Slag unloading at a steel mill in Tales of the Jointed Track

CF&I ( Colorado Fuel & Iron ) was a working blast furnace(s) for steel making. We’d get refined red ore and taconite out of the BN’s origination’s. We would deliver to Minnequa at the Mill site at CF&I. CF&I in the mid 80’s cooled the blast furnaces, and basically shut down as a Steel Mill in the Colorado Rockies. It also dealt a blow to the labor force, and the Pueblo, CO economy. Rocky Mountain Steel Mills, a subsidiary or Oregon Mills, operates two electric arc furnaces. They smelt scrap steel primarily. The Ingots are used for rail production, parts for switch frogs, and associated spikes and bolts and threads for track only. They also have a wire mill.

The slag pits were aglow at night, from the start up the grade at Salt Creek, to the “pit” at the Minnequa Train order station. The Rio Grande pit was near Southern Junction.

I take no credit in this video, Illustration only. This at Bethlehem Steel, but basically the same.

This is what it looks like. Skulling the pot, it is getting the last of the hardening slag out of the pot. The Santa Fe and Rio Grande Railroads used this slag for ballast. I dumped many a train and picked up many a load, to be set out for track work. Sometimes ballast empties were the hottest thing on the railroad, due to need and projected MOW projects.

Last updated October 26, 2015