The screeching of metal wheels sliding along rails are heard by guests as they walk across the stone paths that leads to the Industrial Sector of the town. Planters with scattered metal parts and steel-making equipment are placed along the pathway as guests walk further into the Industrial Section.
The trees part and reveal a glorious sight. The Carnegie Steel Plant has been restored to it's former glory. Where once was cracked stone and rusted steel has been replaced with new materials. Hundreds of light red stone bricks make up the exterior with gleaming beams of steel forming the corners and borders the windows. A dark green sheet metal roof covers the building with several large windows spread across the surface, allowing a light into the main building. Several grey circular smokestacks are seen in the distance, faint smoke seen coming from the top of them. In bright yellow letters is "Carnegie Steel Company" and is placed front and center. The building itself looks like it was just built yesterday with the metal gleaming and the stones don't have a single crack in them. To the left of the main structure is the office building which is where guests begin their experience on The Foundry.
Backstory
The steel plant opened in 1893 and after it opened, Steelwell was constructed to support the factories workers and their families. The reason why the steel plant's exterior was constructed of bricks instead of the more traditional metal was due to an enormous amount of bricks that was found near the location of the plant. Apparently, this land was a dumping ground for unused materials for a nearby town. John Green was the manager of the plant and was known across the workforce as a kind man that despite that he was a manager during the 1800s, he was actually a stand up guy. Unfortunately, he got deathly illness and after a very long struggle, he passed away but in peace. After John's death, a new manager was placed in his role and while John was kind, the new manager wasn't so. Thomas Olson was cruel and impatient with the workforce and only cares about the profits of the steel plant.
After 1904 which was the year when the Northern Securities Company was dissolved by Teddy Roosevelt, the steel plant started to see less and less business and this was unacceptable to Thomas. He worked everyone even harder and the workers got sick of this and started a strike but they wouldn't have hurt Thomas but he set John's former office on fire as revenge because he's petty like that. During the strike, an... "incident" happened where Thomas went missing and nobody outside of the factory knew what happened to him. After this event, the plant closed down in 1905 and was left abandoned for decades. That was until Elliott found the plant and fixed it up. The plant however has never been the same, rumors have been going around about the steel plant being haunted by Thomas's soul. Then out of nowhere, John's former rebuilt office caught on fire, burning everything. This story would be told throughout the queue with newspaper clippings with headlines such as "Head Manager at Local Steel Plant Missing" or "Investigation Begins at Local Steel Plant". These clippings would not tell the story directly but give hints to guests that would allows them to create their own story.
Queue
Guests step onto a red brick path that cuts through the front lawn of the plant and leads to the office building. The exterior of the office building is similar to the main steel plant but with a few differences. Instead of the dark green roof, it is a light red. The amount of windows is also more, these windows also have the names of the people that worked in those offices printed on the window. As guests go through the front lawn, industrial equipment is spread throughout the grassy area with the metal taking the forms of several different objects such as a dog or the newly created automobile. Several trees are spread throughout this part of the queue, sheltering guests from the sun. Also on the trees are several small metal birds on the branches. Guests enter the building through an open doorway and into the reception room.
The room is very clean with light oak floors and a multitude of seats that allows guests to sit down. The seats have red cushions and brown wooden frame. Lines of glass domes are across the ceiling, giving off a dim yellow light but there is also light features on the walls, built with a golden finish. The reception desk is made out of a dark brown wood and has the pictures of the important people of the steel plant but John's picture is smashed. Guests walk through a set of double doors and enter into Thomas's former office.
The room is pristine with white wood paneling on the walls and ceiling. A golden chandelier hangs from the ceiling with dozens of revolutionary lightbulbs spread across it. All across the walls are pictures of Thomas that were salvaged from the steel plant before the repairs. All of them have only him in it and he never smiles in any of them. His desk is made out of pure mahogany and has gold finishes, a lamp that puts off yellow light is placed on the desk. Guests walk through the room and go through a doorframe but the next room is entirely different than the rest of the steel plant.
The room is pitch black with not a single spec of color at all. The wood floor, ceiling, ad walls are charred as if set on fire. The glass that encases pictures of John have been smashed and his face has been scratched out of the picture. His name plate has been lodged into the wall and through the stomach of the central portrait of John Green. The chandelier formerly hanging from the roof has been thrown to the side of the room. The desk has been turned over and has a massive hole in the frame. The charred door leads to the loading area of the attraction.
It is a large room with industrial equipment hanging from the ceiling. A set of boilers are placed along the back wall with water bubbling in the glass windows. Every ride vehicle has 7 cars plus lead car (not able to sit in) and can seat 4 people in each. The ride vehicle is designed in the shape of a furnace and the lead car emulates an old steam engine. Once the safety checks have been finished, a set of steel doors opens and allows the cars to exit the office building.
Ride
The train takes a turn to the right and enters into a forested area for a short seconds. The train moves slowly through the forest so it allows guests to see a variety of industrial equipment that is strewn around the forest with some even having the outline of humans in the distance. However, this section doesn't last long and the cars enter into the main steel factory in the 1st major set piece.
The train moves in a straight line through the factory but something is off. Nothing is moving, conveyor belts stuck in place, and furnaces frozen in time. The trains move above lines upon lines of smaller furnaces, equipment spread lazily throughout the bottom floors. The train takes a soft turn to the right and starts moving forward again. The train moves in between giant furnaces, guests can even see the molten lava inside through glass windows, a faint bubbling is heard coming from inside the furnace. This gives this particular section of the attraction a orange hue and an intimidating aura. The train takes a sudden right and speeds up drastically, it's like the ride knows something that guests don't know and is trying to run away. A giant furnace begins to collapse in front of guests and spills molten steel (accomplished with projections) on the tracks. A voice is heard booming through the factory "Who dares enter into this cursed place" as an animatronic rises from the molten steel. The figure is featureless except for 2 glowing red slits. "You have disturbed this factory, now you must join it" as the figure raises it hand. The factory groans as loud clanging is heard. The train moves backwards quickly (reverse launch) and enters into the 2nd set piece.
Once guests enter into the next scene, they will turn right and face forward again and the factory has completely changed. The steel plant has come to life with molten lava spilling out of furnaces, conveyor belts moving at rapid speed, and industrial equipment is working on it's own. The train takes a turn to the left and dips sharply down as molten steel follows guests on both sides (accomplished by projections). The train dodges a falling giant furnace as the figure appears on top of it, laughing maniacally as the train dips further below before it curves up again and takes a turn to the right. The train goes through a row of giant furnaces that begin to explode. The train quickly dodges to the left as a furnace collapses and explodes, sending molten lava to the other furnaces which start to explode as well. The train flies upward to dodge a huge explosion that happens below guests. The train darts left and stops as the figure appears out of the molten steel again and transforms into it's real form, Thomas. "You have trespassed far enough" as a furnace above guests drops down and molten steel is about to fall on guests but the train quickly backs up and turns to the right as they are launched back into the fray. The steel plant starts to crumble with stones crumbling and the roof starting to shake violently (both projections and practical effects are used here. The train quickly turns left and right to dodge falling sheet metal from the roof. A large explosion goes off to the right, sending 2 furnaces in the way of the tracks. The train speeds up to it's fastest and flies under the furnaces as they explode behind guests, smoke flying up behind them. The train that darts through a whole into the wall and into the next and final scene.
Guests enter into a large room and see Thomas coming from a furnace of molten steel and tries to attack the train but on the other side of the room are dozens of blue eyes along the wall but they don't seem hostile. A light blue figure appears from the ground and is featureless but slowly turns into John. "Give up this quest of rage Thomas, you will only destroy yourself" John says as he raises a hand to Thomas. "YOU ARE ALL FOOLS, I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL" Thomas says as he prepares to attack everyone but a large furnace filled with molten steel falls on him and crashes through the floor. Explosions fill the room as John looks to us. "Get out of here before the factory claims you too". The train quickly speeds up and quickly dips down under a large exploding furnace with molten steel dripping down and go back up and slow down as guests exit the factory. They gently enter back into the office building and exit into the rest of the land.
Steel Works is the coasters gift shop and matches the theme of the rest of the attraction. Conveyor belts move different industrial equipment such as wrenches and boxes of screws. 2 large furnaces are placed across the left wall, molten steel bubbling through the window. The checkout desk is placed in front of the furnaces and is made out of mismatched sheet metal. The shelves are made into the structure of old smelters with a faint orange glow coming from the top. The walls are made out of sheet metal with the bolts making straight lines across the surface. The shop itself is lit quite dimly with only a few actual lights being place along the ceiling. The merchandise sold here is a variety of different Disney products made from metal such as Disney license plates, Erector sets, metal toy cars, Slinky toys, and small metal sculptures. Also, memorabilia from the roller coaster is available for purchase.