.

[@emiloldersum2506]

I was visting my son during a scholarship in Metro Detroit. At this time in January 2023 I went to Miller Road and took some photos from outside. I'm fascinated of these Steel mills. Great to have such an superb overview by your video. Was it easy to get a permission filming the plant? Anyway, many thanks and greetings from Berlin/Germany. Gonna check out your channel!

[@barefoot3662]

Cool i like this video

[@PlanetMojo]

Very cool video Sam!

[@SamLovesTrains]

Thank you!

[@jstoli996c4s]

The former Bethlehem Steel site in Buffalo (Lackawanna) was massive like this one, about 1,100 acres. Shame it’s gone, though it’s slowly being revitalized and repurposed to light industrial use.

[@1940limited]

That's the plant that made rails for the railroads. You can still see rail with BSC Lackawanna embossed on it mostly on older roads still using stick rail.

[@MuzafferZara]

👏

[@timothystrauss3838]

Did the DTI railroad once work this plant, and does the Indiana and Ohio still have anything to do with it, Sam??

[@richardtrudeau7363]

DTI brought in Parts and Supplies and took finished Mustangs out.Ford had their RR inside the Complex.

[@yano6517]

At 2:35, did that used to be elevated track?

[@jondietzen4342]

Yes, the abandoned highline.

[@ArantiusVulpes]

so sad looking to see all that industry not used to its full potential

[@1940limited]

Yes, definitely.

[@crazyman762]

I just LOVE the grittiness of it all. I am a FORD fan so that adds some interest. Does your drone do live sound? That adds greatly to the recording.

[@MarcelosalivaTRENESArg]

Belo video mi estimado Amigo pelo Like, un saludo

[@SamLovesTrains]

Gracias!

[@donmason2933]

Born and raised in Melvindale. Ford complex was basically at the end of Wall St, our home... Even worked at the coke plant. Dirtiest job I have ever had!!

[@Ken-Kaef]

A fascinating video. It looks to me that the blast furnace is well and truly been mothballed. So do you know what happens to the iron ore pellets unloaded from the Lee A. 👍

[@SamLovesTrains]

Thanks! There’s one active blast furnace here, and that’s what the Tregurtha was delivering ore pellets to. They’ll be turned into molten iron.

[@Ken-Kaef]

@@SamLovesTrains Thanks Sam, I did wonder. Cheers Ken

[@1940limited]

What's the large elevated railway through the complex that appears to be abandoned?

[@chriswarner126]

So looks like just one furnace.

[@guerrillarailfan3716]

How do you record the sound from the drone?

[@SamLovesTrains]

I record audio from the ground and then dub it with the drone video.

[@pleiku887]

So much standing water on rooftops and all over that site. Can't be good.

[@RonStanek]

Like the old Larry car up on the highline, with the plants growing out of it. You covered this part of the works area here. Is there more of the other areas of that industrial complex? Just curious, how far are you from your drone at the farthest in this video? Would it be difficult to go farther into the complex without losing control or taking a chance of losing it?

[@SamLovesTrains]

Yes. It all depends on where I take off from and if I can get a good connection. It was also quite windy this day which made it risky to fly farther out (flying against the wind drains my battery quickly). I’d like to go back here next time I’m in Detroit to film other areas of the complex.

[@SouthernBelleACe]

Guess they're trying to tell the treehuggers that it cannot be all bad Especially if plants can actually grow on the property!

[@robertoenduro9439]

I wonder if in 10-20 years someone is still going to work in a place like this, the new generations surely don't want to and even discouraged to do so...

[@terryjohns9301]

Millennial and Gen Z generations work in a place like this, that's a huge laugh... Most of them are big Candy-Ass Crybabies, that don't know the difference between a hammer or a screwdriver...😂

[@appleintosh]

There’s plenty of young people in the trades. If the money is right, people will work these jobs

[@flamingfrancis]

You do not need to project into the future. Look around now at what the production control rooms for blast furnaces and steelmaking shops look like. Highly educated, specialised people.

[@michaelhband]

👍👍👍

[@oldshep2695]

All them old coke ovens and the feeder too..

[@faygo-kid92]

Five months ago

[@LutherWilliams-x9d]

I'm a truck driver from Cleveland Ohio and no disrespect for the owner but the the drivers are left with uncleaned portable bathroom with poop overflowing past the stool area ,looks like they haven't been cleaned in years

[@platec4798]

Which building is it that Ford adds rust to their metal, so the body rots out before the power train fails? Seen many Ford trucks and vans that just rusted away but still ran ok. Plate C

[@richardtrudeau7363]

They put in a Galvaning Plant in 79 but today they make different Steel.

[@1940limited]

It doesn't help that the DOTs dump "battery acid" (salt) all over the road in winter and it chews the hell out of people's cars and trucks.

[@platec4798]

@@1940limited agreed. just shortens the life of vehicles that are already too costly.

[@1940limited]

@@platec4798 Yes!

[@andrewhatton1606]

Epa and nafta are why they are overseas

[@TomStarcevich-fb3qo]

😎 🆒️ cool vid 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃👍

[@Paul-hk7ue]

superfund site ford keeps using it so they don't have to clean it up

[@1940limited]

Good! I'm glad it's still in service!

[@FrankPrauser]

repair the company not the own buildings

[@debartellomartinez7214]

I hope they close that dump down. Need to reduce surplus population to close the hospitals,

[@MokkaMatti]

Maybe you can lead the way by taking yourself out of the population, yeah?

[@1940limited]

WTF are you talking about?

[@debartellomartinez7214]

@@1940limited Fool, I am American I was using ENGLISH, fool.

[@debartellomartinez7214]

@@1940limited Fool, all I can do is repeat, fool.

[@jamesdavis5096]

Faaaake!!! This is just a model rr!

[@ARsRUS556]

Great video

[@edwardrozanski9041]

Is this place still in operation

[@richintalent]

Beautiful shot of either the Lee A. or Paul R. Tregurtha ore boat in the beginning

[@Trentm129]

Lee. Paul has the bridge at the back and also is a lot bigger lmao

[@appleintosh]

@@Trentm129you can also see the name at 1:06

[@rjgoniea]

@Trentm129 If weight weren't an issue, I think you could fit the Lee on the Paul's deck with room to spare.😄