Rumor has it

[wagnew0923]

I heard through the grapevine that McLouth Steel with be reopening in Trenton. This is separate to the 2011 rumors. I just toured USS in River Rouge and they are super busy.

[AARR]

Rumors are fun and highly encouraged.

Are you implying that it will open as a steel operation or the intermodal hub that it was rumored to open as a few years ago?

Who is rumored to get the business, CN or CR?

[wagnew0923]

What i hurd was that they are doing track repair (I am assuming CN) to the spur that goes over Jefferson, because someone is going to buy and reopen the facility. Which sucks cause I wanted to sneak on the propery.

[jimnorthwood]

Is this the revival of the Riverview Trenton RR, which was the subject of much local opposition when it first surfaced a bunch of years ago? Their plan was to put some sort of intermodal terminal and/or storage facility on the site of the former steel mill. Haven't heard anything about the RTRR in a long time.

[M.D.Bentley]

I love these threads, pass the popcorn please.

[wagnew0923]

Well the last I heard was that the Condos planned there fell through because the gound was to toxic to clean. Then there was an intermodel rail year which I can't see anyone complaining aboutause the amount of rail traffic is already heavy and hardly anyone lives there. The other rumors I heard was a park, then a new steel mill, then another new steel mill, Then a rail yard. and now a new steelmill.

I did catch some cool pics showing a locomotive and a few coke bottle cars still inside the plant. Anyone know anything about this.

[AARR]

I did catch some cool pics showing a locomotive and a few coke bottle cars still inside the plant. Anyone know anything about this.

Yes, they are not being used

[Michigan Railfan]

I did catch some cool pics showing a locomotive and a few coke bottle cars still inside the plant. Anyone know anything about this.

Do you still have these pictures? I'd be interested in seeing them if so. I've always wanted to walk through the abandoned mill too

[wagnew0923]

Here are some of them

http://www.panoramio.com/user/5217064/tags/Trenton

[Michigan Railfan]

Here are some of them

http://www.panoramio.com/user/5217064/tags/Trenton

Those are some excellent photos you have there. How'd you get into the complex? Find a hole in the fence or something like that?

[AARR]

Here are some of them

http://www.panoramio.com/user/5217064/tags/Trenton

I enjoyed them too, thanks for posting

[Tom]

Very cool urban spelunking!

[J T]

Here are some of them

http://www.panoramio.com/user/5217064/tags/Trenton

You are "nailhed?"

[bctrainfan]

Hard to believe that these giant complexes can just suddenly be closed and sit abandoned, the decline in these great American steel companies was a bad economic sign....hope someone can fire it up again and make it profitable, would be great to see some of those kind of jobs coming back to metro Detroit, not to mention the increase in RR business that a big steel mill would bring!

[AARR]

Hard to believe that these giant complexes can just suddenly be closed and sit abandoned, the decline in these great American steel companies was a bad economic sign....hope someone can fire it up again and make it profitable, would be great to see some of those kind of jobs coming back to metro Detroit, not to mention the increase in RR business that a big steel mill would bring!

What is also hard to believe is a giant mill like McLouth is not big enough to compete with other mills. IIRC one of the reasons they closed is they were not big enough to gain cost effeciences to compete with other stell mills and the cost of converting to another process was excessive for the cost benefit it would bring.

[Eric Berger]

On a semi-related note...just a stone's throw north of McLouth was Arkema, the chemical plant at Biddle and Pennsylvania. Imagine my shock when I drove past there one day last year to find nothing but a vacant lot there! As I recall, that was a decent-sized plant, and was ALWAYS busy when I'd pass through there about a year prior or so. I wonder what happened there; seemed like they were a semi-regular rail customer, as I'd always see tank cars in there.

[AARR]

On a semi-related note...just a stone's throw north of McLouth was Arkema, the chemical plant at Biddle and Pennsylvania. Imagine my shock when I drove past there one day last year to find nothing but a vacant lot there! As I recall, that was a decent-sized plant, and was ALWAYS busy when I'd pass through there about a year prior or so. I wonder what happened there; seemed like they were a semi-regular rail customer, as I'd always see tank cars in there.

How about Solutia (formerly Mont???). They used to have three operations there and all three requirede moderate rail service. Now, they are down to one operation and everything on the east side of Jefferson is razed. Fortunately, the last remaining operatin still gets a steady supply of tank cars.

[M.D.Bentley]

The former Penwalt site was switched by the Wyandotte Southern railroad and fed cars by both railroads (DT&I & PC) everyday. The former Monsanto plant had a captive crew on site to provide timely switches. For 6 months at a time each railroad (D&TSL & PC) would provide a crew for the plant. They even had a caboose on site as a make shift office for the crews. McCloud Steel was not large enough, or had enough money and was too old to survive. AND that Tang or Ting or what ever his name was knew this and conned the employees and went home with his pockets full of their money. Arkema bought Atofina for just one product and took that product to their own plants.

[wagnew0923]

Woah. I am really sorry for the confusion on who took the pictures. I found them but did not take the pictures. Sorry for the confusion but I cannot take credit for something I did not do. As for how to get in there, follow the tracks that lead in. Just becareful of security.

[J T]

Woah. I am really sorry for the confusion on who took the pictures. I found them but did not take the pictures. Sorry for the confusion but I cannot take credit for something I did not do. As for how to get in there, follow the tracks that lead in. Just becareful of security.

No biggie. Was just going to ask how accessible those places still were.