To engage the air brakes on locomotives without their power being on, air hoses would be attached during repairs. Compressed air also powered many of the tools used.
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In the upper left of the image you can see where the gas tanks used to be, along with the concentration equipment. Along the bottom you can also see some of the many railroad tracks coming and going from the plant–the ones visible here were incoming tracks that carried in hard coal from the eastern US.
The turned rail was to prevent runaway cars from going over the end of the dock and into the lake.
A long exposure in the crane cab at sunset throws a bit of color into the bleak yellow glows between the windows and car shaker.
The first 800 or so feet of the tunnel is finished with reinforced concrete. The test is raw stone. This is the spot where it switches. Side note: nailing this shot on film is one of my proudest light-painted moments.
Looking down the Gilman-Belden tram.
A place to turn mine carts into different areas of the shops.
The top of the docks are so rotten in places that you can see the lake through the boards. In the foreground you can see the controls for the chutes, which work on a clutch.
This electric Wellman crane was added to extract coal from ships for the power plant that Erie built beside their dock. Now, with the advent of self-unloading boats, it’s been replaced by a funnel and conveyor belt.
Part of the brewing process is sterilizing the kettles, pipes and tanks all product would touch. This was done with a caustic solution. To the left is a healthy pile of asbestos where a heating tank used to stand, insulated in the carcinogenic mineral. The tank got cut apart, the asbestos stayed here.