The Best Steel Mill Railroad Past & Present! Union Railroad Part 2.

[@bob_._.]

I worked at an iron mill for the summer back in '73. The ladle cars the slag was in hold 55 tons and they have to dump fairly quickly, because if the load sets up the car is a write-off. And yeah, watching huge amounts of glowing liquid metal flowing like water is mesmerizing, especially at night; still one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

[@michaelsmodelrailroading7665]

My family lived in Scott Township, near Bridgeville, off Bower Hill Road, back in the early '50s. Back then, the Pittsburgh area was all about steel mills, steam locos and coal mines -- plenty of all three. My Dad would sometimes take us kids to watch slag being dumped at night. It was always an exciting spectacle for a small child. The train would creep along on a high embankment adjacent to the road, and one car after another would pour its fiery, incandescent load down the side of the embankment, to the delight and astonishment of us kids. It's a sight that I'll always remember.

[@2011Maynard]

That 1970’s footage may not be sharp, but it’s as good as gold. Thanks for sharing that plus your video - all great.

[@scottsmith7051]

Some truly nostalgic railfanning to be had in the Pittsburg area. Beautiful too.

[@djstrains]

Couldn't agree more!

[@Hail2Pitt412]

The old Union Railroad footage is terrific. Such a gold mine!

[@djstrains]

There is a new book coming out on the Union. It’s by Wayne Cole See if you can find it online. Also search ghost rails

[@N3RPB]

Thanks for the info and memories. When I was little, we used to go to Southland shopping center and while Mom shopped, my Dad & I would watch them dump slag on the hill that is now where Century Square and Century III mall was.

[@djstrains]

That is awesome!

[@chuckrann6282]

My dad worked for Westinghouse at Hammond IN. His customers were US Steel, Bethlehem Steel, Inland Steel, selling them electrical controls, motors etc. for rolling out steel into whatever. I regret not taking him up on a tour, since that would have included the dumping of slag. The whole blast furnace process is so basic and awesome. Thanks Kenny for your wonderful videos. I will binge today. Ps I graduated high school the year you were born.

[@TomNovak2113]

How cool! Do you remember where Westinghouse was located in Hammond?

[@jameswolf195]

Another fantastic video. As a 40+ year retiree of Bethlehem Steel, I particularly enjoy your steel mill shots. Keep 'em coming.

[@djstrains]

More to come!

[@johnathanlewis2049]

Hi DJ! I turned 5 in November 1970. It was a different time then as compared to what things are now. Great video!

[@bobainsworth5057]

These videos are a great service to us in model railroading. Thanks , can't tell you how much we appreciate it.

[@djstrains]

Very welcome

[@TheRealCryocloud]

I’ve always wanted to see video of the old Recieving yard and bull run and you provided that! Thanks for sharing this DJ! We really need to meet up some time so I can give you a better oversight over the Union.

[@djstrains]

You bet!

[@mikehowey4869]

Love the drone views,so many modeling ideas!

[@djstrains]

Glad you like them!

[@shawnpowell5876]

Great video and tutorial on the Union Railroad! They definitely performed some unique duties w the Switchers there. Seeing the scrap molten steel taken to the dump was neat lol! Thanks again for your time and effort to get the best footage possible for us railfans!

[@djstrains]

Thank you very much!

[@richardterek3744]

That was so awesome. I remember dad taking us to where century three mall is today to watch these slag cars dump at night. It was a spectacular sight…

[@djstrains]

I wish my parents would have taken me lol

[@fredketter1422]

Thank you so much for the great video. Kennywood Park was the site of our end-of-the-school-year trip when I was a child in Jeannette. Our old house there had sidewalk pavers made from slag. Western Pennsylvania is so rich in industrial heritage. Good work.

[@djstrains]

I’m glad you saw this video! I was hoping you’d like it

[@petestephen4922]

Great video on the Union Railroad. I really enjoyed the vintage footage of the Union RR running the slag trains. I moved to the Pittsburgh area in the late 60s. I remember the extensive railroading all around the Pittsburgh area back in those days.

[@andrewpalm2103]

A lashup of end-cab switchers on the head end and a caboose on the rear. Pretty much my ideal train. (Unless there's an overhead wire and an electric loco pulling--long live the CSS&SB!) Cheers from Wisconsin.

[@gregorynagy8448]

Kennywood currently uses the old car shops for storage, particularly in the winter. Prior to the announcement of the Steel Curtain, there were rumors of that area being used for the new coaster.

[@highballinghogger]

Awesome video as always DJ absolutely love the 1970 footage that was great. Keep HIGHBALLING HOGGER 👉

[@CSXOhioRailFanPlus752]

Nice Video

[@djstrains]

Thanks

[@silverado5469]

Love your videos. You do a fantastic job producing and narrating your videos as well. Great job. John in Ohio

[@djstrains]

Sincerely appreciated

[@johannleuckx1625]

Hello DJ, this video is also a kind of american industrial history and archaeology. Just awesome. Especially the super 8 or 16mm movie part in your video as well the old union car shop. Well done! Love history in your videos. Please more of that. Thanks a lot. Many happy filming!👍

[@eyphur]

The slag pot “tubs” remind me of the Turtle ride at Kennywood. I’m guessing environmental regulations no longer permit the slag dumping, but it sure was impressive!

[@Christiane069]

So, if they can't dump the slag, what do they do with it. They have to remove the slag with the ladle somewhere? I think they use slag for other thing, right. Even then, they had to remove the stuff anyway.

[@Vector_QF8]

Great documentary DJ. I enjoyed the historical footage. I'm looking forward to part 3. Hey, I'm from 1970 too!

[@djstrains]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@patriciabaird9337]

Thanks DJ! Everyone should know this history! Some of this old footage could be my dad.

[@djstrains]

How awesome!

[@YardLimit]

Great stuff, DJ. Thanks for the tour!

[@IHVA-ir9gp]

Great video. Will the part 3 include any spotting of cars at Fisher Body? I think URR used to spot the Body.

[@djstrains]

I don’t have any footage I’m afraid. Also so much of part 3 is within the radius of the county airport so no drone allowed

[@Rhinexing]

Great series, DJ! I love how you incorporated the vintage footage for some background of the Union RR. 1970 not only happens to be the year I'm modeling, it is also the year I was born.

[@djstrains]

Me too. March 1970

[@Rhinexing]

@@djstrains yeah, saw that in your video. I'm Dec. 1970. Hope to meet up with you at your presentation in September.

[@alainaarrhodge5900]

That is so cool to watch! Those buffalo engines remind me of the Vogons from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Also, I have a couple of questions. I notice that the modern SW engines have beacon lights. Does that mean they can also be operated remotely? Secondly, is there another use for slag now rather than just dumping it as waste?

[@djstrains]

Yes, strobes for remotes. Slag is reclaimed and used in road construction material I believe.

[@alainaarrhodge5900]

@@djstrains cool. Thanks DJ!

[@michaelsmodelrailroading7665]

At one time, slag (or "cinders") was used for a wide variety of purposes -- paving, fill material, porous drainage material, and even as base material for the ubiquitous cinder blocks.

[@alainaarrhodge5900]

@@michaelsmodelrailroading7665 thank you.

[@chrisperry1151]

Part 2 did not disappoint - great documentation of a very interesting railroad and associated history!

[@kge420]

Very enjoyable video. Thanks for the explanation regarding the smaller motive power.

[@djstrains]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Pgh412aviation]

You’re the best man. I’ve probably watched you fly past shouse park in crescent a million times

[@djstrains]

1,000,,004 to be exact, lol.

[@mikemissel7785]

Great video the Union Pacific has a industrial spur by my house and they sometimes lead with a caboose and the locomotives are remote controlled.

[@moregltfirephotography4857]

Thanks for this video! Very neat, you should check out Weirton Steel's operation. There's a video on KZbin titled "Weirton Steel" Definitely worth a watch. All SW1500s and some of the last Alcos in operation.

[@djstrains]

I have watched that dozens of times, its wild!

[@jimikrentkowski4073]

Thanks for posting this DJ! Great video!

[@OldenGrumpy]

Back in the 60's and 70's slag was often put through a crusher and used as a base layer before paving a parking lot. Put down 6-8" of slag and then the asphalt and your surface would hold up under truck traffic, etc.

[@curtisholland6564]

It's also used as a product in certain concrete mix designs

[@ivertranes2516]

There is a local railroad, the Laurinburg Southern (LRS) in Laurinburg, N Carolina whos motive power is two MP 1500ACs and two slugs that appear to be of ALCO origin. I assume it is two mother/slug combos. the locos are at each end, can first with the two slugs between them. That lash-up can pull a surprisingly large consist.

[@lesterlattig]

Nice video DJ. The MP-15s remind me growing up in NJ with the Lehigh Valley RR behind my home. Before they went bankrupt in 1976 they used MP's on road freight!

[@djstrains]

go see my newer video on roof details. Tell me if you like the building and if it would fit your layout?

[@djstrains]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZqtYYmYo7tsm9k

[@johnthelabman8560]

I remember at watching across the Ohio dumping the slag cars from J&L at night, across from what is today the remains of the Northern Lights Shopping Center, the hill side glowing from the heat. That was the good old days.

[@simongurden9848]

So different than here in Britain. Thanks for the insight

[@kevinshortell7604]

Neat! The historical footage is just the icing on top of another great video. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

[@djstrains]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Horse2021]

Not only informative but entertaining as well. Once again a great video, DJ!

[@djstrains]

I appreciate that!

[@brettany_renee_blatchley]

**Thank You DJ** 😊💜

[@djstrains]

You're welcome 😊

[@gcorriveau6864]

DJs Trains for Great "caboose" action! ;-)

[@ronduz1281]

Great video DJ👍👍👍

[@richgreene7043]

Absolutely AWESOME video. Thanks so much for sharing. Rich

[@djstrains]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@RRConductor7]

Awesome video! Love the drone footage and the historic footage as well. What’s your experience been as far as railfanning the hot metal trains at Edgar Thompson? I’ve heard that sometimes they don’t care other times they run folks off.

[@djstrains]

A handful of years ago, some punk kid new hire USS patrol gave me and a friend a hard time while we were on a public road. Despite my credentials as an engineer who interchanges cars with the union rr, he still tried to flex. Whatever. That was the only time in recent years. I need to get new footage of the slab train but I cant use drone too close to Irvin works because of the nearby airport.

[@Enjoyer.762]

@@djstrains No professional courtesy for foaming lol 😆 Hassled by the railroad police. 6,000 bonus points lol.

[@jerrysinclair3771]

DJ, interesting video. Thank you .

[@book1957]

I watched them dump slag over water which turned to steam and exploded out. Was really interesting. Slag is hauled is hauled by a pot hauler around here. It is ground up for road material.

[@gracemember101]

During the war there was a P&LE spur that slag trains toiled up to Vanderbilt to dump their load. I always wondered what it looked like.

[@scottsmith7051]

Beyond extraordinary footage, wow!

[@djstrains]

Thanks, I put a lot of work into these.

[@keithpickering2840]

Great video, really enjoyed it. Many thanks.. like a good switcher and industrial area good to see how it happened for real. Great modelling content. Looking forward to seeing more, keep the videos coming.. A UK fan and railroad modeller. 👍

[@djstrains]

Glad you enjoyed it. Please watch my other videos organized into PLAYLISTS for easier searching.

[@RWSBaden]

Very nice video DJ. It always amazed me that the bottle cars and slag pots did not roll over or derail while dumping out the contents of the car. As a kid I use to watch the fire show of the A&S railroad dumping slag pots at the J&L Steel Aliquippa Works. We had a pretty good view of the show from the Zayre Parking lot in Baden. Yes, from what I was told, slag is created when the limestone mixes with the impurities in the steel. My memory is not as good as it use to be and maybe someone can help, I can't remember if the limestone causes the impurities to sink to the bottom of the heat of steel or causes the impurities to rise to the top? Also neat video of the Union's air horn cabooses. I have a video of one of the P&LE's cabooses making a reverse move in New Castle and they had a air whistles. I'm looking forward DJ to Part 3, this so far has been an excellent series of videos, Thank You. Cheers, Rich S.

[@stevemckeown4120]

great video of the URR

[@robinroberts3335]

Hello DJ hope all is fine for you love the video keep up the great work 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Robin 🇨🇦

[@djstrains]

Thanks! All is good, busy working on future videos. Have a great weekend.

[@ianisaacs2340]

Man I would love to have seen a SD9 on the Union Railroad! I totally get why the are not conducive for their operations, but high hood Cadillac’s are my all time favorite locomotive.

[@wlerailfan9870]

I railfanned here and the caboose was leading once, I got it on video

[@stevemckeown4120]

Excellent as usual

[@rvnmedic1968]

Cool vid DJ. Never saw anything that showed the slag cars dumping. I wonder if the melted slag would build up in the cars after so many cycles. BTW, my son was born in 1970 (April). He worked for UP out of Portland, OR for a few years. Sleep apnea presented problems and he had to leave the RR. Was a conductor. Cheers, Bob

[@djstrains]

Good question!

[@georgehasler142]

Really enjoyed the video I can't wait for part 3

[@djstrains]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@duanegregg6222]

Great !!! Thank you 👍🏼

[@djstrains]

You are welcome!

[@cncpgreatlakesdiv4896]

HI DJ wat awesome drone footage that big blue grane would be awesome to model love the VIDEO THX SO MUCH.😊😊

[@djstrains]

I had scratch built it in n scale a few times:kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKbEZmqpZ9Wshtk

[@ryetim32]

I was a conductor on the Union in the late 70' early 80's

[@djstrains]

A huge part of my videos are of The URR in some form, either real or model. I appreciate any stories and insight.

[@dynamicloco2186]

Amazing insight and footage

[@williambryant5946]

At 12:55 that one caboose must be a yard office because it's not on the rail from what I can tell. Looks to still be sitting on its trucks just off the rail.

[@randellevans6102]

Great old footage, awesome video.

[@cprs5000]

Wish you could do a review on the new Norfolk Southern admiral cab SD40-2 that would be cool

[@johnscherer1922]

hey d.j. another great vid, i love steel mills. i just caught your stubenville bridge vid, and felt the need to let you and your readers know, it has been modeled, you can see it in kalmbach's how to kit bash structures by tony koester, page 70/ keep up the good work john

[@djstrains]

Cool, thanks

[@Tommy_Yanks]

Awesome Video man, Thank you!

[@djstrains]

Glad you liked it!

[@donaldshroyer8633]

Based on your comments in this regard, I run my NW/SW consist cabs forward. Thanks for that bit of interest.

[@djstrains]

Good stuff!

[@cprs5000]

Love your stuff like always

[@djstrains]

I appreciate that!

[@theodoreshasta7846]

SUPERB!!!

[@djstrains]

Thanks a lot!

[@metronorthrailfan2244]

Whenever I see those Coke Express hoppers, I can't help but think about B157 which is the loaded coke express to CN's kirk yard in Gary, IN and B158 which the empty coke express back to PA. But I do wonder why B157 and B158 interchange with CN and where they take it from there?

[@djstrains]

Help me understand what you just said. If the b157 goes to Gary, when and where do they interchange with cn?

[@metronorthrailfan2244]

@@djstrains I’m not exactly sure when but from what I understand it’s done at CN’s Kirk Yard in Gary Indiana. As far as I know they typically get to Kirk Yard late afternoon to early evening

[@AMPProductionsVideo]

Very nice Video!

[@zonegamma8197]

cool video thanks

[@Harris3Dprints-b4x]

Plus you have to think about a lot those engineers back then preferred long hood forward because they where use to operating steam locomotives

[@harryschade1687]

Wonderful video DJ! Any old video or photos of the URR steam ops? Would luv to see the 0-10-2 “Unions” in motion!

[@djstrains]

no video that I can think of.

[@joecibula8183]

as usual great video and info

[@djstrains]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@jackkreighbaum783]

A great pilot you are.

[@djstrains]

This is actually some of my early drone footage. My hands were soaked with sweat lol

[@sugarcubeaudio152]

Awesome Great video

[@djstrains]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@stl1321]

just wow

[@kinnywolf2862]

Great video l

[@djstrains]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@dominicfrizzi2563]

The mu hall interchange is Kenny yard

[@brentmiller3951]

I live in white oak . This place is so close to my house

[@djstrains]

Most of my videos are from the turtle creek valley

[@scottericcatalano596]

That whole area is the airport now...Monroeville is built upon the old slag dumps as well

[@djstrains]

You mean century III mall.

[@duanefalk219]

Hi DJ i saw in one of your videos that you had detailed track maps for the URR you were using in your layout planning. Are those publicly available somewhere? Id love to see the full maps or get screen shots if so. Thanks!

[@djstrains]

I unfortunately gave so much stuff to former friends. But I can tell you that the best information on the URR is through the steel city chapter of the railways & locomotive historical society in north Huntington Pa

[@duanefalk219]

Ill check that out- thanks very much!

[@Dachamp2001]

I always wondered that GP40-2 or GP38-2 would be ideal for Union RR

[@kge420]

How is the dumping of the slag cars controlled? Air pressure?

[@djstrains]

Im not sure, but I found a cool pic with a hand wheel, lol:www.flickr.com/photos/73683441@N07/21043192418

[@randybowman2110]

And Penn Central was green too.

[@jolietrails]

Awesome video! I am planning a stop at the Union on a coming trip. Any time and or place you would recommend going to on a weekend there for any action?

[@djstrains]

Mornings, stay on public property

[@kevinzeh3559]

I'm wondering why the limestone doesn't come from Conneaut via the bessimer and lake Erie.

[@djstrains]

some does.

[@nitrorrat8190]

I love up ,sp ,csx they are my favorite

[@Christiane069]

How do you slow down a loaded train on a steep grade?

[@djstrains]

air brakes on cars. Sometimes its better to apply the brakes so tight and pull the train down a hill.

[@duanefalk219]

Hi DJ, great video. Question- do you know what type of signaling (if at all) URR uses?? I know there are some segments they’ve dropped signaling but assume they still do on the mainline runs. Thanks!

[@djstrains]

Basically their own. At one time they had a few PRR signals.

[@tomroehl5126]

What is the issue with a curved yard?

[@djstrains]

Knuckles don't line up well when attempting to couple, and can cause a sideswipe derailment.

[@petermenningen338]

I will confirm that people did in fact go and park and watch. I did in Chicago for the South Works of US Steel. Back in the late 60's and 70's

[@cp368productions2]

Hopefully some day I will get back down to Pittsburgh and railfan the URR before they decide to shut down their last steel mill. That last locomotive in that 3 unit lash-up from the 70's looked like an ALCO, possibly an S2.

[@HERRINRAILROADHERRINILLINOIS]

Nice video DJ how many miles of track do they own

[@djstrains]

Id say about 30 miles of mainline but hundreds of miles of yard and sidings if you added it that way.

[@thenekom]

Those buffalos are oddballs. I know they got an EMD engine, did they keep the old Westinghouse traction motors or were they too replaced with EMD or GE?

[@djstrains]

I think the traction motors stayed the same.

[@draincleaner9024]

Hey I was trying to find it but I couldn’t how many locomotives does union railroad own?

[@djstrains]

1-9 are SW1500's. 10-33 are the MP15s. Some are not around anymore.

[@jasonminier6782]

How do the slag cars dump, mechanically speaking?

[@djstrains]

check this out..www.flickr.com/photos/73683441@N07/21043192418

[@jasonminier6782]

@@djstrains thank you! Cool. I was wondering if it was wheel driven, or crank driven, something like that.