The Historic Red Ore Express tells the story of Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham was founded in 1871 and quickly grew to become one of the country's largest producers of iron and steel. Ensley Works, U.S. Steel, Tannehill, and the famous
Sloss Furnaces made Birmingham a center of industry in the American South. The industry artifacts are all around Birmingham today — in old factories, mines, mills, and machinery.
This tour allows for local and out-of-state visitors to learn about these historic industrial sites as they drive to the tour sites or listen from the comfort of their own home.
An essential part of the industrial history of Birmingham is how its mosaic of power stations—Sloss, ACIPCO, Republic, Tennessee Coal, and Iron—became a unified electrical grid. The tour touches on these historical sites, the people who worked at them, and how they are used today, including the only 20th-century blast furnace in the nation preserved as an industrial museum.
Tour Sponsors The Historic Red Ore Express is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Daniel Foundation, the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, the Goodrich Foundation, the Alabama Humanities Foundation, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Alabama State Senator Linda Coleman Madison and State Representative Roderick “Rod” Scott. Find More Tours Near You While visiting Birmingham, enjoy
Red Mountain Park audio tour. In addition, you can find other tours in Alabama or wherever your travels may take you at
TravelStorys.com TravelStorys.com. Every place has a story.