Great, historical shot, James. A few years after this shot was taken, I worked in a building at 800 North and I-15, due east of the mill building in the center of the photo. It was not uncommon to discover a powdery, black dust on our cars at the end of the day. The worse pollution I ever saw was pink smoke rolling out of the mill stacks.
|
Great shot Jim,Rio Grande will live on forever,I remember those long trains of rolled steel and coal empties coming out of Geneva Steel.
|
Now THAT'S a proper wedgie!
|
Nice shot James; I'd say that SD9 is working to its capacity as well!
|
| Posted by on December 1, 2011 | |
Sweet SD9! But this shot is really something, the Geneva Works looks like it was 1 monster of a mill. If you have any photos of the mill I'd love to see them.
|
Wow! Those open hearths are just working full-tilt! An amazing place, Geneva was. In the winter, the orange-brown cloud could be seen spilling into the Salt Lake Valley through the Jordan narrows. In the summer, we'd go boating on Utah Lake, a special treat being pulling up on the west side of the mill after dusk and watching the molten slag being dumped down the slag mountain. Ah well, it's just all history now, isn't it? Like the Rio Grande itself; like our nation's industrial might. Replaced by tilt-up warehouses to store all the Chinese-made stuff we used to manufacture in this country.
|
Sadly, given China's lax air-quality standards one can all but guarantee that the emissions coming out of whatever planet over there which replaced this one are as bad or more likely worse. BTW, funny how the fuel tank caps (or whatever they are) at the base of the engine look momentarily like ditch lights. (Highly unlikely in 1977, I should think.)
|
I would have to agree with you Jack,The only railroads to have ditch lights in 1977 were the Canadian Railroads,I did see a picture of a Union Pacific SD40-2 taken in 1980 in Trains Magazine once that had ditch lights on it. It was working on the Canadian Pacific. U.S. Railroads didn't have ditch lights until the 1990's.
Also,The air pollution in China is much worse there than here. Steel Plants in China put out more pollution than what Geneva Steel ever did.
|
Excellent shot, James. Miss the Grande, and I would really like to have Geneva back in Utah County, rather than in China. Thanks for memory...
|
A great view of an industrial America that is no more. Thanks for being there.
|
|