Bump for the morning shift. I posted this last night, it quickly got buried in the back pages by heavy traffic. I gotta believe there are others among us that would find this fascinating.
Here is a video of a broader nature of the facility specifically Dearborn Tool and Die . Dearborn Tool and Die Plant also know as Henrys Tinker Toy Shop. Henry used to spend alot of time there developing his patents and process... the place wreaks of auto history . It wasn't until 2007 that the train tracks were tore out of there where the used to work on the old locomotives... I spent 8 years at the tool and die plant as a die engineering liaison. During this time the Stamping plant was revamped . The stamping plant was shut down sometime in the mid 04 and gutted with the exception of two large crossbar transfer presses. When the Aluminum F-150 was slated to be built @ the Rouge they tore the roof off the stamping plant and raised it 10 feet , tore the elevated press floor out and replaced it, installed 4 new Jier crossbar transfer presses and a roll form line. It was truly amazing! The plant is well over 100 acres. The diversified manufacturing plant also know to you hot rodders as the beloved Frame plant was retooled to heat treating aluminum parts, Hydro-forming, and some sub assembly for the f-150. The assembly plant next to the stamping plant in 6 weeks was gutted and retooled from the steel f150 to the aluminum f 150 this plant too is well over 100 acres and was absolutely packed. The gas tank/engine plant was gutted and is used for closure assembly Here is an article about saying it was 8 weeks to trans form the assembly plant but it was actually done in 6 from the time the steel vehicle production was stopped until aluminum trucks came off the line going to paint.. it was truly incredible! All 8 ft beds are made in Kansas City assembly because the paint booth @ Dearborn cannot handle the 8ft bed size http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/trucks/a15539/rebuilding-the-rouge-truck-factory/ During the F-150 launch I was assigned to launching the dies in the stamping plant and getting the tooling up to speed to satisfy the massive production numbers. During this time a couple old timers took to place in the facility that had not been touched for decades! Tooling and old presses.. was awesome to see how they did stuff in another window of time. The steel operations are now leased and run by AK steel. The Glass plant is gone If you ever get a chance they sel tickets for a tour of this facility and it is well worth it!
No apologies necessary. It's great to hear from someone who's actually worked there that this iconic facility is being retooled, repurposed, and continues to crank out blue ovals. So many other historic plants in Detroit have disappeared.
I would post picture but that may jeopardize my livelihood as it is against Hanks rules. Another hugely historic Ford real estate is the Highland Park Plant... is still used for storage and has some unbelievable specimens of Henry's follies ...Just generations of cool stuff in there...The Henry Ford Museum is also worthy of traveling to . The Greenfield Village and Museum are on same property and If you visit go during the summer so you see both...You PPP ( Period Perfect People) would be ewgasming for weeks at a time. Willow Run Airport where Ford Built the Liberator Bomber most of which is gone except a small section where the carousel still is there.. it is being made into a museum. The giant carousel was there because the assembly line needed to turn a corner @ the county line where Henry owned both pieces of property in both counties but refused to pay taxes for developed land in both counties. He built the thing to turn the corner at the county lines.Willow Run was the largest assembly of midgets ever assembled in one place.. no joke... he hired them to run wiring and hydraulics/control cables through the aircraft structures/ wings... you see evidence of his intentions in the bathrooms , where there is sections of urinals and toilets built low to the ground for them... not joking!...ok Ill stop... great thread though!
Thanks for sharing! The thing that I notice the most is a lot of that stuff was pretty high tech for the day it seems and people had figured that out but it doesnt seem that there safety doing the jobs were much of a concern. Things as simple as safety glasses or ear plugs were probably never much more than thought of back then.
To Bring this thread back into scope... The Rouge facility and the above mentioned facilities as well as many others were the brain child on ONE MAN! Its incredible to realize this... The way I see it... there is not one human on earth today that was not impacted by what has and is going on @ the Rouge Complex.....or by Henry Ford... remarkable if you ask me...
just so you get an idea of how big this place is the boarders are miller rd , rotunda, I94, scheafer and the rouge river... google earth Ford Rouge Complex... to have a vision in 1938 that size is pretty impressive....
Cool posts Halfdozen, and HiHelix. Last year, my wife and I went to Detroit for a weeks vacation, and it was great. We did the Rouge tour,(would have loved to see a whole lot more) Piquette Plant tour, Dodge, and Edsel Ford mansions tours, and the Rennaisance Center tour.(kind of hokey, but an amazing view from the restaurant at the top) We hired a guide for a tour around the city. I think the company name is Back Seat Tours. You tell the guy what you're interested in, and he sits in the back seat of your car,directs you around, and tells you about the sights, architecture, history, etc. We also went to Deerfield Park, (ohhhhhh, so many machine shops!) the Henry Ford Museum and the Detroit Institute of Arts. We had a great time.
Got me off track for a half hour.....Thanks. What an incredible feat, and what could possibly come close to that in the US today or in the future. The Tesla battery plant in Nevada is going to be huge......but nothing like the scale and vertical integration of Rouge.
Amazing. So glad I watch that. Its pretty awesome seeing the machinery and men that put these cars together so long ago and to think I have many of these same parts in my hot rods and they are still functioning doing what they were intended to do back in the 1930's and 40's. Henry was one smart cookie with a huge vision that was put into action.
Cool video. I don't take many vacations. I did vacation to Detroit. There is so much automotive related stuff that you'll freak for the week (+) it takes to see it. If you haven't been, you must go before you leave, even if you must go alone. More fun with a buddy, though. The rouge plant The Edsel Ford Mansion Fairlane, Henry's house The Fisher House (Fisher body company) John Dodge's place Walter P Chrysler museum The Henry Ford museum and Greenfield village. and much more.
WOW! I knew the RR plant was big but I had no idea they could literally go from "ore to auto" there.Thank you both for posting.
I'm a model railroader , involved in modeling steel mills and related equipment , so this is interesting to me ......I live right across the Detroit River from that old plant and there are still special tours through there I believe ....went on one several years ago .
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