Flat Car Set.

A steel mill is a place where the might of the elements fire, water, earth, and air are felt and unleashed in a fascinating manner and the same time mastered. The blast furnace is the heart of the mill. The constant roar of the blast heating apparatus fills the air; the molten iron boils deep inside the blast furnace 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. No other industry is so dependent on the railroad for transportation. All of the raw materials, aggregate materials, and all of the fuel are transported to the mill by rail, and the finished products are shipped out the same way. Even within the steel mill the greatest part of the transport work is done by rail. The main product of the blast furnace is crude iron. It is transported short distances in open crude iron ladles for further processing in the steel mill. Slag is produced in the blast furnace in addition to molten crude iron. The slag collects the stone content of the ore and aids in the process of removing sulphur from the crude iron. The slag is collected in slag ladle cars and emptied at a waste dump. After it has cooled down, it is crushed and used in road construction or the cement industry. These crude iron and slag ladles are subject to extreme wear and tear in the rough and tumble of everyday operation. They must be serviced and replaced on a regular basis. They are transported on flat cars to the repair halls, which are often several kilometers or miles distant in the immense steel production complexes, or they are at other locations. They are often stored at the steel mill on flat cars so that they can be brought quickly to where they are used.