I the background to the left you can see a ladle. It looks the same size as the thimble, only because of how far it is away.
Interesting. My dad was a ladle crane operator at Northwest Steel and Wire (now defunt but the largest employer in our area for decades). He worked there for about 30 years, and retired some years before the steel business went downhill.
They gave tours when I was very young but also stopped for liability reasons somewhere around 1980 I think. I scarcely remember being in there.