Donora, PA –
The valley of the Monongahela River in our area was covered with many steel making and processing plants. We have chosen to model the Donora works which was the nearest facility to our home layout. The Donora Steel Works of the American Steel and Wire Co. had two blast furnaces, Margaret 1 and Margaret 2. In addition, there were 13 open hearth furnaces and 2 Bessemer converters for making steel. After the steel was made, it was further processed in a blooming mill, two billet mills and a rod mill. Machinery was in place to make various sizes of wire and wire products, such as fence, fabric, nails, etc. The facilities also contained the ability to galvanize the wire products which included associated zinc producing facilities. Unfortunately, the Donora site became obsolete and too expensive to operate over time. In 1960, it was shut down and in 1963, it was demolished.
Our members have taken photos of our layout during various stages of layout construction. The following photos are presented for your enjoyment and to help you understand the railroad’s focus on supporting the steel industry.
Taken from a bluff overlooking a passing interurban car, the valley of the Donoroa works spreads out below. The USS Furnace rail yard is in the lower forefront as the Pennsylvania double track mainline snakes along the bottom of the cliff.
Although the scene is still under construction, Margaret 1 blast furnace (against the wall hidden behind the hot stoves) and Margaret 2 are shown in this image. The tracks serving these furnaces are part of the Donora Southern railroad.
As part of the sprawling American Steel and Wire Donora works, the rolling mills are located near the blast furnace. Flat cars loaded with ingot molds for cooling the steel before the soaking pit operations are lined up ready to be filled with molten metal.
Red hot slabs of steel are moved through the rolling mill as the steel making process continues toward the final forms.
Steel making consumes huge quantities of coke. A long coal drag passes by a small supply pile at the Donora works along side the mainline. These trains are common sight many times each day throughout the year.
Allenport, PA –
Although the Donora Works drives the largest portion of the steel related traffic on the Mid-Mon Valley layout, the Allenport plant of Wheeling Pittsburgh Sheet Products is also a large steel products producer served by the railroad.