Ford Rouge Railroad
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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.
Aerial View of Ford Rouge Plant, 1930 - 4
Ford Motor Company opened the Rouge's first facilities in 1917. By the mid-1930s, the factory complex had grown to include things like ore docks, blast furnaces, a steel mill, an engine-casting plant, an assembly plant, a fire department, a hospital, and a powerplant. More than 100,000 people worked there, and a new car rolled off the assembly line every 49 seconds.
View ArtifactFord Rouge Plant Pictorial Flow Chart, "Complete Car Can Be Built in 28 Hours," 1940 - 3
At its peak, the Rouge included more than 15 million square feet of floor space in 93 different buildings. It was the fullest realization of Henry Ford's push for manufacturing self-sufficiency. Raw materials from Ford-owned mines and forests arrived at the plant and, about 28 hours later, they left the Rouge again – incorporated into finished automobiles.
View ArtifactBuildings and Grounds Diagram of the River Rouge Plant of the Ford Motor Company, Mill & Factory, 1936 - 1
The Rouge was served by four mainline railroads: the Michigan Central (affiliated with the New York Central), the Pere Marquette (affiliated with the Chesapeake & Ohio), the Wabash (affiliated with the Pennsylvania) and the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton (personally owned by Henry Ford from 1920-1929). Mr. Ford built DT&I's branch line to the Rouge in 1923.
View ArtifactBoat Slip at Ford Rouge Plant, 1927 - 1
Wabash and DT&I boxcars line the Rouge's boat slip in this 1927 photo. Like the Michigan Central and Pere Marquette, these were common-carrier railroads that transported freight for public customers over longer distances. The Ford Rouge railroad was a privately owned industrial railroad. It transported goods and materials exclusively for Ford within the factory complex.
View ArtifactAerial View of Rouge Plant, August 28, 1935
Many of the railroad cars heading into or out of the Rouge complex were processed through Pere Marquette's Rougemere Yard, seen on the right side of this photo. Michigan Central sorted freight cars at Livernois Yard, northeast of the Rouge. Wabash sorted cars at Oakwood Yard, located a short distance south of the plant.
View ArtifactRouge Plant Construction
The Rouge plant relied on rail transportation from its very beginning. The mainline railroads delivered construction materials and equipment to the site. Temporary railroad tracks, like the one seen in this photo, allowed materials to be delivered to specific worksites within the complex's 2,000 acres.
View ArtifactLocomotive at Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant, Dearborn, Michigan, May 1937
The construction railways were temporary, but the industrial railroad that followed was a permanent and vital fixture. Ford's Rouge railroad effectively served as an extension of the flowing conveyors and moving assembly lines that characterized Ford Motor Company's mass-production methods.
View Artifact1924 Ford Motor Company Institutional Message Advertising Campaign, "From Source to Service" - 2
Much of the coal used at the Rouge came from mines in Kentucky and West Virginia. It traveled by rail from the source mines to the factory, where some was used to fuel furnaces, and some was converted into high-carbon coke used in Ford's iron-making process. Of course, some of the coal also fueled the Rouge railroad’s steam locomotives.
View ArtifactFord Motor Company Ore Carrier MS Benson Ford at the Rouge Plant, circa 1948
Bulk commodities like iron ore and limestone were sourced from Great Lakes mines and quarries, and they generally were delivered to the Rouge by lake-going freighters. But at the factory itself, these materials were moved aboard Ford-owned railroad hopper cars. Large cranes unloaded ore and limestone directly into hoppers, or into storage bins where it was piled in reserve.
View ArtifactBlast Furnace Buildings and Powerhouse Stacks at the Ford Rouge Plant, March 1936
Ford Motor Company’s hopper cars wore the famous "Ford" script logo and the four-letter code "FRDX." Those letters – reporting marks – were assigned by the Association of American Railroads to track the cars' ownership. The "X" indicated that the hopper cars belonged to a private owner rather than a common-carrier railroad.
View ArtifactView of Ford Rouge Plant from Coal Bridge, August 20, 1937
The Rouge's huge, concrete-walled storage bins held up to two million tons of coal, ore, and limestone. An elevated rail line allowed cable-hauled railroad hopper cars to dump material directly into the bins by gravity. From the opposite side of this "high line," railcars could deliver coal and scrap iron to the coke ovens and blast furnaces.
View ArtifactPoster Showing an Aerial View of "The Rouge--World's Most Famous Plant," 1947 - 1
This map provides an idea of the extensive 100-mile network of railroad track that guided material around the Rouge. One of the railroad's major functions was to carry iron from the blast furnaces east of the boat slip (bottom of the map) to the steel mill west of the slip (middle of the map).
View ArtifactDiesel Locomotives at the Ford Rouge Plant, March 1938
In the mid-1930s, Ford's crews handled more than 1,100 railroad cars each day. In addition to the bulk materials mentioned previously, loads included oil, gasoline, machinery, and – naturally – car parts and finished automobiles. In normal operation, it took railroad crews about three hours to deliver a load from any one part of the plant to another.
View ArtifactFord Motor Company Rouge Plant Coke Ovens from Southwest Corner, August 1923
Some processes at the Rouge required faster service. This certainly was true when handling red-hot coke for the blast furnaces, or molten metal for the foundry or the steel-making facilities. Materials like these needed special handling, specialized railroad equipment, and captive-service trains that only worked in specific tasks at the plant.
View ArtifactProduction from Coke Ovens for Use in Blast Furnaces and Foundry, Ford Rouge Plant, circa 1950
The Rouge's coke-production facilities provide an example. Massive ovens converted coal into high-carbon coke, which Ford used when making iron. As the coke left the ovens, it ignited when exposed to oxygen. The fiery coke was pushed from the ovens directly into a special train, shown here, with an electric locomotive and a unique quenching car.
View ArtifactView of Rouge Plant Coke Ovens from Quenching Tower, 1934
The special train then rushed to a quenching tower where the red-hot coke was doused with thousands of gallons of water. This photo shows the tunnel-like entrance to the brick-lined quenching space. After quenching, the coke was transported to screening rooms to be sorted by size. Larger pieces went to the blast furnaces or foundry.
View ArtifactPouring Molten Iron from Blast Furnace into Railroad Car Ladles at Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant, circa 1948
The Rouge's three blast furnaces converted raw iron oxide ore into metallic iron. The molten iron was then poured into specialized railroad car ladles for transport either to the foundry, where cast-iron parts were made, or to open-hearth furnaces, where the iron was processed into steel. Together, the furnaces could produce 6,700 tons of metallic iron every 24 hours.
View ArtifactProduction Foundry at Ford Rouge Plant, 1927 - 1
Scrap metal was also used when producing new iron – in keeping with Ford Motor Company's wider efforts to reduce waste. Railroad gondola cars carried the scrap to conveyors leading into the foundry. Inside, the scrap metal was mixed with coke, limestone, and molten iron from the blast furnaces to create cast-iron parts like engine cylinder blocks, exhaust manifolds, and flywheels.
View ArtifactFord Rouge Plant Diesel Locomotive Hauling Steel Molds near Open Hearth Process Control, April 1947
The Rouge's open-hearth building housed ten large furnaces where molten iron was mixed with alloys to produce high-quality steel – nearly 2,000 tons each day. Molten steel was poured into molds to create uniform steel ingots. The ingots were then shaped into sheet steel at the adjoining rolling mill. The Rouge railroad shuttled ingot molds between the buildings.
View ArtifactSlag Buggies at Ford Rouge Plant, 1927 - 1
Slag was composed of waste materials removed from ore during the iron-making process. It was skimmed from the molten metal and poured into special railcar buggies waiting below. The slag was then transported to the Rouge's cement plant where, after cooling, it was broken up and mixed with lime and other ingredients to produce Portland cement.
View ArtifactFord Railroad Employees with Handcar, Ford Rouge Plant, March 24, 1945
The Rouge railroad's employees were the heart of the operation. Hundreds of people worked on the line, practicing the same time-honored crafts seen on the big mainline railroads. Trackworkers, like these men, maintained the railroad's track. They replaced rotted wood ties, adjusted misaligned rails, and kept the plant's numerous track switches in good working order.
View ArtifactMen Working on Ford Railroad, Ford Rouge Plant, March 24, 1945
In the 1940s, trackwork required heavy manual labor. Wood ties and steel rails were placed by hand. Spikes were driven with handheld mauls or hammers. Gravel ballast was positioned with shovels. Even the cart that carried workers' equipment was pushed by hand. Each year, Rouge trackworkers replaced about 10 miles of rail – 10 percent of the Rouge's total mileage.
View ArtifactDiesel Locomotives at the Ford Rouge Plant, November 1937
Brakemen, like the man shown here riding the footboard, were responsible for uncoupling railcars, or for coupling the cars and their brake hoses. The "brakeman" title dated to the 19th century – before locomotive-controlled air brakes – when these workers had to apply hand brakes on each car to slow a moving train.
View ArtifactEngineer Ole Garras Receiving Switching Orders by Radio/Telephone, Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant Railroad Yard, August 1950
Engineers like Ole Garras, seen here, operated the Rouge's locomotives at low speeds – but with great precision. Firemen were responsible for keeping the steam locomotive's fire at an even heat and size. Conductors had top rank on the crew. They had the final say in operations, and they managed the paperwork required in tracking carloads.
View ArtifactFord Locomotive Tender Being Filled with Water at Rouge Plant, March 24, 1945
Ford owned 14 steam locomotives at the Rouge in the mid-1930s. Nickel and chrome-plated fixtures and controls gave the engines a bright appearance that was unusual in the grimy world of railroading. Here a crewman uses a water column to fill a steam locomotive's tender. Note the large lamp, which illuminated the engine's path during frequent nighttime reverse moves.
View ArtifactFireless Locomotive at the Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant Steel Mill, 1936
Most steam locomotives burned coal to heat water into steam. This fireless locomotive had no firebox, nor a tender to carry coal and water. Instead, it was charged with pressurized, superheated water filled from an external source. Ford's fireless locomotive operated inside factory buildings without dangerous cinders, smoke, or fumes. It could work eight hours on a single charge.
View ArtifactMen Restore a Vintage Steam Locomotive at the Ford Rouge Plant Locomotive Shop, April 1937
Rouge steam locomotives were carefully maintained. Boilers were washed monthly, gauges and valves were inspected quarterly, and each locomotive received a complete overhaul once a year. These men are working on one of Henry Ford's vintage steam locomotives – not a Rouge engine – but the photo illustrates the extensive work done by Ford Rouge railroad employees.
View ArtifactLocomotive Repair Shop at Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant, June 1922
Maintenance and repair work on locomotives took place in a huge shop near the Rouge storage bins. Large traveling cranes could lift locomotives off the rails so that wheels, running gear, and underframes could be inspected and repaired or replaced as needed. Other Ford-owned heavy equipment, like bulldozers and steam shovels, was also repaired in the locomotive shop.
View ArtifactManufacturing Parts for Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad at Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant, circa 1926 - 1
The Rouge had a well-equipped machine shop where broken locomotive parts could be repaired or replicated. When Henry Ford owned the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad from 1920-1929, he sent each of the DT&I's steam locomotives to the Rouge for a complete rebuilding. As many as 475 people worked in the Rouge locomotive shop.
View ArtifactDiesel Locomotive in North Yard, Ford Rouge Plant, September 1937
Diesel-electric locomotives required less maintenance, less fuel, and smaller crews than steam locomotives – particularly attractive qualities for industrial railroads. Ford Motor Company ordered eight center-cab diesel-electric locomotives from General Electric, all delivered between 1937 and 1940. Each one weighed 132 tons, and each was equipped with two diesel engines producing a combined 1,000 horsepower.
View ArtifactFord Diesel Locomotive, Ford Rouge Plant, September 1938
Fittingly, Ford's new diesel-electric locomotives were "styled" like automobiles. Their front and rear ends had rounded corners and stainless steel grilles based on Ford cars. Each unit also had a "Ford" script badge under its cab windows, much like the badges on Ford vehicles. Eye-catching blue and red paint added to the locomotives' visual appeal.
View ArtifactFord V-8 Automobiles at the Automobile Club of Michigan, January 1937
While overall shapes and lines were very different between locomotives and automobiles, the new Rouge locomotives had a clear family resemblance to Ford's 1937 automobile models. V-shaped grilles, with multiple horizontal bars and a single center vertical bar, gave Ford’s cars a distinctive new look that year.
View ArtifactDiesel Locomotive in North Yard, Ford Rouge Plant, September 1937 - 1
Rouge locomotive #1000 looks spotless in this photo. Its appearance wasn't unusual. Henry Ford took pride in clean equipment, and each locomotive was washed with soap and water every other day. At the same time, the wheels received a fresh coat of paint, windows were cleaned, and headlights were inspected for damage or defects.
View ArtifactHenry Ford with Diesel Locomotives Advertising Ford-Ferguson Model 9N Tractors, January 1940
Finished parts and vehicles – cars, trucks, or tractors – were loaded into boxcars at the Rouge. Ford locomotives moved the boxcars to interchange points with the mainline railroads surrounding the plant. These larger railroads then hauled the boxcars away toward their final destinations. Henry Ford himself watched this shipment of Ford-Ferguson tractors begin its journey from the Rouge in 1940.
View Artifact"Old No. 30," the Last Steam Locomotive Replaced by Diesels on the Ford Rouge Plant Railroad, March 1950 - 1
Ford's new diesel-electrics worked alongside veteran steamers for several years. The company issued a press release when it retired the Rouge's last steam locomotive, "Old No. 30," in 1950. The engine had been built in 1923. By the end of its 27-year career, No. 30 had traveled almost 300,000 miles – all within the Ford Rouge complex.
View ArtifactLarge "Ford" Sign at the Rouge Plant, circa 1964 - 1
After Henry Ford's death in 1947, Ford Motor Company began a long process of decentralization. The Rouge's steel-making facilities were sold in the 1980s, and the last of Ford's railroad operations were transferred to an outside company in 2002. Some finished vehicles still leave the Rouge by rail, but the days of Ford crews and locomotives are gone.
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