On the overcast afternoon of 14 October 1987, Conrail switcher #9332 returns to the yard with cars from the Ford Motor Company plant in Monroe, MI.
The plant was constructed in 1929 by the Newton Steel Corp., and it was the site of the famous Newton Steel Strike of 1937, which was part of a national strike against the so-called “Little Steel” plants. Before the strike was broken and the employees forced to return to work, 11 workers were injured by the Monroe police force and 383 deputized thugs.
Alcoa bought the facility in 1942 and made cylinder heads for airplane engines until 1947, when Kelsey-Hayes purchased the plant. Ford Motor Co. bought the plant in 1949, and it was spun off as a Visteon Corp. (a manufacturer of vehicle parts) plant in 2000 before becoming ACH in 2005. (source: www.wsws.org; 18.09.2007)
The plant was closed in 2008.
Conrail reached the Ford plant via a spur line skirting the north shore of the River Raisin. It afforded some scenic views in an otherwise industrial area.
Conrail SW-1200 #9332 was built for the Pennsylvania Railroad as their #7913 in November 1957. It later served as Lancaster & Chester Railroad #97, and was photographed as RTEX #97 in 2015.
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