The McLouth Steel plant in Trenton, Michigan, operated from 1950 to 1995, pioneering continuous casting and basic oxygen furnace (BOF) technology for the American steel industry. It was located on property along the Detroit River, north of the public bridge to Grosse Isle. After filing for bankruptcy in 1995, the site was sold and eventually acquired by Wayne County through tax foreclosure in 2017.
It was served by the New York Central and the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton railroads. The plant had a spur line off the DT&I north of FN tower. Part of the spur included two dead-end tracks called the "high line" which were used for coke delivery.
Image Info: Top, an overhead view of the plant, about 1960. [City of Trenton]. 2nd image, GTW 963 is pulling empty bottle cars through the crossing at FN tower in Trenton. This is 1966. [C. H. Geletzke Jr. Collection]
This property was purchased by a company affiliated with the Moroun family (Ambassador Bridge owners). They formed the "Riverview Trenton Railroad" to connect the site with the rail corridor nearby. [MRF]
The plant was served by the NYC and DT&I railroads. At one point the D&TSL attempted to serve the plant but the NYC immediately removed the connection. Both railroads (NYC/DT&I) switched coke deliveries to the plant, and the DT&I received molten iron bottle cars and delivered them to Vulcan Mold, a molding plant on the west side of the railroad lines. The DT&I also received loaded scrap gondolas from the north end of the plant yard, which was near the Grosse Isle private (pay) bridge. [ELNJ]
The original McLouth Steel plant was founded in 1934 on Livernois Avenue in southwest Detroit. The mill had a reversing hot-strip mill, nicknamed the "Coffee Grinder" due to the sounds it made. [GGAI]
After the company built the new plant in Trenton, and Detroit plant became focused solely on stainless steel productions. It was later sold to Jones and Laughlin Steel Co. in 1981. McLouth also had a finishing facility in Gibraltar, MI.
2018. The plant no longer exists.
2023. A railroad connection to the former plant site was made at the north end of the site, crossing Jefferson Avenue in Riverview. This is a connection with the CN (former D&TSL) and Conrail Detroit Shared Assets. [MRF-2023-09]
The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:
