(The following story by Ken Kosky appeared on the Munster Times website on November 16.)
BURNS HARBOR, Ind. — After nearly 50 years of hard labor at Bethlehem Steel Corp.’s plants in Pennsylvania and Burns Harbor, battered old locomotive No. 72 was parked because it wasn’t serviceable.
But earlier this year, the mechanics at the locomotive shop of the mill, which is now called ISG Burns Harbor, got the green light to undertake a complete refurbishing project — everything from a mechanical overhaul to a sharp black, white and blue paint job.
By doing the work themselves, they restored a locomotive that General Motors only made from 1954 to 1966, and they did it for $119,000, including parts and labor. If ISG had to purchase a similar one, it would have spent $400,000 to $550,000, said locomotive shop supervisor Jim Zrodlowski.
“It’s more money in everybody’s pocket,” mechanic Raymond Salary said.
Mechanic Wayne Hardesty said it was rewarding to take on such a big challenge. About 15 mechanics worked on the project between February and September, laboring whenever they got a break from their other assignments. When it was all done, anybody who came to the shop got to vote on which paint scheme it would receive.
Locomotive 72 is expected to provide another eight to 10 years of service before needing an overhaul. With the success of the locomotive No. 72 project, the mechanics are busy working on restoring locomotive No. 21, a 1965 model. That project should be done in March.
With a dozen locomotives at ISG in Burns Harbor, the mechanics said they could rebuild them all, then start the whole process again. All the locomotives are used for “materials handling,” such as moving coal cars, Zrodlowski said.
The mechanics said ISG is committed to investing in proper maintenance of equipment and to keeping work in-house.