"The Steel", (Industrial History)

[QRTRHRS]

Anyone into American History? I am fortunate to live in an area steeped in all kinds of history. The Revolutionary War and the industrial revolution in particular. From pig iron furnaces that made cannon balls for Washington's army, the Henry Gunworks to the canal remnants, and more, their is a lot of interesting things to see and do.



Anyway, one of the local newspapers put together a 100+ page supplement on the now defunct Bethlehem Steel. Excellant read but limited in shelf life being newsprint. They did however also put together an interactive CD available on line or via phone. I highly recommend it. http://www.mcall.com/shopping/secure/form/CDROM/all-bethsteel-splashcdorder.htmlstory

 

[DMcClellan]

Thanks for posting this, I'm going to order the CD.

 

[KennyM]

Thank you very much for posting that. I worked for Beth Steel Sparrows Point for four years. First as an Electrician then an electrical Foreman. This was a very dangerous job, but also a very rewarding job.



At Sparrows Point we started from scratch to a finished cold rolled product. I worked on the finishing side. We did Galvanizing, Galvalume, and all the supporting mills.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Crisis in Bethlehem:Big Steel's Struggle to Survive by John Strohmeyer, published in 1986 is also a good read (Adler & Adler, Bethesda, Md). One thing that stands out for me is the part about the World Trade Center. Bethlehem's inhouse design & engineering department did all the work then the Port Authority said thanks, see ya!



I pulled coils out of Sparrows Point and beams, waylite and slag out of Bethlehem. Never got close to the hot stuff but I once interviewed for a job at a place that "spun" ductile iron pipe. All I can say is nasty.

 

[KennyM]

The nastiest I remember is when our furnaces for the Annealers ran off of Coke gas. That was the worst smell ever. I remember working on the overhead cranes and almost passing out.



When the Gov't shut down the coke ovens we had to switch to natural gas. That made my job much more pleasant.



This post and I'm sure the DVD disk are going to bring back a lot of memories, as I have not worked there for almost ten years. Some of the mills still had DC control boards dating back into the 40's. The backing of them was made of slate.

 

[Camara]

I imagine most of us have another hobby besides our trucks. For me it is model railroading. I am building a layout of the steel industry that was offered by Walthers in HO Scale. It consists of a Rolling Mill, Coke Ovens, Blast Furnace and more. When it is done it will be about 12' x 18'. As I am always looking for info for my layout this came up at a good time. Thanks QRTRHRS fpr posting this link. I just ordered mine.

 

[PaulCreamer]

Paralelled past

I pulled coils out of Sparrows Point and beams, waylite and slag out of Bethlehem. QRTRHRS

Same here. Pulled coke out of Bethlehem and ran it down to Sparrows Point. Hauled wire rope out of Sparrows Point, and coils out of Steelton. Also Took lots of coils out of Lukens - Coatsville, and plates out of Conshohoken. For the most part the "good ole' days" are gone forever



Merry Christmas All