View allAll Photos Tagged USSX
With two cars left to be loaded, Cumberland Mine Railroad SD38-2 22 shoves on the cut and slowly pushes it underneath the loader at Iron Senergy's Cumberland Coal Resources Mine in Kirby, Pennsylvania. Once loading is completed, the crew will get on this unit for the 17 mile journey east across this isolated railroad to the Alicia Docks on the Monongahela River.
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Cumberland Mine Railroad
Kirby, PA
Unknown Symbol (Coal Loads; Kirby, PA to Alicia Docks, PA)
CMYX 22 SD38-2 Ex. YDC 22 Blt. 1978
(Rear) CMYX 1 SD38-2 Ex. USSX 1 Blt. 1975
US Steel SW8 #1247 is seen moving a cut of bottle cars around the USS Granite City Works. Jul 23, 2023
After spending the morning loading cars with coal from the underground mine in Kirby, the Cumberland Mine Railroad is on the move east through Whiteley Township, Pennsylvania, crossing the bridge over Whiteley Creek and the T604 road, with the historic 1910 built White Covered Bridge in the background. With a pair of SD38-2's running push-pull, the crew moves the coal 17 miles across this isolated railroad from the mine to the Alicia Docks on the Monongahela River where it is transloaded to barges.
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CMYX Main Line
Whiteley Township, PA
Unknown Symbol (Coal Loads; Kirby, PA to Alicia Docks, PA)
CMYX 22 SD38-2 Ex. YDC 22 Blt. 1978
(Rear) CMYX 1 SD38-2 Ex. USSX 1 Blt. 1975
It's a cool and crisp fall morning in Braddock, Pennsylvania as steam billows from the slag dump at the US Steel Edgar Thompson Works. SW1500 ET7 is hard at work as it pulls a cut of coke empties off the ramp after spotting a cut of loads.
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US Steel Edgar Thompson Works
Braddock, PA
Unknown Symbol
USSX ET7 SW1500 Ex. PLE 1555 Blt. 1971
OK, probably not that rare since the crew is serving an operating scrap yard, but the first time I've ever seen this move in the 10+ years I've lived in the area, and on a Sunday no less.
The operator of this US Steel job is alert for fouled traffic as he prepares to cross East 20th Street and reenter the Granite City Works. The crew has swapped a long cut of empties for a presumably equal number of loads. The brakeman rides a shoving platform tacked on to the end of the string of gondolas.
Note the crane, one of at least two on this property, to the right of frame.
Scrap metal goes in - cubes come out, processed by TMS International in Granite City, IL. Only the second time I've seen this move at US Steel in 11 years.
With a train of coal loads Iron Senergy's Cumberland Coal Resources Mine in tow, Cumberland Mine Railroad SD38-2 22 leads the train past the railroad's shop complex as it arrives in Alicia Docks, Pennsylvania. The crew will take the train through the unloader, where the coal will be transloaded to barges on the Monongahela River.
====Info====
Cumberland Mine Railroad
Alicia Docks, PA
Unknown Symbol (Coal Loads; Kirby, PA to Alicia Docks, PA)
CMYX 22 SD38-2 Ex. YDC 22 Blt. 1978
(Rear) CMYX 1 SD38-2 Ex. USSX 1 Blt. 1975
With a steady hand and an eye ahead for errant pedestrians and automobiles, the one-man team for this US Steel job runs SW9 #1242 out of the Granite City (IL) Works via belt-pack while switching empty and loaded gondolas. Parked in the distance is SW9 #1246.
The fortunes of this plant have been hit or miss over the past few years but for now, business seems to be pretty consistent.
One this I will give URR is that they have a very impressive roundhouse and shop building. When waiting to clock out or when we would be put to "dinner" at hall I would spend some times an hour at a time just walking around the shops and finding new things. I didn't get many good shots inside but one thing I made sure of was to get some good shots of the outside. Here URR 26 sits outside with the classsic Union Railroad sign still standing above but could use some paint. Inside from Left to right is one of the blue & white USSX ET units, URR 33 and at the far right is #20.
A Cedar Rapids And Iowa City Railway MP15 and Slug set pull a string of empty DDG hoppers out of the west yard at the industrial complex in Eddyville, Iowa with cars bound for the massive Cargill wet corn milling facility. This set of CIC power is leased to Railserve, which is the contracted operator of the industrial trackage here and interchanges with both BNSF and Union Pacific.
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Railserve Eddyville
Eddyville, IA
Unknown Symbol (Local; Eddyville, IA)
CIC 133 MP15DC Ex. JTPX 1504, USSX 964 Blt. 1976
CIC 129 Yard Slug Ex. RLCX 1212 NW2, CBQ 9409A Blt. 1949
After spending the morning loading cars with coal from the underground mine in Kirby, the Cumberland Mine Railroad is nearing the end of its run as it crosses over Alicia Road at the east end of the line. With a pair of SD38-2's running push-pull, the crew moves the coal 17 miles across this isolated railroad from the mine to the Cumberland Harbor Docks on the Monongahela River where it is transloaded to barges.
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CMYX Main Line
Greensboro, PA
Unknown Symbol (Coal Loads; Kirby, PA to Alicia Docks, PA)
CMYX 22 SD38-2 Ex. YDC 22 Blt. 1978
(Rear) CMYX 1 SD38-2 Ex. USSX 1 Blt. 1975
Under "remote" control from the front steps, USSX 1911 shoves empty coil cars back into US Steel's Granite City works, an infrequent enough occurrence to warrant a couple pics every time I see it. In late 2023, the plant was apparently sold to Nippon Steel in a $14.9 Billion deal, which should now be concluded, but there are no obvious changes to date. Just one more chapter in the roller-coaster history of this operation, which has seen numerous slow-downs and resurgences over the 12 years I've lived in the area.
After spending the morning loading cars with coal from the underground mine in Kirby, the Cumberland Mine Railroad is on the move east through Garards Fort, Pennsylvania, and passes along a rock cut above the river that the tracks follow here. With a pair of SD38-2's running push-pull, the crew moves the coal 17 miles across this isolated railroad from the mine to the Alicia Docks on the Monongahela River where it is transloaded to barges.
====Info====
Cumberland Mine Railroad
Garards Fort, PA
Unknown Symbol (Coal Loads; Kirby, PA to Alicia Docks, PA)
CMYX 22 SD38-2 Ex. YDC 22 Blt. 1978
(Rear) CMYX 1 SD38-2 Ex. USSX 1 Blt. 1975
Another look at the Gary Railway's locomotive shop with a mix of Gary Railway and USSX power. Nov 30, 2023
For another look a few months earlier check out: www.flickr.com/photos/kevinthekrazy1/53168667608/in/photo...
A pair of USSX switchers and a Gary Ry slug look to be OOS at the Nipsco Yard in the USS Gary Works complex. Nov 30, 2023
Steam from one of the many Quencher towers lets loose into the sky above former BLE 153 signaling that another round of coke is being cooled off. The plant was dirt, gritty, and in the long run gave and will give a lot of people health problems but it was an awesome industry to work in and view for a few years before heading off to greener pastures back home.
Former BLE SW1500 150 sits at one of the coke units in Clairton works while two battery powered Dinky's pull coke cars under the loaders, The Dinky's would be plugged in to charge the batteries and move around the load out's until it was time to drag a cut of cars out for the URR to pick up.
This is what I imagine it being, the coke batteries. During the day it is all fine and dandy on sunny days like this but its when its any other weather or time of day that is a nightmare. All the black coke fines fall from the air, flames everywhere shit popping and banging. The coolant and antifreeze that they use on the cars will turn your gloves rock hard by the end of the night, and the thought of what is going to explode while I'm next or what chemicals will splash on me or what am I really breathing in. It is a cool ass industry and it was cool as shit working these jobs but you just never knew about so many things that you just never stopped thinking.
It was very rare for the shop guys to leave all the shop doors open when they would go home at night. On thus summer night after tying up I found all the doors open and took advantage of it. From left to right is URR 32, USSX ET-1 URR 11, 23, 12.
My actual ride, a 2006 Dodge Charger, makes a bit of an appearance as I try to get a decent side shot of the Granite City Works locomotive working along 16th Street.
-SW1200 USSX #1248
-Granite City Works
-Along 16th St, Granite City, IL
-March 28, 2020
TT1_8457_edited-1
USSX 1244 is still alive and kicking at the old Granite City Steel plant. I'm not sure what activities are still happening around the plant but it appears that finished coiled steel is still being shipped. 1244 was as elusive as ever making a poke across Madison Street by TJ's Place - but not quite out of that shadow!
05-15-2025
TRRA T102, NS DA42, and a USSX switcher simultaneously work the yard at US Steel's Granite City Works in Granite City, IL on a dreary Saturday. TRRA's HLCX lease units aren't my favorite, but they're basically clean, and I'll take maroon over black any day.
Sadly, the plant is on the chopping block again, with a proposed sale to SunCoke Energy for the manufacture of pig iron. An estimated 1000 jobs could be lost if the deal goes through.
U.S. Steel SW1000 #69 races Delray Connecting SW1001 #64 as they both work Great Lakes Works at Ecorse. The DC job has just completed their run from Zug Island and are more switching the CN interchange here at GLW.
US Steel SW900 USSX 9667 was shoving a bunch of coil cars into the mill on a sunny morning at the Dunes.
In the background, Lake Michigan can be seen as the remotely-controlled EMD was going about its thang.
It's early on a January morning with a light dusting of snow on the ground as Cumberland Mine Railroad SD38-2 22 begins the process of loading its coal train by shoving the cars towards the loader at Iron Senergy's Cumberland Coal Resources Mine in Kirby, Pennsylvania. Once loading is completed, the crew will get on this unit for the 17 mile journey east across this isolated railroad to the Alicia Docks on the Monongahela River.
====Info====
CMYX Main Line
Kirby, PA
Unknown Symbol (Coal Loads; Kirby, PA to Alicia Docks, PA)
CMYX 22 SD38-2 Ex. YDC 22 Blt. 1978
(Rear) CMYX 1 SD38-2 Ex. USSX 1 Blt. 1975
EMD SW1001 #68 loudly idles at the US Steel mill in Detroit on a cool afternoon. It's quite rare to shoot these locomotives and we got this treat from Belanger Park next to the plant.
While my 2 years of working at URR were short by my choice to come back to Michigan. I made a point to try and photograph as much as I could around the mills. To get to and from the yard office you had to pass by the heavy machinery shops and for the most part you could tell if the mill had a engine sitting there or not. One morning after a night turn I could tell one of the BOP units was there so a took a quick drive by to grab a shot of it. Behind the ET-2 is one of the machines used to chisels the slag out of the sub cars, ladles etc. Further in the background is #1 furnace standing high above one of the former open hearth buildings that is now the slab mill. ET-2 is former PLE 1564/9289.
After trading places a few days before with BMEX 259, RPRX 2010 finally hits the main line performing some tests that will possibly lead to the Union Railroad buy some gensets. Here 2010 leads a train of 10 slabs past the class yard bound for Irvin, the 259 struggled up the grades in the Mon Valley with only 7 slabs, the 2010 on the other hand handled the train with no problem.
Former USSX MP15 headed into Mid-America Car for work. There are several CP switch engines in town cycling into MAC.
Locomotive: CP 1443
12-2-14
Kansas City, MO
United States Steel Duluth Works Baldwin VO-660 2 at Clyde, Illinois on an unknown day in September 1979, Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler. This locomotive was built by Baldwin in July 1942 ( c/n 64387 ) as American Steel & Wire number 23-1.
With the Castor requesting fresh metal as soon it can be poured out of the furnace the DC crews were turning and burning with fresh metal, it took just over a half hour for this guy to take 5 empty subs into Zug Island and return with 2 loads. US Steels Massive Zug Island mill can be seen looming in the background as well as Short Cut tower and bridge. 459 is a former EJ&E engine.
After almost 3 years of being Idled US steel restarted it's Granite City Works earlier this summer and boy is it making up for what it wasn't producing. Granite City in 2015 employed over 2000 employees before the plant was idled and the number of active employees dropped to as low as 100 during the idle. US Steel planned to recall several hundred workers to bring the plant back up to over 1500 employees and the second blast furnace had just been brought back up to operation a couple weeks before this. Here at the west end of the yard we see a couple USSX switchers, TRRA's 105 job and a NS job all at the plant. The NS crew was in the process of doing an airtest and the TRRA crew had just tied onto their outbound cars and would soon be off to the yard. At the east end was a couple engines off of the ore trains and near the TRRA yard there was two loaded ore trains waiting to be dumped.
DC 459 leads two hot metal subs towards the castor and just happens to run past a nicely flooded area that was created after the heavy rains earlier during the week.
So, what do you do when a locomotive is in shadow? You bracket the shot. This is a bracket of 3 exposures: +2 / normal / -2, all done in camera. CP 1443 (ex-USSX 966) waits to be picked up at MAC (Mid America Car) in Kansas City
United States Steel, USSX #15, SW9, East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. October 29, 1990. Jack D Kuiphoff © photo
Built as AT&SF 2436, 11/1953
ATSF 2436>1236 >SSB 1200> USSX 15