Manufacturing Parts for Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad at Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant, circa 1926

THF121432 / Manufacturing Parts for Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad at Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant, circa 1926
01

Artifact Overview

Ford Motor Company never owned the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad -- Henry Ford owned it personally from 1920-1929. Nevertheless, Mr. Ford used many of Ford Motor Company's facilities to service the railroad under his ownership. Shops at the Rouge plant rebuilt many of the DT&I's locomotives and provided materials for buildings and structures along the line.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

circa 1926

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.O.9961

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 8.25 in
Width: 10.25 in

02

Related Content

  • Henry Ford Aboard the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad #7 Locomotive at Ford Rouge Plant, 1921
    Set

    Henry Ford and the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad

    • 20 Artifacts
    Henry Ford bought the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad in 1920. He used its 378-mile mainline -- between Detroit and Ironton, Ohio -- as a giant conveyor belt, hauling coal from Ford-owned mines to the Rouge in Dearborn. Ford spent $15 million improving DT&I's track and equipment but grew tired of burdensome railroad regulations. He sold the line in 1929.
  • Diesel Locomotives at Ford Rouge Plant, March 1938
    Set

    Ford Rouge Railroad

    • 36 Artifacts
    Ford Motor Company operated its own industrial railroad at the Rouge factory. Ford-owned locomotives moved incoming railcars filled with raw materials, and outgoing railcars loaded with finished parts and vehicles. Ford employees crewed trains, cared for locomotives, and maintained 100 miles of track within the factory grounds. At its 1930s peak, Ford's Rouge railroad was one of the largest privately owned rail operations in the world.