Warren, O. - These photos were taken in the 56" hot strip mill in the former Republic Steel Warren works when it was operating as Warren Consolidated Industries (WCI). These photos are one of a kind, ones I've never seen and can never be duplicated considering this mill is a brownfield now. These hit close to home, my Pops hauled plenty of coils out of this mill and I was looking to get my CDL so I could go run a crane out there right before they shut down.
They were taken and submitted by Ken Treharn who worked in the mills for 43 and a half years, starting out in the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Brier Hill works open hearth melt shop in 68. He worked was a craneman in the 56" mill in Warren for 23 years as you will read in the captions. My man was very thorough and provided a ton of background information on the photos. Enough out of me, read his words in the captions and see his world for 23 years of his life through his eyes below.
" 'Work' rolls with the mill in the background."
"Coil on the 'upender'. A fixture that turns the coil 90 degrees while transferring it to go of the 'runout' line"
"Coil being just 'stripped' from #3 'super coiler' "
"The #3 'super coiler' was the newest state of the art coiler, capable of coiling 50+" steel up to one inch thick."
"An extra coiler mandrel for #1+#2 coiler, they were a lighter duty but very good coilers." [This photo's file name indicates this coiler was mfg. by United Engineering. - Editor]
"Ground level looking into #3 Super coiler." [Photo file name: Red Weld Station to weld tail ends of heavier gauge coils 0250 to 1 inch thick - Ed.]
"Crane view midway of the Hot Strip Mill looking south towards the furnace area at the end of the mill. The yellow apparatus was used to change finish mill work rolls. Past the tow motor is the large backup finish mill rolls. Farther down you can see the Hot strip coming out of the 4 high Roughing mill. Past that is a Two High 'Scale' breaker. It reduces the 9 inch thick hot strip to 7 inches in one pass while extreme water pressure blasts the scale off of the strip. At the end of the building is the one Walking Beam Furnace that replaced the 3 pusher type furnaces."
"Looking down at the 6 stand finish mill from the crane I operated." [Photo file name: Reducing Gage Finish Mills - Ed.]
"Looking into a 'empty' (no work rolls, floor plates off) finish mill stand." [Photo file name: Showing Guide Box water sprays in Hot Strip Mill Finish Stand -Ed.]
"Hot strip coming from the 4 high roughing mill down to first the 'crop shear' (it is a flying shear that 'crops' cuts the front and back couple feet off the strip) the actual cut is like this ) then it feeds into #1 finish mill stand."
"Looking down from the overhead Crane that I operated for 23 years of the coiler area."
"An iron mould for slab from the old pre-melt shop caster days. This mould was made at Valley Mould in Hubbard. I worked there starting during the new electric furnace melt shop for 4 years till they shut down. They reopened as Elwood City Forge. We used this iron mould to "break up" steel that "piled up" instead of going into the coiler due to a problem."
"A 'pinch roll' which pushes/directs the front end of the strip into the throat of the coiler."
"Floor view looking North to the Coiler area. You can see the overhead Crane that I operated for 23 years."
"A 'Crop Shear Bucket' that went into a pit at the 'Crop Shear' before #1 finish stand. The hot cropped ends fell down a large steel chute going into the bucket that was submerged below water."
"Hot strip coming out of #6 finish mill heading to the Coiler. Notice the pollution that I breathed for 23 years."
"Walking Beam Furnace. Door is opening getting ready to extract a hot slab. Crane with magnet is picking up pieces of a cobble on the cobble burn rack."
"Hot strip going through the finish mills."
"Floor view of finish mills during down/repair turn.
"Looking into #3 Super Coiler looking through the 'Upender' into the mandrel and assemblies of the coiler. Apparatus on the bottom with 2 rolls is the 'Stripper Car' that removes the coil from inside the coiler to the Upender."
"Looking down into the Crop Shear Shoot"
Fresh coils
"Hot strip coming out of the finish mill, down the 'Run Out tables' into the coilers."
