Carrie Furnace, part 4
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Having completed a full circuit of the surviving sections of the Carrie Furnace in Pittsburgh’s Swissvale, while participating in a ‘Photo Safari’ event offered by the Rivers of Steel outfit, a humble narrator decided to cap off the effort by stepping back inside the structure where the morning got started.
I don’t know if this is Furnace #6 or #7 pictured above, but they’re the only ones left over from the centuried history of this section of the larger U.S. Steel Homestead Steel Plant.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s difficult to convey the scale of this place, even in photographs. Those three yellow rectangles in the middle of the shot above are park benches used for visitor’s seating, for a reference. This must have looked like – as Mark Twain described it – hell loosed upon the earth, prior to the plants closure in 1986. Imagine it – coked coal fires and molten metal flying around. Hundreds of workers pulling levers and turning wheels, all sorts of gigantic machinery moving around…
I wasn’t able to find a historical video of Carrie at work, but here’s a 1981 educational film reel from Periscope which describes the steel making process at another American mega mill. There’s some interesting local documentarian work happening right now about Pittsburgh’s Industrial past and its workforce, so check out ‘City of Steel.’ If you’re interested in seeing what the railroad and industrial activity at a working steel mill – The Edgar Thomson Works, which is about a mile or so away from Carrie – looks like, check out the AMAZING Time Lapse photography offered at ‘Fort Frick.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m guessing that this thingamabob is… actually, I’m really in no position to guess but I think that the thingamabob is called a ‘torpedo car.’ Hardest thing in the world for most people, me in particular, is saying ‘I don’t know.’ It’s better to profess ignorance than to say something stupid or wrong, but one does lead to the other. Ignorance can be fixed, usually by reading a book or something. Stupid, on the other hand… it stays with ya.
I’m also really, really trying to not start sentences with ‘Actually’… I’ve also developed a pet peeve which revolves around people saying ‘We’ when discussing social issues in public. ‘We.’ Who’s ‘We,’ and did y’all have an ‘effin meeting to decide and agree on what youse all think before you showed up to point a finger at something ya don’t like but were too afraid to say “I” in public and stand behind an opinion so you say ‘We’? …we… sheiste.
I digress.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I finished up the excursion to Carrie Furnace more or less where I first mounted the camera up on the tripod. The interval was nearly over, and a few last shots were on the menu for me to get.
The shot directly above is a parallel view of the first shot in todays post, captured when the sunlight was at its morning zenith. Uggh… as mentioned – Worst time of day.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s artwork interspersed with all of this relict technology, which is something I didn’t focus in on at all during this series. There’s metal sculptures here and there, and one or two of the pieces are gigantic – notably one of a stag’s head. It’s a pretty inspiring place, this.
As mentioned, I’m meant to be returning to this spot at the end of July, during the sunset to dusk to twilight period between 6:30-9:30 p.m. Looking forward to the adventure of that and thinking about bringing a few LED lamps along with me as well in case I need a bit of accent light here and there.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Well, that’s what I did on that particular weekend morning, here in Pittsburgh. What an adventure. Check out the Rivers of Steel people’s offerings here at Carrie Furnaces if you find yourself in the Paris of Appalachia and want to do something a bit off the beaten track.
Back tomorrow, with something else!
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The Newtown Pentacle 
Very interesting!
dbarms8878
June 22, 2023 at 9:16 pm
I remembered your query about the 31st street bridge’s ornaments. Was there a week or two ago, got a few shots of it for you – https://www.flickr.com/photos/mitchwaxman/shares/9ysmHXXPiw
Mitch Waxman
June 22, 2023 at 9:21 pm
Thank you. They are lovely. I found this: https://www.wesa.fm/arts-sports-culture/2021-06-08/whats-behind-the-different-globe-colors-on-the-sixteenth-street-bridge-globes
It doesn’t mention the horses. To me, the horses are the best part.
dbarms8878
June 23, 2023 at 10:05 pm
Another great set of photos.
You are correct – the “thingamabob” is a torpedo car for transporting molten iron. You’ll notice the “runners” in the floor of the 1st photo in Carrie Furnace, Part 2 end over where the car is spotted – these runners would direct the molten iron from a tap in the blast furnace, and into the waiting cars. That car probably had a capacity of approx 100 tons of iron. The cars would have then been transported across the Hot Metal Bridge to the open hearths at Homestead (these were where the “stacks” remain at Homestead) for conversion from iron to steel.
Jon H
June 23, 2023 at 10:25 am
[…] Carrie Furnace and the ‘Rivers Of Steel’ outfit, which and whom I’ve mentioned before, were offering a ‘photo safari’ event at sunset on a recent evening and a humble narrator could not resist the opportunity to be there. For a brief history of, and shots of what I saw the first time I visited the site (in the early afternoon) check out: part one, part two, part three, part four. […]
All wet at Carrie Furnace | The Newtown Pentacle
August 16, 2023 at 11:00 am