One of the reasons we wanted to spend a few days in Dearborn, Michigan, was to tour the Henry Ford complex. Dearborn is the home of Ford, with Henry and Clara having moved here on September 25, 1891, and is the town that welcomed Ford and his company, and provided thousands of workers for his assembly plants.
Our Combo ticket gave us access to the Ford Rough Assembly Plant, located along the Rouge River. The location was carefully chosen to provide access to shipping through the Great Lakes, as well as a reasonably central location for distribution. We boarded the tour bus in front of the Henry Ford Museum on Oakmont Ave, and 1/2 hour later "dismounted" at the plant. The ride on the bus was tarnished by a large crowd of Ford enthusiasts that just had to converse at the top of their lungs, drowning out the tour guide's commentary about the landmarks that we were passing.
Photography was not allowed inside the buildings, for obvious reasons, but take my word for it, the process of building 1300 Ford F150's per day is an awesome display of precision craftsmanship. Two shifts operate at the Rouge Plant. There is a complete plant shutdown for one hour between shifts as a thousand employee vehicles exit and enter the parking lots. Some minor restocking is done at these times. Additionally, the assembly line is stopped for about two hours for cleaning and maintenance. The remaining time is taken up by lunch and breaks. Our tour took us around the central part of the assembly plant on a wide walkway about 30 or 40 feet above the ground floor. We were able to see cab assembly, with dash components, steering wheels, windshields, carpeting and the like being installed. A little later the cab is mated with the bed and the doors. The doors, beds and tailgates are installed on the bare metal assembly prior to painting, and then removed so that interior parts can be easily installed. Amazingly, great robotic tracks carrying hundreds of different colored doors come together with the cab at exactly the right time. Same with beds and tailgates. Each station on the line allows 54 seconds for a process to be completed. Not much time, but after a few thousand times, it must be second nature! We noticed workers laughing and talking as they worked. None of them seemed to be overworked.
Our tour didn't allow us to view the mating of the cab/bed with the chassis, as that was done in an area that was out of sight, but we were able to see the process of building the pickup from the time the cab is detailed to the time the pickup is started and driven to the final inspection area. At that point, computerized devices check the positions of doors, hoods, and clearances between them. Periodically a vehicle is further checked by a human, with special emphasis on the electronics. Eventually, the pickup is driven out to the adjacent lot for shipment to the dealer.
The Ford Rouge Plant is particularly proud of it's Green rating. The roof of the main building of the assembly plant is planted in Sedge, a renewable, natural plant that allows reduced heating and cooling costs as well as natural filtration of rainwater that is then collected and used for sanitary purposes throughout the plant.
The fourth floor observation deck gave us a great view of the remainder of the plant in the distance.
The shiny result:
After a return bus ride, we entered the Henry Ford Museum. Called simply The Henry Ford, it is a huge collection of artifacts memorializing the great Innovators of our time. With areas devoted to manufacturing, railroads, furniture, automobiles of course, the farsightedness of our forefathers, agriculture, and flight. Each area has thousands of examples of machines or ideas that show how innovative inventors like Henry Ford, have created products that have changed our lives forever.
The Agriculture was the first area that we walked through, with hundreds of antique machinery.
Donna liked the Steam Tractors!
And here's the little 1929 Caterpiller tractor just like the one that my Dad had back on the farm! Somehow it seemed to be a lot larger back then. I spent many hours driving that bad boy through the fields!
Where else are you going to find a collection of Don't Disturb signs,
along with a collection of pennants celebrating all manner of things from baseball games to national parks,
and right next door to an original steam powered pump from the early 1800's? It's incredible!
Of course, the automobile exhibit attracted our attention. One of the most beautiful cars on the floor is this 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale. With a price tag that, in todays dollars, approached six hundred thousand dollars, it's easy to see why very few were built!
Do you think that Henry Fords wife Clara drove a Ford? Nope! Her personal vehicle was this 1914 Detroit Electric Model 47 Brougham! Weighing over 3600 pounds, it cost $3730 as outfitted in a time when the average worker made $627 a year!
Searching for new markets, Henry Ford and others collaborated on this 1902 "999" oval track race car. Henry was afraid to drive the brutish machine, so he hired a fearless bicycle racer named Barney Oldfield to "have a go". Although he had never driven a car, Oldfield not only mastered it, but won his first race and went on to become America's first nationally known racing hero. With his trademark cigar and aggressive driving habits, Oldfield was the terror of dirt tracks across the country.
We ended our walk through the automotive section with a look at one of America's most innovative and forward thinking automobiles: The 1955 Chevrolet.
In the Railroad area, the first exhibit was this 1923 Canadian Pacific snowplow, which cleared snow in New England and Canada until 1990.
One of the first uses of the railroad concept was with this 1831 DeWitt Clinton using stagecoach bodies to transport passengers. In August of that year, hundreds of people from Albany, New York, gathered to watch the smoke belching DeWitt on the tracks of the Mohawk and Hudson railway, where only horse drawn cars had traveled before. The stagecoach cars were soon filled by festive well-wishers who braved the sparks and smoke to enjoy the trip from Albany to Schenectady and return. Railway travel would never be the same!
Immediately adjacent to the DeWitt is the worlds largest locomotive the 1941 aftAllegheny. At 603.5 tons, these behemoths hauled freight, mostly coal, in trains that were 1.25 miles long and speeds up to 60 mph! During WW II, they were put to use hauling troops, wounded soldiers, and prisoners of war. Their steam technology was advanced, but could not compete with the cheaper diesel-electric locomotives, and were eventual retired after only 10 years of service.Built by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio, this is number 1601.
As we strolled toward the exit, we had to stop for one last look at the story of the Ford Model T. A revolutionary product, the car and the assembly line process that was created to produce it have been named a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. Somehow Grumpy got into the photo op.
An exploded Model T shows just how simple the car was, yet groundbreaking in its concept.
We just couldn't get out of the Museum without looking at a collection of telephones. A little boy with his Dad standing nearby wanted to know what all the wires were….
We chuckled at the Bag Phone next to one of the newest hand-held models! It's a bit disconcerting to see items you once owned in a museum…..
With a last giggle at the WeinerMobile, we headed for the exit!
We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Dearborn, and recommend The Henry Ford enthusiastically! If you're ever in the area, please visit!
