I have always been fascinated by steelmaking and steel mills. During my time living in my native Chicago, I was very fortunate to view and photograph in and around many of the mills located there. I also was fortunate to have toured several mills, including Bethlehem Steel at Burns Harbor, IN.
The facilities at Burns Harbor, IN were constructed along the southern shore of Lake Michigan by Bethlehem Steel Corporation starting in 1964. The steelmaker constructed a 160-inch plate mill there, followed shortly thereafter by a cold-rolled sheet mill, tin mill and 80-inch hot strip mill. The plant was fully integrated in 1969, when the first Blast Furnace and Basic Oxygen Furnace complexes were made operational.
Bethlehem Steel SW1200 21 and former Alco S2 Slug LM3 pull four empty thermos-bottle hot-metal cars past one of the two blast furnaces in 1983. Notice the unusual truck arrangement on the 21: the lead truck is an EMD Flexicoil truck, while the rear truck is a standard AAR Type B switcher truck. Notice the Alco Blunt Truck on the slug! The mill went through several changes in ownership, but continues in operation as Arcelor Mittal Burns Harbor Works.
