RIP Allied Iron & Steel Co. and A. Miller & Co.

Allied Iron & Steel Co. and A. Miller & Co are no more.

Alter Trading announced March 20 that it was acquiring A. Miller & Co and its sister Allied Iron & Steel Co. These operations have closed and work done at both facilities has been consolidated at local Alter Metal Recycling facilities. 

Allied Iron & Steel was served by the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad, though service seemed sporadic in recent years. This facility opened in 1965 (per an Illinois Industrial Directory) and was originally served by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RR, which installed a switch on the curve just west of the Peoria Terminal Company crossing. At the time, the Chicago & North Western Railway's ex-Minneapolis & St. Louis line was still in place up to Iowa Junction, so Allied's facility was nestled between that and the CB&Q. 

A. Miller & Co. loaded junk in gondolas to its Alley Track location on 1612 SW Adams Street for shipment to Allied's plant for processing. This practice continued well into the Burlington Northern era, perhaps into the early 1980s. The Peoria & Pekin Union Railway constructed a switch and spur into Allied between 1983 and 1988, probably earlier than later. This was done because the BN had abolished its Peoria switch engine c. 1983 and the Galesburg-Peoria local turns had enough work to do. 

Below are videos I created showing related rail operations.

TP&W 2021 pulls two empty gondolas for A. Miller & Co. up the Alley Track on June 21, 2001.

P&PU 701 shoves three gondolas (scrap wire pulled from Keystone Steel & Wire Co's Wire Mill) into Allied Iron & Steel Co's spur so it can grab three scrap metal loads October 21, 2002. All six cars will go to the steel mill. 

TZPR 1351, formerly P&PU 701, switches Allied Iron & Steel Co. on January 5, 2018. 

- David P. Jordan